The Centre for Philanthropy recently celebrated its sixth annual Summer Intern Community Day on Nelson Mandela Day — a day focused on community service.

It was a chance for some 120 students to contribute to 11 non-profit organisations by way of a variety of projects.

The United Nations declared Nelson Mandela International Day in recognition of the legend’s contribution to “a world culture of peace and freedom and his important legacy to carry forward”.

UN Women Executive Director, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka explained that “the call to action on Mandela Day is for each of us to go out and do something . . . an opportunity for everyone to bring the best out of themselves by taking some form of action in solidarity with others, to be of service, and to inspire change in the world.”

And the Island’s summer interns answered the call.

Participating companies and their partner non-profits for this year’s event were: XL Group with Westmeath Residential and Nursing Care Home (painting); Ernst & Young Ltd with Summerhaven (landscaping and cleaning); KPMG with National Museum of Bermuda (painting); Butterfield Bank with The Eliza Dolittle Society (wrapping boxes for Make Hunger History Month); Ascendant Group Limited and Appleby (Bermuda) Limited with The Salvation Army (painting and cleaning); Deloitte with BIOS (painting); Validus with the Bermuda Museum Aquarium and Zoo (Water Reservoir and Sea Turtle Enclosure Beautification); PwC with Matilda Smith Williams Seniors Residence (painting); Catlin Insurance Company Ltd. with Meals on Wheels (meal preparation and delivery); and the ACE Group with WindReach Bermuda (Healthy Harvest).

According to Centre for Philanthropy, the programme has more than doubled over the years and this year they were “extremely pleased” with the success of the projects.

“It’s fantastic to experience the high level of energy these interns bring to service projects each summer,” says Jennifer Pitcher, Volunteer Programme Coordinator for the Centre.

“It’s so inspiring to watch them in action as their incredible efforts make our community a much more vibrant place to live in!”

In addition to the day of community projects, the Centre has included a Facebook Photo Challenge into the effort. Intern teams were encouraged to take creative photos while working with their charity and enter them into the Facebook challenge. Teams have until next Tuesday (July 29) at 1.00pm to garner the most ‘likes’ for their photos and the photo with the most ‘likes’ wins.

Individuals can support this year’s teams by casting their “liking” for their favourite photo.

To view the photos members of public visit The Centre on Philanthropy’s Facebook page www.facebook.com/thecentreonphilanthropy.

Those wanting to learn more about The Centre on Philanthropy’s Community Days and volunteer opportunities in Bermuda can visit http://www.centreonphilanthropy.org/pages/community-days