Scarlet Service Stories: Adam Halperin
Adam Halperin, Boys & Girls Club of America
Before his Scarlet Service internship this summer in Washington, D.C., Adam Halperin had already been to Capitol Hill lobbying for programs essential to him and his fellow college students.
“It is important to know how to advocate on Capitol Hill because constituent voices carry significant weight with lawmakers,” said Halperin, a rising junior majoring in marketing at Rutgers Business School.
Now as a government relations intern with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Washington, D.C., Halperin is showing middle- and high-school students how to champion the work of nonprofits that make a difference in their lives.
“I'm excited to pay it forward to the next generation, to help teach them what I know, now that I've lobbied on Capitol Hill,” said Halperin, 20.
He helped plan the Summit for America’s Youth, a week-long event held in mid-July bringing about 500 club members from across the country to Washington. These members, ages 14-18, spent a day on Capitol Hill to meet and greet lawmakers to lobby for program funding in their communities. Halperin prepared the teens for those visits.
“I'm helping people who are going to Capitol Hill, and I'm a reason why they're able to articulate the needs of the organization to the federal legislators,” he said. “So, I think that's pretty cool.”
Those efforts, along with other lobbying campaigns, were impactful, Halperin said. For example, he added, federal funding for 21st Century Community Learning Centers, which supports after-school and summer enrichment programs at various organizations like the Boys & Girls Club, was recently restored.
“Young advocates are powerful additions to lobbying efforts because they directly experience the impact of programs like those offered by the Boys and Girls Clubs of America,” he said. “When they share how these programs have shaped who they are, it strengthens the case for preserving and expanding such initiatives.”
Halperin, of Plymouth, Mass., knows first-hand the affect support organizations can have on a family in need. When he and his family faced hardship, he said local nonprofits helped them get through a difficult time. The experience had a profound impact on Halperin, who has been working as an advocate for his community ever since.
When he arrived at Rutgers, he joined the Rutgers University Student Assembly and served as a liaison for the Association of Big Ten Students. He traveled to Washington, D.C. through the association, and as part of Rutgers Advocacy Day, to talk to lawmakers about federal programs that college students depend on, such as educational tuition grants and aid to alleviate food insecurity.
Halperin, who is minoring in government and business, said he’s considering working for a nonprofit after graduation in 2027.
“This program has really helped me understand how the government works and how different processes work,” he said. “Being in the heart of D.C. makes you see all these important things that are happening, all these laws and all these people who are using their ability to protest and be engaged in the process. I just think like living here everyday kind of empowers me to want to stay civically engaged.”
– Roya Rafei