The Harraseeket Foundation
Pronounced “hair-a-SEEK-it”
Communities helping young people imagine their future
Photo by Eric Horne
Our Mission
Harraseeket supports programs that support community organizations that want to help young people imagine their future, and act on what they imagine.
Our Approach
Harraseeket pursues its mission by helping community organizations interested in supporting young people with mentoring and at-work experiences. We offer support to these organizations in a variety of ways.
Our Career Pathways Programs
We offer w wide variety of programs tailored to the needs of the communities we support.
Supporting Underserved Students
Our programs support all young people. We particularly welcome those who benefit from an additional adult in their lives.
How You Can Get Involved
We welcome involvement by old and young, regardless of experience, with a wide range of opportunities.
Volunteer
Our volunteers help with our Career Pathways programs by mentoring, participating in workshops and forums, and helping with our events.
Partner
Our partner community organizations recruit “communities of mentors” from within their membership and offer at-work experiences..
Donate
Your donation will directly support our programs, provide financial support to students with economic barriers and help us promote our mission.
Meet the Team
Harraseeket thrives because of the work of a variety of dedicated and inspired people.
News and Upcoming Events
See more on our Events page!
Reston Chamber of Commerce Podcast Features our Work!
Angela Inzerillo interviews Steve Parker about Harraseeket’s expansion from McLean to Arlington and Herndon and our new Imagining Your Future program. Steve discusses how students are recommended for the program, the selection process, and the work we are doing to recruit and train mentors, plan workshops and field trips, and develop at work experiences for the students such as shadowing, informational interviews, internships and part-time work.
Sharing our story with the NVA business community
We were delighted that The Harraseeket Foundation was represented in a panel discussion at an amazing event at Apple Federal Credit Union for c-suite education and business executives. The focus was on re-imagining the workforce development experience and contributing to student post-secondary success. The panel featured Dr. Michelle Reid, Division Superintendent of Fairfax County Public Schools and five companies and nonprofits, including Harraseeket, that support students.
The executives heard about Harraseeket’s work since expanding to Fairfax County Public Schools last year, helping hundreds of students at Herndon High School imagine their future -- workshops and fairs involving scores of employers and volunteers; mentoring; and at-work experiences.
Congratulations to Fairfax County Public Schools, Fairfax County Economic Development Authority and Educate Fairfax for organizing this event, which inspired the business community to deepen its commitment to changing students’ lives!
Wrapping up our 2023-2024 Mentoring program
This winter and spring, community mentors worked regularly with dozens of Herndon High School students as they prepared for at-work experiences. For seniors, the crowning experience is an “externship,” in which, for a few weeks before graduation, they work at employers throughout Northern Virginia.
In 1-on-1 conversations and in small groups, mentors addressed topics like choosing a career, resume writing, networking, getting references, and preparing for the workplace.
In the final session this spring, we invited a panel of employers to answer questions about internships. The panel included a recent Herndon High School graduate, a moving company executive, a financial planner, a former police officer and lawyer, an Air Force veteran, and a career coach.
The video contains clips from the panel discussion. Student questions included: How does an internship work? How do I go about networking to find an internship? Should I pursue an experience that reflects my career interests? How should I dress for work? How should I think about boundaries at work?
Students attending one of the April 29 sessions
Video excerpts of April 29 panel on preparing for at-work experiences
Our New Imagining Your Future Program is Launching!
The program offers intensive 1-on-1 mentoring, workshops and forums, and a variety of at-work experiences, to high school students over the course of an academic year
Harraseeket Named Top-Rated Nonprofit by Great Nonprofits!
