Hello! My name is Brooke and I’ve been the marketing intern here at United Way of Champaign County this summer! I am super grateful for this experience and I know I’ve learned useful skills I can apply to my future career. Since I am wrapping up my time here, I wanted to share three things I have learned about United Way.
1. There are three main areas United Way works in.
At first it may seem difficult to pick a cause you want to contribute to, but they allow you to pick what’s important to you. This is simplified by breaking up the issues into three categories: Community Essentials, Community Change, and Community Building. By reading more about each of these on the website, you can see the real impact made by volunteers and donations. And while every donation matters, volunteers are also critical in seeing improvement in the community! Now that my time here is over, I’d love to get involved in more volunteer work because I realize how important it is. Specifically, one area I learned a lot about is Early Grade Level Success, and it’s easy to sign up for something simple such as reading to local kids!
2. Working on solutions to improve the community takes a lot of teamwork.
Everyone at United Way works closely together to get things done efficiently and there is a lot happening behind the scenes to get events and fundraisers ready. I have learned that there are multiple ways to approach a project as everyone works differently, so getting feedback from those around you is very useful. Everyone here has been so helpful in giving me the information I need to do my part. Since my first day starting here, I could tell how genuine and willing the staff was to help.
3. Anyone can make a difference.
Before I started my internship, I wasn’t sure if I was capable of making an impact on the community. Now, I can see that every action matters, no matter how small or big it is. During my time here I have worked a lot on social media posts. I’ve really enjoyed this part of the internship, especially because I know I am informing the community of important topics. Just by reading through the United Way website, blog posts and social platforms, I have learned so much about current issues and the ways I can help. Being educated is the first step to making a difference!
Thank you to United Way of Champaign County for this opportunity! Follow our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to see more of the work I have done.
