Denholm Building, home to United Way of CM

Welcome to United Way

My desk

Exploring downtown Worcester

A dinner out: Volturno

First Worcester Public Library Card!

Boston Skyline

Bedford Farms.. Yum!

It’s hard to believe that week two is already complete! This was a busy week and I spent a lot of time creating pieces to advertise and share Day of Caring information in order to get agencies and organizations interested. I started the week by working on the website’s event page. On the event, I created a place for agencies to submit projects to be completed on September 12^th.  The website also has a separate page that provides organizations with a survey to express their interest in participating. I am happy that the website is now available for agencies and organizations to begin to sign up for the event. At first I had a bit of difficulty creating an event on a website using a program I am still very new to, but I am glad I was able get the event up and working.

The next step is to engage the community and provide people with information about Day of Caring, so I worked to create ‘Save the date’ cards to send out to both the agencies and organizations. I’m excited to be able to send out the ‘Save the date’ cards and promote the event. Next week, I hope to send out the ‘Save the date cards’ and then begin to hear from agencies and organizations who want to participate in the event. I know I will have to continue to promote and recruit agencies to start to sign up, but I am eager to have agencies start submitting their projects and see the projects and the event will be comprised of. As the summer progresses, I am looking forward to seeing the event start to come together!

This weekend I headed home where I caught up with friends, enjoyed the sun, watched the Bruins, and relaxed with family for Father’s Day.

I can’t believe that the first week of my internship is already over; the week flew by! On Monday morning I arrived at the office and Alex, the other Holy Cross intern who is working on the Youth Summer Programs, showed me our office. The morning consisted of a tour of the United Way of Central Massachusetts’ (UNCM) office and some introductions to some of the employees. Everyone seemed very friendly and it will be great to get to know them all throughout the summer.

This week mainly included orientation and training to the computer programs as well as gaining a better understanding of UNCM and the Day of Caring event. Throughout the week I learned about the different projects and involvement that UWCM has in the community. If you would like to learn more, you can check out their website: http://www.unitedwaycm.org/. The majority of my time this week was spent canvassing the old Day of Caring files (this year will be UNCM’s 20^th annual Day of Caring!) as well as examining the websites of different Day of Caring events nationwide. As I began to read the different descriptions of the projects and Day of Caring events, I started to have a clearer idea of what I would be planning and how I could work to organize a successful and enjoyable event for the community. In the coming weeks I am excited to begin working to plan one of the region’s largest one-day volunteer events!

This week Alex and I also had the opportunity to attend the 2013 Massachusetts Conference on Service and Volunteering and it was hosted by YOU Generate and the Massachusetts Service Alliance. If you want to gain more information on these organizations, you can check out this website: http://www.mass-service.org/.  At the conference we started the day by listening to keynote speaker Wendy Spencer (CEO, Corporation for National and Community Service), then attended a few workshop sessions, and watched as the Service and Volunteerism awards were presented. One session I attended was hosted by Holy Cross’ own Michelle Sterk-Barrett and Lauren Buckley of the Community Based Learning (CBL) office, which was about CBLs, but more from the perspective of non-profit organizations. I enjoyed the workshops I attended and I believe that they helped me to learn about different aspects of various volunteerism projects and how they are a part of the community.

Last week was a great introduction to the UNCM and the Day of Caring and I am eager to watch the Bruins and relax this weekend before heading back to the office next week and delving into organizing the Day of Caring!

Hi I’m Lauren and have just finished my junior year that began in July with the fall semester in Melbourne, Australia and ended with exams and papers on campus just a few weeks ago. I am a psychology major with an education minor from Arlington, Massachusetts. After a week relaxing on the beaches and exploring the shops of Martha’s Vineyard, I am unpacking my beach gear and packing my kitchen supplies, bedding, and business casual clothes. I am excited to move back on campus on Sunday. And in just a few days, I will begin my internship at the United Way in Worcester. While at United Way, I will be the Program Assistant for the Day of Caring event that will take place in early September.

The Day of Caring event is a one-day event in which different non-profit organizations in the community submit various projects to be done by over 1,000 volunteers in the community. As the Program Assistant, I will be helping to organize and plan the event specifically the volunteers and different project sites. The internship was offered to students in Career Planning’s Summer Internship Program (SIP). I have heard of United Way and have been involved with different non-profit organizations growing up and while at Holy Cross. After participating in the Community Based Learning office’s Non-Profit Careers conference in January, I set my hopes on gaining more experience in a non-profit organization this summer. Additionally, on campus I am involved in various clubs and have enjoyed planning different events on campus and working in the community at the Boys and Girls Club. This internship will be a great experience to learn, grow, and continue to further develop my interest and skills.

I am excited to be back on the Hill and begin my internship on Monday. By next week, I am sure I will have more to update and fill you in on!