Raija Johnson

Major: Kinesiology and health
Company/Organization: The Salvation Army
Company/Organization website: http://www.centralusa.salvationarmy.org
Destination: Ames, Iowa
Timeframe: Summer 2020
Advisor/Coordinator Email: dpower

Responsibilities

- Oversee and organize summer programs and events. - Develop other fundraising opportunities. - Network with community organizations to build relationships, promote services, and raise awareness of program needs. - Coordinate and collaborate with the advisory council. - Contact local businesses to build partnerships and coordinate events. - Interact with media and donors during the event to promote services and program needs. - Work with the site administrator to schedule volunteers to work events. - Assemble, sort, and gather supplies for events. - Maintain databases and prepare reports for TSA, media outlets, and other uses as required. - Onsite event work and project coordination.

Accomplishments

My greatest accomplishment from this internship is the work I did on the natural disaster crisis relief plan. I created emergency contact lists for local fire departments, grocery stores, and community resources for all of Story and Hardin County in Iowa. I also made contributions to their volunteer recruitment plan by making promotional materials.

Learning experience

The greatest lessons I learned from this internship were professional communication skills, emergency planning processes, and how the navigate the non-profit sector.

What advice would you give?

My advice for future students would be to ask questions. As intimidating as it may seem to ask for help of clarification, it is a great learning tool. The purpose of these experiences is to gain knowledge from the organizations and supervisors, and a simple way to do this is by asking questions.

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