boxes boxes and more boxes

Okay so for the last two weeks or more I have seen nothing but boxes, bubble wrap, packing tape, any type of permanent marker I could get my hands on. (not to mention the trash bags full of unusable envelopes). This is the grin and bear it work Sarah was talking about. It is such a shame that I can not really get waist deep into this internship until May. I am learning many office skills that will be very useful later when I go out into the "real world" where I will probably be starting out on the bottom just like everyone else. I now know how to use a copier, excel, microsoft outlook, and the postage machine in an office setting. I know it sounds minor but I never knew how to do any of it before I started my internship and now I am a wiz. The biggest thing I am learning is organization and backing up files along with making extra copies of important papers. Gilda's club used to be located in Atlantic City in a beautiful clubhouse that was donated to them but was situated in between a ghetto and a newly/residential area that was slowly being developed. So no members wanted to come they were loosing money like crazy and if Stockton hadn't stepped in they would have been closed down. Sarah "lived the budget" as she says. Nothing else was important but the budget. Not peoples tires getting slashed, the club house being broken into, people leaving the hose running outside to rack up huge water bills, car windows being broken, all of these things she could overlook even when her employees were laying the truth right out in front of her and saying they needed to do something about this problem because they were not getting any members who wanted to come there. Not only because of the violence but also because most of the population did not reside in Atlantic City but in surrounding areas so it was not convienient. Sarah did not take the rose colored glasses off until they were ripped from her face when somone got murdered on the corner of the street where the clubhouse was situated. that is when she realized the lives of the people she worked with were her responsibility and hers as well. So therefore "to hell with the budget" its either we run out of money in Linwood where we are safe or in Atlantic city in 2 weeks where you never know what could happen. This story along with others I have heard really opened my eyes to the problems a non profit faces and to what they must put up with and how far the limits can be pushed or the lines blurred. This internship is more than just learning about how a non profit works and stays a float. What I am learning are life lessons from women who have been through a lot.

Sorry

Sorry I haven't written in a while. They have been keeping me so busy over there and I have just gotten into the groove of things and how to handle myself better and not make so much work for myself. The thing is that my supervisor Marcy, is not a very organized woman and at first I was afraid to speak up and give input on how things were done in the office. However when I started to have to do things two or three times I got fed up that they weren't utilizing me in way that would be beneficial to them. So I talked to my dad and he said to bring up ideas but make them seem like they were hers in a way. Well thats what I did and it worked out wonderfully. Now I have all my work saved on my laptop so when she comes to me and says "Oh we messed up can you redo this or retype that" it takes me half the time. This next week will be a little hectic with the big move that I will talk about tomorrow and Marcy going on Vacation for a week and half.. So needless to say I have my hands full. I will be posting the phase one tomorrow and an update tomorrow as well as soon as I get my thoughts clear. Jinnie I don't know how you do it. My mind is just in a funk right now between working a full time job. going to school and this oh my...and you have kids...you are amazing!

GOT IN

Well thanks to Professor Rubenstein I recieved an amazing internship at Gilda's club in South Jersey. It is located on Shore Road in Linwood. The funny part is that the place they are currently working out of used to be the old President of Stockton's house. Crazy right? Anyway Gilda's club focuses on the non-medical side of cancer support programs. They have three or so parts to the club; education, social functions such as yoga/reiki/quilting etc, and support groups for people living with cancer and their loved ones. I however will not be involved in any of that part of the organization. Which I am happy about. I have seen counseling and support groups before but what I am really after is what makes a non-profit organization keep rolling. How does it work? So that is what I am doing...lots and lots of paper work...I know in the beginning there will be some grunt work but in the end it will all pay off. I am actually learning how to use Excel a lot better which is great. I was there Monday through Friday this past week working on an assignment and this week I am going to a PR meeting on Thursday morning. It is hard to balance out work, interning and school when there just doesnt seem to be enough hours in a day. They seem to really like me at Gilda's club and are very thankful that I am there because if I wasn't they would be doing all this themselves and just be overloaded. I think after the initial week and getting over being sick things should start to even out a little more and I will have better organization of my time.
PS. I absolutely love Sarah Griffith(the president/director), eventhough I only met her one time she is amazing.

Trouble

I am having such a hard time finding a place that suits me and what I would like to accomplish. Our Professor has given me so much help up until this point that I really hope Hansen House works out. I called and e-mailed the South Jersey AIDS alliance with no luck no phone call or email response. On top of that I had my aunt who works for the state look into something for me with inspecting child care locations or halfway houses. They said they would be happy to take me but the process takes 2 months to go through all the checks necessary to work or intern for the state. Hogar Crea, the place I did my Field research offered me an internship for their steering committee but I really do not want to go down that road. So anyway I am freaking out a bit.