FamilyWorks Development & Communications Intern Claire Sakura Swihart
Hello! My name is Claire and I’m a senior at Lincoln High School in Wallingford. This summer, I had the opportunity to be a Development and Communications intern at FamilyWorks. I have been heavily involved in this organization since middle school, and it has meant so much to learn and work with FamilyWorks for the summer.
Community service and social work have always been important to me, and I’ve long aspired to pursue a career that allows me to make a direct, positive impact on people’s lives. FamilyWorks has allowed me to realize some of these goals by giving the opportunity for enriching learning experiences like creating a non-profit online art shop to support FamilyWorks during the pandemic, organizing a weekly summer sandwich-making initiative, and volunteering at the Wallingford Food Bank. I also fell in love with the FamilyWorks community; from being welcomed with familiar smiles, working in the vibrant and dynamic environment of the food bank, and meeting enthusiastic staff and wonderful participants, I found my place of joy. After a long, hard day at school, helping sort donations or create home-delivery orders at the food bank — an environment emanating positivity — was sometimes just what I needed to lift my spirits.
Working with FamilyWorks as an intern this summer has opened my horizons to so much more. In the span of a couple of months, I learned how to write grants, conduct business outreach, ask for donation requests, and gained valuable experience in fundraising and digital marketing.
One of the tasks I particularly enjoyed was engaging with neighborhood businesses through procurement. Walking into stores to talk about FamilyWorks allowed me to feel the vibrance of the community we are surrounded in and see how well-received FamilyWorks is as an organization. I would begin to introduce FamilyWorks’s mission, and business owners would interject saying “Oh, we know who you are! We love FamilyWorks.” Collecting donations for the Sunday Supper fundraising event was another task that felt fulfilling. Though at times the process felt tedious, I learned to appreciate repetition and see the meaningful value behind each task. Further, it was gratifying to see the donations coming in – the outcome of the work. Another activity I enjoyed was the ideation and creation of social media content. Through content creation, I was able to spark my creative side and create the most viewed reel on the FamilyWorks Instagram account to date! By introducing volunteer opportunities in a reel, creating a video explanation of a program, giving a tour of the Family Resource Center, and giving a “Behind the Scenes” tour of the offices at Cedar Crossing, I found it fun and gratifying to merge my Gen Z skill set with FamilyWorks’ mission. Oh, and of course, I can’t forget to mention — I enjoyed the coffee machine… A lot. 🙂
Though I did learn many hard skills through my internship, interfacing with a workspace environment allowed me to develop my soft skills and gain experience in professionalism. One central aspect that I learned was the value of inclusivity. FamilyWorks’ commitment to empower and include has inspired me to see the world in a different way. From learning about strengths-based language, engaging in a discussion about decentralizing power in non-profits, and learning about the various programs FamilyWorks offers, I have come to recognize the little details that make a difference in promoting inclusivity. Now, I’m truly able to appreciate how FamilyWorks demonstrates this value both internally in the organizational framework and externally through the operation of programs.
Going forward, I will take these skills and lessons I learned from my internship and apply them to my future pursuits.
FamilyWorks, thank you for this amazing internship opportunity!