Hi everyone! My name is Jared Hackworth (he/him), and I am one of the Columbus Foundations’ 2021 Summer Fellows. I am working with Equitas Health, specifically focusing on the 2021 Art for Life event. I am from Sunbury, OH, and during the school year, I attend Wheaton College in Illinois, where I am studying English and Urban Studies.

This week, I experienced both Equitas and Columbus Foundation orientations and onboarding. Equitas Health is a non-profit healthcare system that is one of the nation’s largest HIV/AIDS and LGBTQ+ healthcare organizations! In my role, I will aid development with the 2021 Art For Life event. Art for Life has been a biennial art auction that has raised around $6 Million in funding for HIV/AIDS care, prevention, education, testing, and advocacy services.

The introduction sessions with the Columbus foundation were also super interesting, as they helped me contextualize the summer. Our session on Advocacy stuck out to me and helped me frame what non-profit work should really be, with first a focus on listening to the community members instead of just beginning projects that I may think are best. We also received advice to write a letter to the editor at the Columbus Dispatch about something we are passionate about– a challenge I look forward to taking up.

At Equitas, this week has brought a lot of orientation and onboarding. Since Equitas is a medical organization, I have gone through a good amount of HIPPA training before I can fully start work. Already, I have learned a great deal through training on anything from how to use giving and auction software to attending an anti-racism series. While the onboarding process has taken a good portion of the week, I am grateful to have a strong footing as we go forward into the coming weeks.