Hi! I’m Jen, a rising senior at the Ohio state university. I am double majoring in English and political science. I’ve always had a passion for community engagement and helping others, and thought working for a nonprofit would be an extremely rewarding experience. 

 I’ve been given the opportunity to intern at the Family Mentor Foundation of Worthington, OH. I will be spending to next ten weeks working on areas such as programming and development. 

     My first day at the nonprofit  was spent learning the logistics of Family Mentor Foundation, and it how it runs on a day to day basis. The foundation is dedicated to serving children experiencing food insecurity. The nonprofit produces “Buddy Boxes” which are shelf stable food boxes specifically for the weekend. 

     In order to package these boxes, volunteers are always needed! My second day was spent observing and participating in a packaging event. The volunteer group was the Wexner Service Corps, which is a service learning program for high schoolers. It was great seeing so many young people have a heart for service. Along with packaging, the volunteer group created cards wit words of encouragement to put in each box. After the service event I was able to sit down with the executive director. We discussed the future programming of the nonprofit, and learned more about the internal side of nonprofits. 

     My final day of the week was spent at a partner site, helping to hand out the Buddy boxes to the children. It was a great experience getting to see the impact Family Mentor Foundation has on the Worthington community and surrounding areas. Overall, I had a jammed pack first week and can’t wait for the rest of the summer.