I have some different scenery this week while I’m working.

This week is my annual family vacation in North Carolina, so I was able to start a week early at Seeds of Caring back in late May to ensure I was able to spend some time with my family. I’m still working a few hours here and there this week to get ahead by the time I’m back in Ohio, but I’m glad I can relax most of this week.

I spent a few of my mornings catching up on some reading I am completing. Our executive director/founder gave me Forces for Good: The Six Practices of High-Impact Nonprofits by Leslie R. Crutchfield and Heather Mcleod Grant to read during my time with Seeds of Caring, to look at what all goes into creating and managing a successful nonprofit, and how exactly “successfulness” is measured and how to increase a nonprofit’s impact. I’ve enjoyed what I have read so far, and I hope to finish the book by this week or next.

Originally during my time on vacation, I was going to assist our marketing and communications coordinator on outreach efforts to call different day cares around Columbus asking if they had brochure space for us, and if they would be interested in that. I figured I would tackle that next week, as I will have more time and will have more privacy as I’m with my family this entire week. I am looking forward to assisting on this task!

Since we engage kids 2-12 in our programming, and our organization is young, the kids who were involved in our programming when Seeds of Caring started have grown out of our programming. We are looking to engage a new generation of younger families who have children in the age range we want to engage with.

I have had an interest in communications, as I am aiming to complete my communications minor in the spring when I graduate, so I am glad I am getting some experience with this area as well. I feel as though I have been able to gain a lot of knowledge while being with Seeds of Caring, as I have worked with multiple different staff members on different projects.

This was my main goal through this fellowship- to get as much experience and gain as much knowledge about what roles go into a nonprofit as possible. Even as we conclude our seventh week, I feel as though everything I have learned has exceeded my expectations already.