The Servant Center Inc. Internship

Internship Location: The Servant Center Time period: Spring 2011 Student: Jose Rodriguez

This past semester I had the privilege of completing an internship with the Servant Center, Inc. At first I admit, I was skeptical and unsure if this was what I really wanted to do, but this opportunity turned out to be the best for me. My supervisor, Emily Holmes, taught me a great deal in the time I was there while I worked with her in the Marketing and Advertising Department. I also assisted in the Food Pantry for part of the time I spent there. I found both experiences to be very rewarding and it helped push me in to the direction of what career I may want to pursue.
The Servant Center is a non-profit organization in Greensboro, North Carolina, which provides hope and services to enable vulnerable, homeless and/or disabled people to be independent members of the community. The Servant Center offers four programs that provide assistance to those in need in the community. They offer two transitional housing programs and a disability assistance program providing assistance to patients referred through Moses Cone Health System in filing for Social Security Disability benefits. Lastly, the Servant Center has a Food Pantry and Grocery Assistance Program which serves between 500-600 people each month and includes a monthly food bag delivery program to low-income elderly, a food grocery distribution to low-income individuals and families, as well as an international food pantry for those not yet documented as legal immigrants. All of these programs play a huge role in the Greensboro community.
While working in the food pantry I was able to help in many different ways. For the first half of my time in the pantry, I worked inside the food pantry itself. I would help stock any donated food, and if a large donation came in, I would unload them out of the truck they came in and bring them into the food pantry. For the clients of the Food Pantry, I would prepare bags of the groceries they received. I would then assist any client that may have needed help bringing food to their car. The second part of the time I spent in the pantry I would go with an employee to pick up food from local groceries stores. The Servant Center has great relationships with the Food Lions and Harris Teeters in the area, who donate a generous amount of food every week. When I would go on pick-ups each Monday, the bakery, meat, and produce departments would all give donations. Two coolers full of meat would be filled, some days more than others, and some stores had more to give than others. The bakery departments at each would donate several boxes full of bread and deserts. Just recently the stores started to donate produce such as carrots, broccoli, lettuce and celery. These donations are a huge reason that The Servant Center’s food pantry never has to turn clients away.
My experience in the food pantry I found to be quite rewarding. At first I admit I was skeptical that I would enjoy working in the pantry because things seemed to become repetitive. Unload the truck, bring in the cans, stock them on the shelves, and break down the boxes. However, once I realized how much the food pantry means to its clients I started to truly enjoy working there. Hearing clients tell Katherine, the director of the pantry, how much of a blessing the food pantry and its volunteers are to them and their families is truly gratifying. When I would help clients take their groceries to their car, and the genuine “thank you” I would receive in return ensured me that my time in the pantry was worthwhile. Working in the pantry ensured me that whatever career I wish to pursue, it needs to involve helping others and making a difference in people’s lives.
For the majority of my time at The Servant Center I worked with Emily Hoffman, head of Marketing and Development. At first, I scanned folders, shredded papers, and filed.  However after the first week, Emily asked me if I was good with computers because she had some projects she wanted me to work on. Very excited about the opportunity I answered yes. She asked me if I could help update The Servant Center’s Facebook by adding pictures and changing its statuses. After completing that project with ease, Emily asked me if I could create an email for her using ConstantContact.com. Having no experience with this site, I was a little nervous but she showed me how easy it was to use. The first email I created was for The Servant Center’s Veteran Open House. After doing a job well done I gained her trust with working with programs such as this one for The Servant Center. I created four different emails that were sent out for The Servant Center and became very confident in my abilities while using Constant Contact. The three other emails I created were for the Winter Newsletter, The HumanRace, and the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon. For my next project I was taught how to use Word Press. Word Press is a web software that The Servant Center used to make and update its website, http://www.theservantcenter.org/. I created an Administration account and began to work on and update The Servant Center’s site. I updated the home page’s rotating headlines as well as all seven other pages of the website. This task took several weeks. Word Press is a much more difficult and tedious program to use than Constant Contact but I was able to learn how to use it correctly and efficiently. The next task Emily had for me was using the software eTapestry. The site eTapestry is a program which helps The Servant Center manages their fundraising activities as well as all their clients. This project took the most amount of time and I believe may have been the most beneficial and important to The Servant Center as well. I was given an excel spread sheet with over 500 names of clients, those who gave donations, board members, and golf tournament members to add to this program. This was the most daunting task because not only did I add their names, but also all of their information, their emails, their work, and their association with The Servant Center. I also had to enter whether or not they donated to The Servant Center, how much or what they donated was added as well. I was given several other tasks that did not involve a computer but were still beneficial. I was asked to edit and revise their five page annual winter newsletter. I than folded the more than 1,000 letters and sealed and labeled them to be mailed.  It was imperative that this task was done fast and efficiently seeing as it was getting to be in the heart of spring.  As you can see I had a wide variety of jobs and taks during my time at The Servant Center.
I believe that this experience working in the Advertising and Development sector of The Servant Center has been the most influential and greatest learning experiences I have had so far at college. Being able to get out of the class room and still learn an abundant amount of information was truly a rewarding experience and just what I needed as my college career is coming to an end. I learned many valuable things that I can take with me in to the workplace. My new found knowledge of how to use Constant Contact, Word Press, and eTapestry I believe will be most beneficial for me when putting it on my resume.  Being able to put my skill set in Constant Contact, Word Press, and eTapestry will surely improve my chances on being hired in the job search seeing as these are very valuable skills. Also, learning how important it is to have a good personal relationship with clients, funders, donators, and local businesses. I learned this while reading copies of thank you letters that had been mailed out. Emily explained to me the importance of acknowledging what a person, or business donated and how it would help build a strong relationship. All in all I believe I am ready to enter the work world because of this internship opportunity with The Servant Center. I learned so much and enjoyed myself as well.

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