A Nonprofit with a Vision!
I’m currently working as the marketing and development intern for the nonprofit Andree Collective located in Philadelphia, Pa.
What is Andree Collective?
“Andree Collective is a first-of-its-kind nonprofit event planning organization that leverages the $70+ billion wedding industry to empower female trauma survivors of intimate partner violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. Survivors in our program receive therapy, job coaching, and financial training to equip them with the means to sustain a life apart from their abusers.”
With this being my first internship, my intentions were to learn as much as possible. I was nervous that with being the youngest in the organization and having the least amount of experience, I would be brushed aside. I was completely wrong. The team at Andree Collective welcomed me with open arms. This was my first experience ever where I was surrounded by a whole team that wanted to help me learn and succeed. They gave me freedom on tasks to try, fail, and succeed. This is a great example of a group of people who you should aim to surround yourself with in a workplace.
Andree Collective has opened my eyes to numerous wonderful people who have the good intentions of making a change in the world. I would have never imagined this internship to exceed my expectations like it did. When I began, I had no knowledge about anything in marketing and when I leave Andree Collective I will have knowledge in social media, nonprofits, PR, and fundraising.
My Advice
When looking for an internship, search for a company with a positive, encouraging environment. You want people who will challenge and teach you. Don’t let your title in the workplace confine you to your abilities, you can always speak up to do or learn more about other opportunities.
As someone who also interned with a non-profit, its so cool to see that you had a similar experience to me in regards to being welcomed to the team, as well as the ability and freedom to learn and succeed surrounded by a group of people that truly want to see you be successful.
Hi Jewel! I thought that it was very interesting and insightful to hear about your first time interning with the Andree Collective as a marketing and development intern! It’s amazing to hear and learn about a nonprofit event planning organization providing a variety of services such as financial literacy programs, therapy, employment, event planning, and many more to those in need, but also how they provided you an amazing opportunity to learn from the team and allow you to expand your knowledge in a variety of topics and subjects. As an intern at a nonprofit organization myself, I truly enjoy seeing the work that is being done on a daily basis and am thankful that I was also able to work with an amazing team at my own internship. I also agree with your advice on searching for a company with a positive work environment. While we may just be interns, it’s still important to be able to learn from those working there and utilize those opportunities and resources to allow ourselves to gain knowledge and allow ourselves to succeed in the field. I wonder if there was any specific topic that you learned while interning at the Andree Collective that you liked the best and if you would continue to pursue and learn more about even after the internship? Overall, I enjoyed learning about your internship experience and am glad that you were able to make the most out of it!