Blog posts

ACT! in Bristol

I’m now 2 weeks into my internship with The ACT! Alliance in Bristol. The ACT! Alliance is a newly set up campaigning organisation which differs from those that already exist in that it seeks to pool the efforts and resources of existing organisations to gain strength for change, rather than all working in an isolated and fragmented way. Importantly, ACT! does not compartmentalise the issues that we face, seeing that the deteriorating environment, the faltering economic system, failing politicians and poverty are all interlinked, and so are the solutions. Broadly, ACT! campaigns for sustainable development in environmental, economic and social systems.

Coming up to the end of the first week!

So I’m coming up to the end of my first week. It’s actually been really good!

Yesterday I went to one of the trustees’ meetings and had a quick chat about some of my ideas (they’ve been in the pipeline for about a year, so a lot longer than the placement). They seemed really enthusiastic about them, and how the charity is going to be moving forward. I would really recommend working with a smaller charity – there are only 8 trustees of LUCIA so I actually feel like they value my input and will consider my suggestions seriously.

Other than that, I’ve done some initial research into the stoves project and how to apply for funding.

Ben Fernando – first day at work!

So I’m just on lunch break for my first day at work! I’m at LUCIA (Life Uplifted by Change in Africa), a small Birmingham based charity that works with women and children in Ethiopia. I’ve been working with them for a while  now doing fundraising, and I decided to do Charity Insights so that I could get more involved with the research and problem-solving skills that they do.  You can find out more at http://www.luciacharity.org.uk/

So far I’ve had the usual introduction and health and safety talk, and discussed my project with my supervisor. Initially, I’m going to be looking at how to get funding for the grassroots projects that they’re looking at in Rural Ethiopia.

Internships are well underway!

The first of the Charity Insights participants started their internships last week & Eileen and I are delighted to see the blog posts starting to come in. We are really looking forward to hearing more about everyone’s internships.

We have another participant to announce – Will Prince, third year Physics who will be doing his internship at The Big Issue Foundation.

Just before the end of term we ran a preparation workshop for our participants. This was a great chance for all the interns to meet each other and to hear about the projects that they will be embarking on!

Charity Insights Bursary award winners announced!

After some thorough interviews with our shortlisted applicants the Charity Insights participants for 2013 so far have been confirmed as:

Well done to everyone!

Applications are in!

Eileen and I have enjoyed reading all the applications for the charity insights scheme. There are some really fantastic organisations our students hope to work with from the Durham Wildlife Trust to the Big Issue.  We are looking forward to meeting the shortlisted applicants at interview over the next few weeks!

At interview the applicants will be required to do a 10 minute informal presentation about their chosen charity and project as well as answering some interview questions.

Good luck to all!

Amy