The United Way - Marketing
Spring 2019
Throughout my time at United Way of Greater Niagara, I saw myself grow everyday as I learned new things and met new people. As the Marketing and Special Events Associate for this organization, I was involved in a lot of hands on activities as well as connecting with new people each day. The most valuable task that I was given was being in charge of our annual Day of Caring. Day of Caring is a special event that takes place in the summer, where the community gets together and helps with small or large tasks that organizations and businesses in our greater area need help with. There were two sides to this task which made it fun but difficult at the same time. The first side was to make sure that the organizations had projects that could be completed for that day. This required sending out email blasts and making phone calls to numerous businesses. Most of the projects consisted of small paint jobs, mulching or cleaning out an area that was cluttered. As the tasks became settled the next step was to get as many volunteers as possible to complete the jobs. This consisted of making flyers, sending out reminders, calling people and spreading word through social media!
The most difficult part of this task was keeping up with the excel sheet. Trying to make everyone happy is impossible. As the jobs filled up I had no choice but to put people at a job that they did not want to do or was out of their way. This made it difficult because in the back of my mind I thought it was a little rude that people would complain when really this event is to better our community as a whole. You would think that a few hours of community service wouldn’t bother people, but you would be surprised. Everything had worked out in the end but that thought still sat with me for quite a bit. Throughout the job when people would get frustrated it would fall back on me. I used this as a learning experience, staying calm and trying to work with the person instead of giving it back to them benefitted me the most. This really taught me to just be patient and try to see the situation from the other person’s eye. Another take away that I had from this task were the social skills and keeping up with the Microsoft excel sheets. Making connections, going to businesses and talking on the phone really benefitted me moving forward. I have met a lot of new people that have reached out to me and have given me pointers. The event was a huge success and I enjoyed creating connections and fulfilling my duties!
Looking back at the experience and how I can move forward, I see a lot of positivity regarding my career. One of the other tasks that I took on throughout my time was visiting all 29 of the agencies that United Way of Greater Niagara funds. With this I got to meet many presidents and managers throughout the county. It was a great time learning what the programs are all about and hearing how much we, as an organization, mean to the community. As I visited each place I would typically take a tour first and get an idea what the day to days consist of, as well as what programs are being funded. If I had permission I would also take pictures and videos to keep up to date on our social media platforms. I realized that in smaller communities there are people that like to see and appreciate what is going on. After the walk through was finished I would interview whoever was in charge. Getting information about what they do as an organization and how their programs are ran, allowed me to get a better idea on what making a difference was all about! Some of the career opportunities that I see helping me out in the future is overall the social skills, connecting with others and the urge to helping a community/others.
Throughout my college career I have learned a lot from my media studies as well as my marketing studies. The communication department at Niagara University is one of a kind. CMS 120 (media writing) with Dr. Sirianni, helped touch my writing skills up and made me feel more confident as a writer. I could relate back to this course on numerous occasions throughout the internship. Whether it was a simple email or touching up the website this class truly made a difference and has helped me along the way. Another communications class that helped me throughout my experience here at United Way of Greater Niagara, was Dr. Barner’s CMS 245 class (digital media production.) Using what I learned in this class such as website construction and photo shop, this made it easier for my experience here at work. Learning how to create a website and then editing it really helped me feel comfortable when I started to update the website here at United Way.
Studying marketing as well has helped me through this time of work. Classes such as Social Media Marketing with Professor Daly helped out a lot. Seeing how different platforms work and the demographics of who is using them helps you reach who you are trying to reach the correct way. Getting that feel on how people think and what they want is a key component when working in an environment like this, you need to be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.
Overall just the professionalism throughout the courses here at Niagara University has made myself more confident and comfortable. I have always been a people person and have felt comfortable talking and being in a professional setting but, through the tools and professors offered at Niagara this has taken me one step further. I truly am thankful to be graduating from Niagara, without my experiences through courses, job fairs and meetings with professors I would not be anywhere close to where I am today.
The employee that I chose to interview is the President/CEO Connie Brown. Connie is one of the most inspirational person I have ever met. She is a hard worker who loves to help others as well as our community. Connie started her career off as the Program Coordinator for United Cerebral Palsy Association of Niagara County. With this position came a lot of responsibility, such as training staff and supervising the care aides. Connie also kept up to date with employee time sheets and finical records.
As her career went on she later moved on to, Opportunities Unlimited of Niagara. At this organization she made her way up in the rankings. Connie started off as the program director where she maintained a system of program evaluations, established in-service training programs for all staff and prepared and reviewed day treatment budget which is presently $2.5 Million. After a few years she was named Vice President/Chief Operating Officer. She was responsible for a $15 million dollar budget as well as ensuring quality care for the entire agency had been met.
The Board of directors at the United Way of Greater Niagara reached out to Connie when the old president retired. She served as the interim president for a few months and later on was chosen to hold the position. Connie takes care of a lot of tasks inside and outside of the office. I truly have never met a more involved boss/president in any field that I have worked in. She is constantly on the phone scheduling meetings in hopes to open more doors so we can connect with new people. If I have learned anything from her it is that connecting is key, especially when working in a smaller community like Niagara.
I asked Connie what her favorite part of her job is and she replied, “The feeling when we were able to help someone that needed assistants.” United Way partners up with 29 local agencies that assist those in need. Some of the programs we provide for help with domestic violence cases, providing food to those in needs and substance abuse classes. Our mission statement here is “To invest in programs that focus on Education, Health & Income that deliver measurable results to improve our community today and strengthen it for tomorrow.” Being a part of an organization that can make a difference is truly a blessing. Her least favorite part of the position is the consistent asking for money donations, volunteers, etc. I’ve seen firsthand that working for a nonprofit a lot of people are skeptical on where their money is going, which drives them away from donating or giving back to the community. Overall Connie is a great boss and even better human, she is driven and you can tell she loves being able to help others in need.
Interning at the United Way of Greater Niagara was one of the best paths I could’ve taken in my college career. United Way is located in the business park right in Sanborn NY. It is 2 minutes down the road from the Niagara Falls Airbase. Perfect location if you live near school since it only takes 10-15 minutes to get there. This internship actually lead me to a full time position with the organization and I cannot wait to continue to learn and grow with them. You can expect a lot of experience if you are The Marketing and Special Events Assistant at United Way of Greater Niagara. You will be exposed to many hands on activities such as, organizing pledge cards and mailing letters out. As far as your computer skills go you will need to be able to use, Microsoft word, Excel, Publisher and PowerPoint. If you also know how to create and or manage a website that will be extremely helpful as well.
Personally my favorite part of the job was making the calls, setting up meetings and seeing what agencies we were working with. There’s a lot of people out there who need help so being a part of that felt really satisfying. The only complaint I did have is sometimes on a slower day there would be some busy work that wouldn’t really make a difference, but there is that kind of work at every job. United Way is a nationwide company, they strive each day to help make a difference. Helping others in need whether it’s from drug/alcohol abuse, domestic violence or homelessness makes you feel good about yourself. There are too many people in this world who take their life for granted. You need to be thankful for what you have because there are other people out there that might be struggling or even have nothing. Overall if you are someone who loves hands on jobs, networking with different people and making a difference, this internship would fit you perfectly.