Summer Journals

Happy Friday!

I can't believe it is July 30th. I honestly think this summer has been the fastest summer ever...and I'm not okay with that! Today is (officially) my last day at Goodwill. That is crazy. I have been so busy...

The past week has been super busy. Meetings have kept me occupied, along with searching for Halloween and back-to-school. I went through the past several days and found Halloween costumes. We are trying to put a binder together for every Goodwill store to encourage people to be creative with their Halloween costumes! It is definately easier (and more cost effective) to be creative and buy your halloween costume (or parts of it!) at the Goodwill store. So, at every register in our area, we are going to put together ideas for costumes. That was my job. I made a powerpoint of 50 halloween costume ideas. And, that means I am trying to be creative with mine. (I may or may not already have my halloween costume planned out...). These went from the usual decades, to a "deviled egg", to the seasons, etc. All of the costumes can be made from clothes found at a Goodwill store all put together.

I have enjoyed my internship so much. I can't believe today is my last day! I told them I would definately come back to visit. The Watermelon Festival is next weekend so I will definately be going to that! Woo! I have learned so much from the people here. I definately learned a lot about a non-profit organization, and more importantly, Goodwill.

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Hello all! It is Friday and no one could be happier than me! This week has been long. Always fun, but long. I have been busy! This week has consisted of labeling envelopes, stuffing envelopes for board members, and making "secret" phone calls.

 Goodwill is a non profit organization. Therefore, they rely on the donations, the money made from selling these donations, and monetary donations. It is that time of the year where we are sending out our annual report to different people. This is a brochure that gives some inspiring stories and explains Goodwill's mission all over again-- starting with the number of people they helped this year! It was really cool! I love reading about the stories of the people who had nothing, not even a job, who have evolved so much through the luxury of work. And, after reading these stories, you really do realize that working and earning a paycheck is a luxury.

Wednesday, my supervisor was going to be out of the office. So, I got to make phone calls. The business is so dependant on our customers and donors--therefore, we have to make sure the customer service is a perfect 10. Which means, I got to call all 22 stores in Central Virginia and Hampton Roads. I evaluated different things--like how many times the phone rang, how they answered the phone, if they answered the question accurately, if they were helpful, if they identified themselves, etc. Most of the stores were really good-but of course, there were the exceptional stores.

After I called the stores, I called the 4 career centers. I pretended that I had lost my job and was looking for different career services, and asked what they offered. I found out some interesting things! I got to type up my full report and it is being distributed to the necessary people :).

This week I also got to sit in on a marketing meeting. Goodwill was meeting with different a company that is in charge of several popular radio stations around Richmond. It is so interesting to see how much advertising makes a difference!

Woo! Friday! :)

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I attmepted to write in this yesterday, but was constantly reminded how tired I was. I am one of those people who requires my 8 hours a night. When I don't get it, I am one cranky little girl! I was late going to bed Tuesday night because I got to babysit my favorite kiddos. I have babysat them for years now (Jordan will be 8 soon! And she less than a year old when I started!) It is so funny to see how they've grown up! They make me laugh so hard. Definately worth being up past my bedtime :). However, on top of being overly tired, I left my coffee at home. Hello caffine headache at 11:00 am. It was not pretty.

I got some secret shopping in last week! I got a 25 dollar gift certificate to shop. How cool is that! I am given money to shop... I can get used to this! I went to two stores last week (I had one more on the list, however, I got a little turned around.) Two more stores tomorrow! Then all I have to do is come back and evaluate the stores. Such a good deal! I have a list of stuff for my room next year ( I am very into crafting at the moment) that I am looking for. I will start at Goodwill!

Yesterday I got to sit in on the Watermelon festival meeting. Every year, Carytown does this biggg Watermelon festival! One of our stores (Second Debut) is in Carytown. They have more of the upscale donations. I got to see how the planning was working out. And I was volunteered for some decorating :) ! Unfortunately, at the time of the festival, I will be finished my internship--however, I am pretty sure I am coming back for it! So excited.

More secret shopping tomorrow!!!

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I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July! The weekend was super nice--4 days of lounging by the pool and spending time with friends and family! I went to the fireworks show at Quantico--and enjoyed it so much! It was my first time up there. So nice--and let me tell you, it was difficult to wake up Tuesday morning to come into work (especially when it was 103 degrees and the AC in the building had gotten turned off over the weekend. Tuesday was hot and stuffy!!)

I have been spending the past couple days doing different things around the office--including changing the marquee sign out front, dividing stacks of posters for each of our stores, and doing more research on back to school and halloween ads. On a side note, I'll let you in on a little secret... I don't know much about advertising. My artistic ability is...well, non-existant, and if it doesn't involve pink, green, or Lilly, I'm not very crafty. So, just trying to decide what advertisements are good/bad is a challange. But, nonetheless, I am trying!  :) Laura asked me to be thinking of ideas of what I thought Goodwill should use for their back-to-school and halloween ads! (No pressure at all, right? :) ). I am having a little difficulty finding a variety of these ads (but it's still early July. No one even wants to think about going back to school right now!!!) We are looking at two separate categories for back to school--one for younger children, and then a like "back-to-campus" one for college-aged children. (I keep coming across the JC Penny ad from last year--the one that looks like The Breakfast Club...I don't think I'll ever get that song out of my head!)

 At the Goodwill store opening in Williamsburg one of the girls who had come in to buy was talking about how she had bought almost everything for her student apartment (She was a student at William and Mary) at a Goodwill store! How cool! After she graduated, she was going to donate it back so someone else could get use out of it. I never even thought about that! What better for a broke college student!!

I like having a four-day workweek (especially after a four-day weekend!)

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How is it already July? I can't get over how fast this summer is flying by. And this weekend is the 4th of July (Hello, three day weekend!! Or four day weekend in my case, because my supervisor is amazingly flexible!!) I have really been enjoying my time at Goodwill. It is so nice that I am able to pretty much pick my own hours. While most days I have been working 9-4 ish, it is amazing that I have the flexibility to choose.

   This week has been relatively slow-- between researching different back to school ads (and starting with some halloween ads!!) and organizing. Tuesday I was asked to organize these brochure things we have in stacks of 50 each and stack them. Well, 1,714 brouchures later (not that I was counting or anything... :) ) the closet looked much more organized! Yesterday I got to sit in on a marketing and communications meeting. The people I work with are so much fun-- they are friendly and entertaining, yet they get done what they need to get done. After a (much needed) girls lunch with some of my coworkers, I got back to work. I am amazed at how the people who work here love what they do. They are all about Goodwill's mission and helping other people. They had an associate campaign where if you contribute a certain amount to Goodwill's mission you get certain incentives (gift certificiates, paid days off, etc.) I love that the gift certificates are for Goodwill stores!

   This internship has really opened my eyes. I had NO idea how much good Goodwill does. And actually, I have found that when people ask what I'm doing this summer, the conversation takes several minutes because a lot of people didn't know either. It is really cool! It is so much more than donating unwanted things. While that is great (and definately needed! and it keeps things recycled and out of landfills!), the mission is so much more than that.

   It's almost the weekend! Bring on the pool, red, white, and blue, and fireworks!

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