Student Name: Bronwyn
Pathway Programme: Pathways to Charity and Development
Internship Role: Fundraising and Marketing Assistant
Internship Employer: Exeter Leukaemia Fund
Summary of Organisation: ELF is Devon’s blood cancer charity, providing support to patients across the county. Established in 1980, ELF provides a range of services to patients and also supports the haematology team at the RDUH NHS Trust. We are the only dedicated blood cancer charity in Devon, and support between 300 and 400 patients and families each year. We are entirely funded by voluntary donations and gifts in Wills, raising around Ā£450,000 per year. We are a team of 11 staff, with a further team of around 30 volunteers supporting our work. We have a head office in Exeter, as well as an office in the RD&E Hospital. We are a friendly, inclusive organisation and work closely together with each other and our colleagues in the NHS to support patients.
Please briefly outline the project/tasks/responsibilities you worked on during your Professional Pathways internship:
“I designed a new flyer to raise awareness of blood cancer symptoms and of the services that ELF offers. I used Canva, and modelled it off the existing flyer but also made some modifications to try and reach a wider and younger audience.
I also created a content calendar planning out the types of social media content that ELF could use for each day of Blood Cancer Awareness Month (September). I then created 10 of these posts, reels, and stories for platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Because ELF is aiming to reach wider audiences, I researched current social media trends and tried to incorporate more interactivity and reels to draw in different users to those who usually interact with ELFās content.
In addition to these projects, I also helped at the 10k River Run, meeting ELFās runners and capturing videos and photos to later create a Instagram reel about the event.“
How has the Professional Pathways programme helped you in taking the next steps in your career?
“The experience of working in marketing for a charity has helped push me towards looking at some other marketing and fundraising roles to apply to post-graduation. Hearing from a range of people already working in the charity sector during the training has also led me to look into a range of other organisations and roles in the sector, which I previously wasnāt aware of.”
What achievement(s) were you particularly proud of during your Pathways internship?
“I was particularly proud of creating a flyer that ELF felt would be effective for raising awareness of the charity. I was keen to ensure I created a flyer that spread this message clearly because itās an important one for the community of blood cancer patients in Devon, and so I put a lot of work into this first project. I was therefore pleased to have successfully created this first project up to standard and in a way that ELF felt would be very effective.”
Given the Professional Pathways internship is 35 hours in total, what advice would you give to other students to ensure they gain as much as possible from the experience?
“Try to ask for as many opportunities and projects as possible, while also being realistic with what can be achieved in the 35 hours. Itās really valuable to try and gain experience in a variety of areas and to find out what itās like to work in different areas of the organisation. Also, ask lots of questions, and get to know the lovely team hosting you.“
What advice would you give to a student who has to complete an internship via remote or hybrid working?
“Use time blocking to map out your day! At the start of each remote work shift, quickly write down what you need to achieve and order it by urgency, then allocate how much time each task will take. It really helped me keep on track of tasks while I was managing my own work.“
Why would you recommend the Professional Pathways programme to other students?
“Itās a great opportunity to find out more about a sector youāre interested in, hear from people already working in it, and get good work experience.“