My Summer at Get Connected

by Former Member

Friday 14th August 2015

Clapping good

My name is John. I’m originally from Kent, Ohio, and I have been an intern at Get Connected for the past three months.

My journey with GC actually started before I even arrived in the UK. I was looking to go abroad, but I also needed an internship in order to graduate. At first I thought I could only do one or the other, but I found a programme that could help me find an internship abroad. What I didn’t know was that it would be my most memorable summer I have ever had.

After being accepted into the programme I was offered a couple of internships, but I didn’t think any were a good fit. Then I was introduced to Get Connected – the helpline charity who helped young people no matter what the issue. This was something I thought would be a great experience.

On my first day I was able to see the main helpline centre before going straight into a meeting to plan the future vision of the organization. Right away I thought I was a little in over my head – I had no idea what they were talking about or how I could even help. The team did understand this and they did their best to help me settle in – very much appreciated.

A couple weeks later I was asked to help with one of their fundraisers – a quiz hosted for the media industry. I’d never even been to a pub quiz so felt completely out of my element and again, but everyone at Get Connected was there to help me understand how everything worked. The fundraiser was a brilliant success and we were able to raise enough to keep the helpline running for three whole months.

My next big challenge was Race to the Stones – a two day ultra-marathon which takes place along the oldest known path in Britain, The Ridgeway, and is a massive fundraising event for GC. Here, the team worked to keep participants motivated and cheerful. We camped overnight and drove all over the Ridgeway. I must say one of the best parts of the event was Beyoncé, a border terrier whose owner made her honorary mascot of Get Connected.

While I was out and about sometimes and did help with events, most of the time was spent in the office. Here everyone is always working hard to figure out how to make the service better, but sometimes we did get lost in conversation and would forget we were even at work.

I wouldn’t have been able to take part in so many awesome things without the help of the incredible team who work at Get Connected – huge thanks to Catherine, John, Katie, Genevieve, Ruth, Alex H, Nancy, Caroline, Jessica and everyone else who works or volunteers at Get Connected.

They are the real, every day heroes who are trying to make a difference and I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my summer any other way. I want to say a huge ‘Thank You’ for everything I have learned and everything you have done for me while I’ve been here. This isn’t goodbye, just see ya later!

This post was originally part of the Get Connected website. YouthNet and Get Connected merged to form The Mix in 2016.