757 Creative ReUse Center

My internship is the collaboration between two entities that I brought together: Project ANiMA and the 757 Creative ReUse Center. I am the interning Director of Development and Productions for Project ANiMA, an ODU faculty project aiming to support local environmental literacy for K-3rd grade students through a climate resilience puppet theater. To support this project, I sought out the 757 Creative ReUse Center as a project partner and host organization for my internship. The 757 Creative ReUse Center is a non-profit second hand arts and craft supplies store dedicated to sustainability. The center collects donated supplies and textiles from the community and offers them at affordable prices in an effort to keep waste out of landfills. They also have a community makers-space, called the Art Room, which Project ANiMA is using to construct the puppets. The center is supplying the materials for the project, which allows the construction of the puppets themselves to also demonstrate sustainability practices.

 

I was inspired to pursue this internship in ODU’s Grant Writing course when guest lecturer Jerry Keir of The Great Basin Institute spoke to our class. When asked about the best way to get into grant writing, Mr. Keir said that “Grant writing is a skill acquired out of necessity to make programs work and make partnerships function.” He encouraged us to be stronger grant writers by going out into the community and getting involved in the organizations that were in alignment with our goals. Essentially, find partners working on the things you care about and contribute to that partnership by bringing in resources. 

 

I put that into practice and approached the 757 Creative ReUse Center about partnering with us on Project ANiMA. In the early days of Project ANiMA we needed a 501(c)(3) community partner to host the project so we could bring in funding. I knew that the ReUse Center had experienced losses due to maintenance issues in their building and the grant funding for their Educational Director was due to run out. I recognized a need in an organization I cared about and also saw a way to fill Project ANiMA’s needs. By connecting them, I’ve been able to contribute to both causes I’m passionate about while advancing their shared goals through my internship. I have also been able to negotiate for 2 additional internship positions at the ReUse Center and am hopeful that those positions will become an ongoing opportunity for ODU students. 

 

Mr. Keir's advice also led me to network with other community organizations that aligned with Project ANiMA’s goals and the ReUse Center’s mission of sustainability. In turn, these connections have contributed to my research for Project ANiMA and provided more opportunities for other ODU students. For example, through networking I helped establish a partnership between the Climate Fresk initiative and ODU’s Earth and Ocean Sciences Graduate Student Organization, resulting in ODU’s first Climate Fresk event.

 

My coursework at ODU has been invaluable for success during my internship. The majority of my work consists of proposal writing for grant funding, planning education programs and working with project collaborators. As such, Dr. Robledo’s Grant Writing course has had the biggest influence on my work. In Grant Writing, I learned to analyze a potential funder's website and past awardees’ proposals to determine the best language and lens to write my proposal in. Similarly, another lesson I found helpful was analyzing the way elements of a proposal can be used to build up the narrative and ethos, such as budget items, project partners and data references. These techniques to hone rhetoric are similar to the way a job applicant should mirror language in a job listing on their resume and cover letter when applying for a position. Each element is an opportunity to persuade the audience that you or what you are proposing is the best candidate for their organization. 

 

The Creative Writing course, taught by Dan Heck, was helpful for developing the puppet play script and considering how different points-of-view can affect the narrative. Consideration of point-of-view and passive voice vs. active voice is also an important aspect of grant writing, since most funders prefer for active third person to be used in proposals. 

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ODU’s Editing and Document Design course taught by Dr. Swatek has provided valuable reference resources, such as Butterick’s Practical Typography and The Copyeditor’s Handbook by Amy Einsohn, as well as grammar assignments to strengthen my copyediting skills. I frequently recall lessons from the New York Times “Copy Edit This!” quizzes, which have helped me remember syntax and grammar rules during the proposal editing process.

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Even entering into this internship as well informed as I was, I still had a lot of room to grow. I had the opportunity to work with Meredith Ardnt, board member of the ReUse Center and experienced grant writer. Working with Meredith was an insightful experience, and her knowledge of  grant stewardship will help me navigate future grant proposals and funding opportunities. She showed me the importance of building a working relationship with members of funding entities to build rapport, credibility and trust to help ensure funding entities are invested in long-term support. Additionally, I had the opportunity to hone my proposal and collaborative writing skills by working on grant proposals alongside Meredith and Dr. Robledo. Stakeholder negotiations is another skill I exercised. Ensuring clear communication between the organization and project collaborators is key to the project's success.

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I plan to pursue a graduate degree in Technical Writing and continue to explore action-oriented convergence research. My internship with the ReUse Center gave me the confidence to know I have been well prepared by Old Dominion University to pursue a career in Technical Writing. I discovered that I enjoy grant writing and working on a collaborative team to further the goals of organizations I care about. It was exhilarating when I received notification that one of my proposals was successful and the ReUse Center would be receiving supplies to support their educational programs.

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My work through Project ANiMA and the 757 Creative ReUse Center illustrates how valuable coursework is for developing skills for a successful internship experience and how valuable internships are in creating a space for practical application of those skills. Additionally, Project ANiMA’s partnership with the ReUSe Center is a great example of how faculty projects and academic research can support the community through mutually beneficial partnerships with nonprofit organizations.