TWU Handshake
During my 8-week summer internship with the Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton & Wise Counties, I learned a vast amount of knowledge about the functions of the development team. Since every business is currently impacted by the Covid-19 Pandemic, the internship was completed virtually through Zoom meetings, online trainings and phone calls. The organization had plenty of tasks ready for me each week and I was actively engaged in completing each assignment.
The Children’s Advocacy Center offered valuable trainings on recognizing child abuse and the proper steps to help any children that may be suffering from abuse. I completed online trainings for “Recognizing and Reporting Abuse” for both the state of Texas and the national certification. In addition, I watched an educational video on human trafficking in Texas and completed the “On Watch” training with the Malouf Foundation. Tasks specific to the development team include; editing the website for written content, calling donors to notify them of the online auction, researching outdoor spaces for yearly events, adding children’s books to the Amazon wish list and researching local groups and organizations for grant proposals and advertising.
It was interesting to see how the department was handling the Pandemic, they really are thriving regardless of the current circumstances. Since the organization is run by financial contributions matched by the government 1:1, the team has continued to work on supporting the organization while they work from home. The information I learned in the online trainings has helped me to become a more confident new mom and pre-service teacher. I greatly enjoyed the Zoom meetings with Michelle and completing my 10 hours in tasks for the organization each week. I am very grateful for the opportunity to intern with the Children’s Advocacy Center for Denton & Wise Counties and to participate in the Texas Woman’s University Urban Fellows Scholarship Program. -Candace Hernandez
