Guest post by Hannah Bernabe, HFH GLA Summer Intern
Through Conoco Phillips, I was given the amazing opportunity to be an intern for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles. When given the choice of which non-profit organization to take, I chose Habitat for Humanity because I felt that I could contribute to it so much more than the others. I still remember my first day at Habitat; I tried to figure out what I would actually be doing for the next few weeks. But to be perfectly honest, the only thing I really knew about HFH was that they built houses for people. But in the 7 weeks that I interned for HFH GLA, I gained more than a summer internship.
By working with the Entertainment, Marketing and Communications depart
ment, I helped out anyone who needed assistance, such as making the inventory, creating a gifts table for events, and helping file paperwork. I gradually learned different ways to truly cater to the families that receive these wonderful homes, from fundraisers to various kinds of volunteer builds. There were moments where I felt like I was in an episode of The Office, but I started to learn about the organization and their true objectives. The once intimidating acronyms and codes became common knowledge, and I didn’t feel like just a random intern. I was part of a team, ready to make a family’s life better.
An example of that would be my experience joining the build at the Lynwood site. This was my first visit to a building site, and it was very different from the usual office routine that I was used to. I saw that everything that I have been doing with the staff is going into building a home for these families. The volunteers were more than willing to build these houses despite the heat and dirt. I heard amazing stories from families, such as the Carrazco family, who shared their story about how Habitat was able to provide a house that gave them security and a sense of belonging. I consider myself one of the lucky ones to have been able to experience this effort that is driven with hard work and love.
Now that my internship has ended, I realized that I’ll miss going to the Sandhill office and my time there. Yes, it would’ve been great hanging out with friends during my last summer before college starts. However, I would have missed out on this awesome experience of being part of the Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles team, with people that make it their job to help others. I’d like to thank the staff of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Los Angeles, especially the amazing women of EMC for taking me in as their intern, and being such wonderful role models. I’m grateful to have been part of the Habitat for Humanity family.
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Labels: affordable housing, fox gives, habitat for humanity of greater L.A., internship
ment, I helped out anyone who needed assistance, such as making the inventory, creating a gifts table for events, and helping file paperwork. I gradually learned different ways to truly cater to the families that receive these wonderful homes, from fundraisers to various kinds of volunteer builds. There were moments where I felt like I was in an episode of The Office, but I started to learn about the organization and their true objectives. The once intimidating acronyms and codes became common knowledge, and I didn’t feel like just a random intern. I was part of a team, ready to make a family’s life better.