Summer Interns Make the Ask

For two and a half weeks, the IRC Atlanta office has been buzzing with excitement. An energetic group of interns, most of whom are undergraduate students spending their summer volunteering with IRC, have been busy with not only their own work but also partaking in IRC Atlanta’s first-ever intern-driven grassroots fundraising campaign. 

Given the challenge to raise $1,000 in one month, Tom Barnes and Bojana Bozic, both interning in resource development, organized the Summer Intern Fundraising Blitz. 

After an initial strategy meeting, the summer interns set about raising money the old fashioned way: They shared their enthusiasm for the work that IRC Atlanta does, and simply asked friends, family and other contacts to make a donation. 

Setting up a campaign Facebook page helped to mobilize energy within the group and made it easy to spread the word about why and where to donate.  In less than 20 days, they reached and surpassed their goal, raising over $1,500 goal for IRC Atlanta. 

The diverse group of interns participating in the fundraiser work in a variety of  programs, each with a unique IRC Atlanta experience to share with their family and friends. Anne Holm, a resettlement intern and one of the top threefundraisers, wrote to her family about her personal interactions with refugees. “The coolest part of my job is meeting the refugees and witnessing firsthand the incredible spirit and will to succeed they each possess. The summer fundraiser blitz was my way of giving back even more to the work of IRC Atlanta in support of these courageous individuals.” 

According to Rachael Fick, a computer literacy intern, the experience has been beneficial to herself.  “The ability to fundraise is not only valuable to your organization, but is also a great skill to have on a resume. It shows off your dedication, drive, and ability to connect with individuals and gives us the chance to discuss the importance of our work and promote IRC Atlanta.” 

Top fundraisers Tom Barnes, Becky Rowe and Rachel Fick with Ellen Beattie (on left).
Photo: IRC

As a prize for their efforts, IRC Atlanta’s Executive Director, Ellen Beattie, will be treating the top three fundraisers to lunch, where they will getthe inside scoop on what it is like to run the state’s largest refugee resettlement agency.

Upon completion of the fundraiser, Tom Barnes and Bojana Bozic said, “It was an incredible experience to launch this campaign and give back to IRC Atlanta. We hope that this grassroots fundraising blitz has set the bar to encouragethe next term of interns to carry on and surpass this newly begun tradition.”