From Intern to Staff
Working with Rebuilding Together Kent County has been such an amazing opportunity to feel more integrated and involved with this community. I am forever grateful to Washington College for setting up my initial internship with Genevieve, as now I am a fully involved staff member. It’s really important for me (as I think it should be for everyone), to give back time and resources to a place that has been so rewarding both academically and socially. Knowing neighbors in my own circles that would benefit from services like the ones RTKC provides, has shown me just how crucial Rebuilding Together truly is. But the most important lesson that I will continue to advocate for wherever I go, is that everyone deserves a safe and healthy home.
As an intern, my main responsibility was to help design a county-wide survey dedicated to understanding the true housing stock of our area, filling in a lot of the missing data that is not captured by the Census. With this data, RTKC will be able to share a more accurate picture of the true condition of available housing, providing a real target that we can share with grantmakers, donors and policy makers. Not only this, but the data from this survey will be accessible to other community nonprofits who can use it to inform their own important work.
Starting this summer, I have been working full time for the non-profit as an Administrative Assistant, as well as continuing my original mission of creating and helping to implement the housing survey. My job encompasses many tasks, but one I am especially proud of is assisting neighbors as they complete the beginning stages of their application. I am excited to continue these pursuits, and continue my own efforts to support and uplift the community we share in whatever way I can. I am continuously amazed by how Rebuilding Together Kent County continues to grow while supporting a collective that is almost entirely volunteers, and I’m so thankful for Denise and Genevieve throughout these first stages of this journey.
By Caryl Townsend