Five 18 Family Services

Camp Counselor

May - July 2022 • Brookneal, VA

What I liked

I got to work with some incredible staff and love on the best kids. The entire summer taught be so much about myself and about kids from hard places and how to best serve them.

What I wish was different

We were definitely short-staffed but we made it work! Hopefully, in the future we'll have more counselors.

Advice

Come prepared to have the hardest summer of your life but also the best summer of your life. Come with an attitude of humility because the kids really can teach you so much. If you invest in your relationship with the Lord, your relationships with the other counselors, and in just having fun with the kids, it will be the most rewarding summer of your life!

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Marketing & Donor Engagement Volunteer

August 2020 • Lynchburg, VA

What I liked

I have thoroughly enjoyed being able to use what I am learning in my Strategic Communications class and applying it to the work I am doing with Patrick Henry. I also appreciate how the tasks I've done have taught me more and speak into my Strat Comm degree. PHFS is filled with very talented individuals in a team-building environment.

What I wish was different

They need to and are working on spreading more awareness of their current services and working on stepping away from being known for the Boy's and Girl's Home, which is a service they no longer provide. I wish they were more aware of the negative impact that not being more intentional in making this point clear, has on their marketing and their organization as a whole.

Advice

One piece of advice I would share about this experience is that it is a smaller non-profit that has a big goal that they'd like to achieve by 2030, but between then and now they have many steps to take to reach that goal. For anyone who would be interested in volunteering, interning, and/or working for this non-profit I would encourage each to bring their different perspectives and experience to assist in bringing solutions to the table.

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Camp Counselor

June - July 2019 • Brookneal, VA

What I liked

The organization is based on helping children from abusive homes and foster care. It also helps train the parents of adopted children on how to help love them in the most gospel-centered manner.