Communications & Volunteer Engagement InternAt — Girls Incorporated of Orange County

This internship offers a blended experience that gives the intern an inside look at both our school-based programs and our volunteer department operations. One day each week will be spent on-site supporting program staff during school-based sessions to gain firsthand knowledge of our mission and participant experience. The remaining hours will be completed in the office or virtually, focusing on communications, outreach, and administrative projects that strengthen volunteer engagement and improve department systems.

A major component of this internship will involve contributing to the evaluation of our current intern onboarding process, training materials, and site placement resources across multiple locations. This hands-on evaluation project will help us refine how we support future interns while allowing the student to apply communications and research skills.

Day-to-Day Tasks:

Learning Objective 1: Strengthen Practical Communications Skills• Assisting with outreach events and info sessions• Staffing tabling events with the team• Supporting social media content ideas or simple graphics• Helping draft outreach emails or info sheets• Assisting with community service and volunteer social event planning - Take pictures and create recaps of service events.Learning Objective 2: Learn Volunteer Management Processes & Systems• Email communication with interns and volunteers• Checking in with volunteers and gathering feedback• Monthly recap summaries of volunteer needs and trends• Researching Bloomerang capabilities• Building clear instruction guides for:    - Creating events (admin side)    - Assigning volunteer roles           - Scheduling volunteers    - Creating volunteer accounts    - Logging hours    - App walkthroughsLearning Objective 3: Support Program Delivery & Strengthen Understanding of Youth Services• Supporting on-site program staff with prep and engagement• Assisting with material setup• Observing curriculum facilitation• Helping gather insight for the final internship-evaluation project
Final Internship Project:The intern will help our team evaluate the current internship process by reviewing training materials, communication methods, placement documents, and onboarding resources across multiple locations. This includes:• Reviewing what interns receive during onboarding• Identifying what’s helpful, confusing, redundant, or missing• Gathering insights from existing interns and volunteers• Compiling recommendations to strengthen the overall process

Training Provided:

Learning Objective 1:
• Overview of Girls Inc. branding and messaging
• Digital communication basics (email templates, voice/tone guidelines)
• Event support fundamentals
• Hands-on training with staff on outreach and tabling
Learning Objective 2: Learn Volunteer Management Processes & Systems
• Bloomerang training (volunteer management system)
• Step-by-step guidance on volunteer scheduling, event creation, and automations
• Orientation to internal volunteer workflows
Learning Objective 3:
• Program overview from staff
• Mandated Reporter training to best identify red flags when working with youth populations.
• Site expectations, youth-interaction guidelines, and safety practices
• Shadowing and debriefing with program leaders

Learning Outcome:

1. Strengthen Practical Communications Skills
The intern will apply mass-media and communications tools in a nonprofit setting through outreach, social media support, community engagement, tabling, and assisting with event planning.
2. Learn Volunteer Management Processes & Systems
The intern will gain experience working with volunteer operations, software tools, and behind-the-scenes logistics.
3. Support Program Delivery & Strengthen Understanding of Youth Services
The intern will gain direct exposure to school-based programming by supporting one program site weekly.