Our winter/spring 2010 interns are heavily involved in projects in multiple departments here at PROJECT C.U.R.E., and we look forward to posting their journal entries here soon. The following individuals are currently working through their internships here PROJECT C.U.R.E.'s international headquarters in Centennial, Colorado:

• Lizzy Chapman, who is soon to complete her MBA in health administration at the University of Colorado-Denver, is working closely with the director of operations for the Denver collections and distribution center to prepare for PROJECT C.U.R.E.'s involvement in the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses' 2010 Congress, the group's annual conference.
• Sampada Joshee, from the University of Colorado-Boulder, has been working on various projects supporting the operations department of PROJECT C.U.R.E., which oversees U.S. collections and international shipping.
• Rosalind Dillon, from the University of Colorado-Boulder, works within the communications department on various projects, including research into speaking opportunities for Dr. Douglas Jackson, the president and CEO of PROJECT C.U.R.E.
• Allison Dando, a recent graduate of the graduate business school at the University of Denver's Daniels College of Business, supports PROJECT C.U.R.E.'s director of corporate development with outreach and planning activities for the organization's upcoming 2010 First Ladies' Luncheon.
• Yuanjie Du, currently studying at the University of Denver for a master's degree in economics, is working on a feasibility study for PROJECT C.U.R.E. to determine if, how, and when to roll out a volunteer rewards program to honor people for their service contributions to the organization.
• Becky Neely, who will begin studying for her master's degree at the University of Denver's Josef Korbel School of International Studies in the fall, is working in the communications department where she is writing and producing PROJECT C.U.R.E.'s spring Communique and editing website content and other written materials.
• Ava Fuqua, who is working towards a master's degree in public administration at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs, is serving in the project development office where she assists with needs assessment planning and C.U.R.E. Kits for Kids.

It's a busy time at PROJECT C.U.R.E., and we thank all of our interns for their time, talents, and energy!

In the flurry of the beginning of 2010, we forgot to officially thank our Fall 2009 interns for their contributions. Four students representing diligently worked on projects in communications, government relations, corporate development, and operations. We are grateful to them for their time, energy, and input throughout the fall, and we wish them the best of luck in their future endeavors!

• Ben Zenner - University of Denver
• Riley Smith - University of Denver
• Alyssa Westerman - University of Colorado (Boulder)
  
• Ashley Armstrong - University of Colorado (Boulder)
  

Benjamin Zenner
Marketing and Communications Intern
Fall 2009

This experience with Project C.U.R.E. has really opened up eyes to the many complexities that are involved in running a large-scale nonprofit organization. Through working, interviewing, and just my exposure to the various individuals that comprise the success of this mission, I have realized that there are an incredible amount of factors that need to converge in order to provide this aid on a global scale. My time discussing various issues with Doug Jackson and understanding how he is able to carry about his work with such a calm, very purposeful manner, has been a source of inspiration as I move into the rest of my senior year and my life after college. For some time now, I have been developing this mindset that we have an incredible amount of resources and ideas at our disposal that simply need to be integrated in order to enhance the impact that they were initially conceived to do. Project C.U.R.E. exemplifies this idea through its correlation of all of its different departments who work to raise donations, its operations and sponsors/partners that bring together thousands of volunteers on a national level, and its constant drive to propagate real change in developing countries.

Without my exposure to the infrastructure and methods of Project C.U.R.E., I would not be pursuing in the same manner my goals to create a beneficial impact on our society. I knew prior to joining this organization that I wanted to work in the nonprofit sector but never would I have conceived many of my recent plans if not for Project C.U.R.E.'s fundraising techniques such as their C.U.R.E. Coffee. The allocation of funding through the sale of consumer goods is an idea that I am going to utilize in my upcoming initiatives to not only raise capital for humanitarian efforts but to mitigate our country's gross over-consumption. Seeing how Project C.U.R.E. generates funding and diffuses its message through the media and the internet has also taught me how to generate exposure for causes. Through the creation of a Facebook Causes page and videos (about C.U.R.E. Kits and the volunteer experience), I've realized that multiple avenues of marketing techniques are necessary in order to truly reach the largest spectrum of demographics.

Project C.U.R.E.'s initiative to continue pursuing partnerships with corporations and other entities is also something that I will take from this experience. This organization is obviously highly dependent upon its sponsors and volunteers for its existence and rather than be complacent with our current partners, we constantly push ourselves to seek out more be it from a Catholic church or the US Navy. The potential that we have for continual growth is what amazes me as well as it seems like Project C.U.R.E. has nothing limiting it from achieving distribution and collection centers in every state in our country…and possibly beyond that to places like Canada and Europe.  This determination and continual expansion have definitely inspired me to not limit my goals' potential to become as widespread as that of Project C.U.R.E..  Jim Jackson's story of founding this organization through just one trip to Brazil and belief that he could send back aid without even knowing how to do so is something else I will recall as to not become overwhelmed with my own work. He learned how to do something that he had no prior exposure to through experiencing it firsthand and generating partnerships with people who had the skills necessary to get the job done most effectively.  I do understand that everything needs to initially begin at a small scale like that of Jim Jackson's garage and that is exactly what I aim to do over the next stage of my life. 

After much deliberation, we have made our selections for the fall internship program. PROJECT C.U.R.E. will be hosting interns in the following departments at the international office: C.U.R.E. Clinics, operations, communications, corporate development, and project development.

We look forward to an engaging and productive fall semester. Please check back for more updates on the program, and potentially blog posts from the interns themselves.