One week ago I arrived in New York City, five thousand miles and ten-flight hours away from the sunny beaches of my home state of Hawaii. Two days ago I moved into a spacious Gramercy apartment that seems far too luxurious for a couple of summer interns. Today I sit on the 8th floor of East 26th Street in coveted office space overlooking Madison Square Park, just a short walk from the iconic Flatiron Building and a prime location to take photos of the Empire State Building. Blogging on my first day of work, I feel slightly guilty for all that I have been blessed with in the recent weeks.
Last night, as the excitement of my first full day on my own in New York wound down, I came across two articles from my local newspaper that brought down my high. The first article discussed how the Domestic Violence Action Center (a non-profit) has experienced an increase in calls during the recent recession; the second article detailed the layoffs that many Hawaii non-profits have been forced to make due to cutbacks in funds resultant of the recession. The juxtaposition of these two articles was a sobering reminder of the critical role of non-profits in society. Non-profits step in to fill in the gap left between what government and businesses provide for the common good; however the recession has forced both the public and private sectors to scale back. It is in trying economic times when the importance of non-profit work is especially pronounced, when the effects of cutbacks in funding are especially palpable, and when it is especially vital to support non-profits in order to maintain the services that they provide.
While I will enjoy picturesque lunches beside the Flatiron Building, the real reason I am in New York is to learn more about the non-profit sector and to gain a better understanding of its relationship with the public and private sectors. I am a third-year student studying Political Science and pursuing a minor in English at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, and I am thrilled to complete my practicum at Grassroots.org. Growing up in an era when Google is a verb and when Facebook and Twitter have revolutionized social networking, I recognize the Internet as an instrumental domain for communication and information gathering. I strongly believe in the mission of Grassroots.org to ensure that non-profits have access, free of charge, to the technology and resources needed to establish a virtual presence in an increasingly digital and financially trying world. I am excited to work for a non-profit that serves the non-profit sector and am looking forward to a wonderful summer!
Find Us On