Lottie Malton

Interning at Giving What We Can: The People's Perspective

Lottie's second post on the Summer Internship focuses on the more anecdotal insights to the fortnight and gives personal responses from the people involved.

There are three main insights I will be taking away from my time with Giving What We Can: One conclusion is that being nice and doing good seems to be contagious. About 3 days in to the placement and I noticed myself letting in more cars on the motorway, starting up conversations with the bus driver and stepping aside for strangers on the street far more than normal. In case that gives the impression I was previously a horrible person and have now just been dragged up to normal levels of civility, I consulted my friends as to whether they thought this was the case. Confirmation that I was not previously rude suggests to me that spending 9 hours a day in an office with 20 other morally motivated interns working on alleviating world poverty may have rubbed off on my everyday mood and demeanour, a rather happy consequence.

My second personal insight is that I can and should be more productive with my time: when I could draft a speaker invitation or grant application in a spare 30 minutes to help further the work of Giving What We Can, the similar amount of time I spend each day scrolling through Facebook or YouTube seems rather worthless in comparison. In an office full of highly motivated individuals I picked up many time-management strategies as ideas to streamline my day as well as a greater sense of urgency. Fingers crossed that the dedication and work ethic will extend to my university studies this year.

The third thing that will stick most in my memory is when someone pointed out that by getting just one new member to sign the pledge you will have helped move a huge amount of money to one of the world's most effective causes. The contribution just one pledge makes towards alleviating poverty is just so great that I know this thought will motivate my work for Giving What We Can over the next year.

In order to get a more diverse perspective of the GWWC intern experience the other interns gave me their views:

"The internship has really got me thinking about the message of Giving What We Can, and the power and responsibility we have to improve the lives of those living in poverty. I hope to stay involved with Giving What We Can after the internship." 

"I have had a great time on the internship because I felt like I was able to be really independent whilst also getting as much help as I needed. It felt like we were really valued and as well as the work itself the talks and workshops meant that I feel like I've learnt so much." 

"Being surrounded by similarly passionate people made coming into the office everyday a really rewarding experience and something I looked forward to, rather than a chore. I'd recommend this internship to anyone and everyone who has some interest in charity." 

"Doing the internship has been useful and rewarding. It's a much better use of the fortnight than anything else I could have been doing in that time, and I've enjoyed the sense of community which makes this workplace distinct." 

"Giving What We Can has Given What It Can to persuade me to Give What I Can (to fight global poverty) for the rest of my life." 

The September Internship-Part I

Giving What We Can's September Internship finished last Friday and was a great success! In the first of two posts, Lottie Malton describes her time here.

So what really happens at Giving What We Can HQ? That was the question on my mind as I prepared for my 2-week September internship at the Oxford offices of Giving What We Can. As I coordinate events and publicity for the Cambridge Chapter, I had experience within a University setting, but had no idea what else was involved. So with my laptop ready for action I arrived at the offices on Monday morning with an open mind to what would be happening in the following fortnight.

A morning of ice-breaker games gave the 20 interns a chance to get to know each other before we started work on our projects. We were all given detailed briefs and had a meeting with a member from the central Giving What We Can team to explain to us what we would be doing in our time there. These projects ranged widely, with some working on new promotional videos and info-graphics, some writing blog posts and grant proposals and some researching the value of interventions such as Water Sanitation and Hygiene.

My tasks drew upon my degree discipline, Psychology, as I was to research the psychology of persuasiveness and how these principles could be applied to both the website redesign and conversations about Giving What We Can. Many others were also engaged in projects that made the most of their strengths and throughout the internship there were always opportunities to tailor our roles to our interests. Talking to the other interns near the end of the fortnight it was clear that many shared my perspective of having been pleasantly surprised to find themselves entrusted with such responsibility in their roles. It was great to know we were contributing to the future of Giving What We Can by providing really valuable information, resources and research.

The projects however were only the half of it. There was a rich programme of workshops and information sessions for all the interns which gave us many opportunities to learn more about Giving What We Can as well as improving our own skill sets. For example, a public speaking workshop made us face up to our fears and gave us really valuable tips and pointers relevant in any professional field. An ethical careers session by Ben Todd of 80,000 hours (Giving What We Can's sister organisation) provided us with some really constructive suggestions, particularly relevant for those of us going into a final university year. After a one-to-one session I walked away with a list of contacts to talk to, career paths to explore and new ways to view the impact my career could have in the world.

The Chapter Workshop day was another highlight for me. In one day we covered important issues in running a university chapter, including consistent branding, event management, the psychology of speaking persuasively about Giving What We Can and how to run a Big Match campaign, a great new initiative started by the Warwick Chapter. Not only did we all learn a lot about Giving What We Can throughout the day, the opportunity to talk with members from other chapters really helped with the generation of new ideas. Exciting things will definitely be happening in the coming months!

At the end of two weeks I feel like I have learnt an incredible amount and not just about Giving What We Can. With no prior experience of an office environment I really valued the insight into this kind of working life. Having daily check-ins with senior staff, observing the structure of an office team, and seeing how to develop a great working ethos were all new to me but will definitely stand me in good stead for any future career. Others mentioned the benefits of being able to see a relatively new organisation in a period of growth and how this was being managed. Discussing our post-internship plans a number of us are keen to get more involved with university chapters, writing blog posts and fundraising for our recommended charities. Many of the ideas thought up over the two weeks will be developed further and implemented over the next few months, so hopefully the impact of our time at Giving What We Can will extend beyond the two weeks work we have done.

Summing up the internship is difficult for me, as I don't feel like it's the end of something. There isn't a sense of finality as I prepare to return to University because so much of what I have learnt will be coming with me. My only words of advice would be that if you are at all interested in Giving What We Can and their vision of alleviating world poverty by 2030, then apply for next September's programme. In the meantime just watch this space, as between now and then we have a whole lot of exciting plans.

Lottie studied Philosophy at Cambridge, where she served as events manager for the school's chapter of Giving What We Can.

Lottie Malton

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Interning at Giving What We Can: The People's Perspective

The September Internship-Part I