About Cahaba River Society
During summer 2023, the Munson Foundation provided me with the scholarship opportunity to serve as the Communications and Public Relations intern for the Cahaba River Society (CRS). CRS is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization based in Birmingham dedicated to protecting and restoring the Cahaba River watershed and its rich diversity of life. It serves several communities in the area including the Jefferson, Shelby, Bibb, Perry and Dallas counties. CRS impacts these diverse communities through its programs, which involve river stewardship and educational, volunteer and fundraising opportunities.
My Work
In my time at CRS, I worked on a plethora of projects, which include outlined media campaigns, marketing and communication plans, budgets, fact sheets, press releases, event backgrounders, social media deliverables and content calendars. I also made several copyedits to CRS owned media materials, including its websites and 2022 Annual Impact Report.
I also advanced my skills in various, useful software. With the guidance of Katie Shaddix, I learned how to draft and send email campaigns in MailChimp, schedule and create social posts in the Meta Business Suite and create and brand deliverables with Canva Pro. You can view my portfolio I created during my time with CRS here.
Reflection
After spending four months with the Cahaba River Society, I am happy to say I gained incredible experiences and skills and grew my love for nonprofit work. I am eternally grateful to the Munson Foundation for funding this opportunity and Tracy Sims, APR and Matthew S. VanDyke for presenting it to me. I would also like to extend my appreciation to everyone in the office, especially Katie Shaddix and Beth Stewart, for making me feel welcomed and valued as a member of their team for the summer. All these experiences have been beneficial to my career in public relations, and the months I spent at CRS are invaluable.
This experience is one I will never forget, and I am incredibly thankful to the Munson Foundation, UA College of Communication & Information Sciences, the C&IS APR department and the Cahaba River Society for providing me with this internship. I look forward to using the knowledge I gained at CRS as I continue my studies during my senior year and in the future.
This experience is one I will never forget, and I am incredibly thankful to the Munson Foundation, UA College of Communication & Information Sciences, the C&IS APR department and the Cahaba River Society for providing me with this internship. I look forward to using the knowledge I gained at CRS as I continue my studies during my senior year and in the future.
Below are examples of Instagram graphics I created for CRS's Fry-Down Campaign. More detailed information is in my portfolio.
