CARE Humane Society
CARE Humane is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that focuses on animal welfare and education. Located in Auburn, Alabama, its main job is to service those in the Auburn-Opelika community.
CARE's mission is "...to advance humane treatment and responsible ownership of companion animals through community education, animal sheltering and adoption, and alleviation of all animal suffering." To learn more, head to https://www.carehumane.org/ .
Becoming a
Development Specialist
In July 2024, I started as the Lead Development Intern for CARE. Right off the bat, I was writing press releases, taking photos, leading photoshoots with partners, covering events, and copy editing any document having to do with development.
By October 2024, I was offered the position of Development Specialist and worked hand-in-hand with CARE's Director of Development. With a new title, I became the sole person in charge of all social media content creation, website design, and public relations. While my day-to-day was packed with new twists and turns, I was always up for a challenge. My boss and I tackled anything to do with animal promotion, business partnerships, fundraising events/campaigns, and high-dollar donor relations. I am incredibly grateful to have had this role, which gave me hands-on experience that will help me reach my dreams in the long run.
I also led an amazing team of interns in many different areas: TikTok content creation, blog writing, press releases, graphic design, photography/videography, website design, and development initiatives.
Look At My Work!
Social Media
Social Media Management + Creation
From October until March, I ran CARE Humane Society's social media. This included photographing animals, making graphics, working with administration on requests, scheduling posts, and writing all captions. When I started, CARE only had 12.4k Instagram followers and 38k Facebook followers. I'm happy to say I've grew CARE's social media to 13.1k Instagram followers and 38.5k Facebook followers in less than 6 months. Their engagement has also significantly increased with over 500,000 monthly views on Instagram and 1 million monthly views on Facebook.
Photography
DSLR Photography
When I first started my internship in July of 2024, one of my core responsibilities was photographing the animals, events, and promotions at CARE. I'm a big DSLR person, so you'd see me running around capturing moments with my Nikon D850. Take a look at some of my favorite pictures I've taken above!
Press Releases +
Blog + Newsletters
Journalism, Writing, and Copy Editing
Throughout my internship and administrative position, the written word remained foundational in my day-to-day workload. Each month, I was required to create a newsletter for all donors and constituents. This gave me a newfound appreciation for documentation and visual aesthetics. On top of newsletters, I was always preparing press releases and writing development/social media reports to track our growth.
On a fun note, I was also in charge of CARE's blog, known as The PawPrints. I had a team of 5 writers under me. I proofread and edited all posts before putting into layout. Teaching blog writing has become a passion of mine; I get to help writers find their voice, explore their niche interests, and find enjoyment in the world of blogging. From time-to-time I wrote posts of my own when I'm not busy with my other responsibilities.