Registered Charity No. 1092028
Due to missing out on the opportunity to do work experience in year 10 as a result of Covid 19, I was excited to be offered the chance again this year. I am a 17 year old, sixth form student at Chipping Campden School, and have a passion and interest for humanitarian work. In February 2022 I travelled to Sierra Leone with a local charity to work on a refugee camp, and was keen to gain a better understanding of what running a charity entails. After being turned down by a number of charities, I was excited to contact Goodwill and Growth for Africa, where I was able to discuss the possibility of a weeks placement with Claire. After some further discussions, Claire generously agreed to meet me and organised an action packed week.
Day one – Monday 11th July
We started the week by meeting at a local café at 10:30am. Claire and I discussed plans for the week, and how each day was going to work. We spoke on the phone to a shipping company, who were trying to assist in the release of a shipment of clothes that GAGA had sent to a port in Durban, South Africa. The South African customs had impounded the shipment, due to not allowing second hand clothes into the country, meaning we were to discuss the next steps for the shipment. After this we drove to a nearby farm where GAGA keeps all of its supplies, to pick up any necessary things that we needed for the week, and the school fete that we were running on the Thursday. I then went back home to make some calls to local businesses, to see if they could donate any prizes for our raffle (at the school fete on Thursday).
Day two – Tuesday
Day two began with meeting Claire, we looked at the direction the charity was going in, and the future steps that were going to be discussed in an afternoon meeting that Claire was attending. It allowed me to have a clear glimpse into what goes on behind the scenes of the charity, and how every step taken is carefully considered. After this, I was given the responsibility of completing a risk assessment for the school fete that we were planning, in order to fundraise. This was good experience into how to carry out a risk assessment, and I was surprised by how many things there were to plan for. Then I made some more phone calls for local businesses to try and collect some raffle prizes.
Day three – Wednesday
On Wednesday we had an early Zoom call with a local leisure organisation, where the possibility of working together was discussed. It was very interesting to be able to participate in the meeting, as I was able to observe how working together can be beneficial to both parties, and for strong links between groups. Then Claire and I met up to buy some supplies that we needed for the school fete, as well as collecting some of the raffle prizes from the generous local businesses. We then went back and began costing out all of the stalls at the school fete, and I wrapped up the lucky dip presents.
Day four – Thursday
Thursday began with an early start. We attended a networking businesses breakfast, where we discussed ideas for the charity with the group of people present. We then went on to collect any final raffle prizes, and headed over to the primary school where the fete was taking place. When we were there, I finalised the risk assessment, and was tasked with writing key allergens the cakes that were on sale. We worked with the students to set up the fete, and allowed them to be responsible for their own stalls. Their parents then arrived and the fete began. It was very successful, and considering it was only a small fete, parents were very generous. After this we cleared up, and counted the funds that we had raised.
Day five – Friday 15th July
The final day was considerably calmer that the previous day, and I spent the day writing and finalising some reports, and reviewing what I had learnt from the experiences of the week.
Overall, the week allowed me to have a developed understanding of what goes into running a charity, as well as the vital work that GAGA does itself. I could see the clear impact of GAGA’s work, and how much that has helped to better the quality of life of individuals, as well as groups that are less fortunate than ourselves. I am very grateful to both Claire and GAGA for allowing me to work with them, and providing an action packed week full of experience. Moving forward, I hope to stay in contact with Claire and Goodwill and Growth for Africa, and would be very interested to work together again in the future.