The career fields open to students graduating with communications degrees are vast. Some possibilities are public relations and marketing, specifically in the charity organization field. Charity organizations work with communities and raise money for their cause. It is a major undertaking to keep your organization in the minds of the public, for in this field, you not only rely on the public but so does your cause. These are lessons learned by the highly recognizable in our community and those new to the non-profit sector.
Charlene Shirk, director of community relations for the PGA TOUR, knows all too well of the challenges and hard work it takes to make non-profits successful. Her focus is to “ensure that the community and corporate sponsors are aware that their support of THE PLAYERS directly impacts more than 100 charities and countless people in our community.”
When asked what her position at THE PGA TOUR entails Ms. Shirk said, “I work with our branding, marketing, sales and charitable department to coordinate the message and events that will offer community exposure. I am also responsible for developing new ways to assist THE PLAYERS in generating additional charitable dollars and sponsorship dollars.” This is quite a huge responsibility for one person, but it is what Charlene Shirk is passionate about. She has faced numerous challenges in her newfound career since leaving First Coast News in early 2007 to pursue a career in community giving.
She says, “Trying to find active and engaged volunteers is always tough. You will often find people who are passionate but also overstretched and can’t devote a lot of time, or people who want to help but don’t make the commitment. Also, the economy is challenged, and finding new ways to fundraise that keeps people and supporters engaged is a struggle.”
Overall, the rewards make it worth the hard work. According to Ms. Shirk, “The rewarding part is being a part of change, seeing projects through to the end, meeting new people, learning new things everyday and seeing your efforts come to fruition. That is, a building is built, children receive services, a life is changed.”
Amanda Litchfield
These results are what Amanda Litchfield, current student at Florida State College at Jacksonville, hopes to see. She strives to impact the lives of the homeless community here in Jacksonville with the same success that Charlene Shirk and THE PGA TOUR has had on many charitable organizations in the First Coast area. However, Amanda Litchfield has a unique perspective, for she and her immediate family were homeless for a time when she was a child.
“Growing up, I was homeless with my family at age five, age nine and again at age 13. Being a homeless child was a helpless feeling. The City Rescue Mission and the New Life Inn downtown were always there to help.” says Ms. Litchfield.
These circumstances have helped shape her into the person she is now, and she would like to give back to the organizations that helped her and her family out so much when she was younger. Her idea started as a project for her Student Life Studies class, and she plans to run with it full force. To her surprise, FSCJ does not already have a club or student organization in place for volunteering to help the homeless and provide shelter. This is her first lesson in public relations and marketing. She plans to start the club from the ground up.
“At the moment the process has been slow. I am coming up with ideas and presenting my club or organization starter kit in my group presentation on the subject of homelessness and shelter on November 22. I am hoping, after presenting this idea to my class, that I can get enough people to join and then begin planning events and volunteer work from there.”
Ms. Litchfield admits she will face many challenges taking on a project like this.
“Time and student volunteers are the two main things I am worried about. I fear that there won’t be many students who really want to help. I am hoping for a lot, and I want to hear ideas from other students, as well. However, I believe this will happen and be successful because I know I am going to do my best at bringing this idea to life”, she says.
She has already made an effort to organize a group to volunteer at the City Rescue Mission on World Homeless Day, October 10th, but they were fully staffed at the time with volunteers. This was, admittedly, a last minute idea at the very beginning in the planning stage of this project. However, Amanda Litchfield is determined to put in the effort to make this happen.
“I am hoping to include faculty and students together. This is a project for everyone at the school who wants to help” she says. She is hoping it will be fully accomplished by this time next year, and hopes this interview will bring some attention to her cause. It is a first lesson in marketing and public relations but for something close to her heart.
Exploration in Journalism 