Saying Goodbye

Well today was my last day at the Starlight Children's foundation, and what a roller-coaster it has been the last four months. There was never a dull moment in the office and never a second wasted. This week alone I have assisted in the organisation of and running of the Peruginos "Lunch with friends" Fundraising event on Sunday, A Melbourne Cup Lunch on Tuesday, A Volunteer Appreciation event last night, A CEO Corporate Breakfast this morning and supported two pitches to NIB Bank and The WA Police respectively in the hope of achieving a Corporate Partnership relationship with Starlight this afternoon.

It has been a fun few months and the amount I have learnt has been astronomical. I have learnt there is a huge deal of time and attention that goes into planning events, how to churn out press releases at the drop of a hat, contact making, media management, how to ask companies for donations and support and primarily exactly how the worlds of Non Government Organisations and the corporate sector intertwine.

Now this seems like an entry of lists, so let me go into a little more detail. Throughout my time at Starlight I have learnt so much about Public relations yes, but also about the human spirit. Both through my own experiences and through the eyes of others. During my time at Starlight I have been fortunate to witness exactly what the fundraising of the charity goes towards and to meet with people that's lives have been transformed through what Starlight does every single day. One of Starlight's major Partners in WA is KFC and they had their leadership training day about four weeks ago. As a part of this day staff from around the state were divided into teams and were required to build a children's bike as a competition. My Supervisor Karen, one of our team Members Kelly and myself attended this event as representatives of Starlight along with Ten Starlight families. Each bike that was made was given to a Starlight Child as a gift, the gratitude and excitement of these children and their parents is something i will never forget.  The parents that I had the opportunity to meet were all inspiring with some never thinking the day would come where they would see their children ride a bike. The day I met them one particular family was getting ready to go on their "Wish Holiday" granted by Starlight - an all expenses paid holiday to the Goldcoast. This particular family had spent virtually the whole life of their six year old daughter in Princess Margaret Hospital and had never left perth little own gone on a real family holiday. To see the excitement and gratitude of the children and the parents was enough to make all the time and hard work that has gone into this internship worth it, one hundred times over.

My time at Starlight truly has been a wonderful experience and one I will cherish for the rest of my life.

I hope everyone reading has had an equally fulfilling Internship Journey.

You are all Stars!

Shine On!