We have been fortunate to have a fabulous Student Internship placement over the last month via Career Ready. Joshua has really helped our charity with a variety of tasks and we hope that the experience he has gained with The Gingerbread Centre, will really help him when he applies for an apprenticeship with the Fire Service next year. Joshua has written a few words below about his placement.
“Hi, my name is Joshua Keeble, for the last 4 weeks I have been working with The Gingerbread Centre as an intern. I was first approached by ‘Career Ready’ in College, and went through an application process. I was then selected for interviews and was successful.
At the beginning of the internship I was nervous, not knowing what to expect in a brand new work place environment. However, all the staff at the centre were welcoming and gave me the opportunity to ask questions.
My first week consisted of getting to know the building and the people, and I quickly became one of the team, being able to get stuck in and help with tasks such as sorting files and donations.
In the second week of my internship I was given the chance to promote and fundraise alongside The Gingerbread Centre’s very own fundraiser Paul Deakin. We worked with the National Citizen Service to raise over £400, and have since raised a lot more. Furthermore, I was involved in ‘Holiday Hunger’ the project that aims to feed children over the summer holidays as it can be difficult for parents to afford to feed their children over the 6 week period when normally they are often entitled to free lunches at school. The Gingerbread Centre were fortunate enough that the Hope Welfare Trust have donated £300 towards this project.
Some of the things I have carried out while at The Gingerbread Centre are;
Interviewing staff for the creation of the blogs, making sandwiches for ‘Holiday Hunger’, stock control, social media updates, research and various administrative tasks. I’ve also learnt to use new software packages such as Sage and Cornerstone. Furthermore, I have achieved a Level 2 in Food Safety and Hygiene for Catering qualification.
If you would like to find out more information on our organisation in the future, be sure to check out @thegingerbreadcentre on Instagram as this has just been setup by myself.
I have learnt skills that aren’t taught in the classroom, which I value greatly and will be sure to transfer to future employers.
I would like to think that I have made although a small, but lasting and positive impression on The Gingerbread Centre, as I know it has on me. Thank you to all who have helped me throughout my internship and I believe the organisation has a bright future.”
All the staff at The Gingerbread Centre wish Joshua every success with his future career.