You are invited to apply for a virtual communications internship/fellowship experience at Soaringwords, a leading not-for-profit organization with the mission to inspire children, families, adults, seniors, and health care professionals to take active roles in self-healing to experience greater physical, emotional, and mental well-being. This is an excellent opportunity for aspiring communications/writing/PR/social media professionals who are passionate about mental health journalism and communication.
Since 2001, Soaringwords has hosted 420 bright, hard-working, enthusiastic, and talented fellows and interns. This amazing experience (with flexible hours and scheduling) will change many lives, including your own. Soaringwords is looking for talented people who can assist to further our mission through communications to achieve greater health equity for the most vulnerable people in society. This part-time (10-20 hours per week) position is for qualified undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in or recently graduated from a relevant academic program. We are looking for interns who enjoy working in a fast-paced environment, comfortable multi-tasking, and are able to work independently.
To date, Soaringwords has motivated more than 500,000 people who are grappling with serious illness, trauma, mental illness, and grief to experience greater well-being across the seven core components of the SOARING Into Strength Model: Strengths, Optimism, Altruism, Resilience, Imagery, Narrative, and Gratitude. The SOARING into Positive Wellbeing Initiative consists of seven virtual workshops led by Soaringwords’ CEO & Founder Lisa Honig Buksbaum, integrating the latest science from the field of Positive Psychology. Soaringwords collaborates with health and human service agencies, long-term care facilities, hospitals, municipalities, and local organizations to create substantive change in communities.
Qualifications:
- In a communications, journalism, or similar major
- Strong verbal and written communication skills
- Knowledge of Google Workspace including Google Forms, Docs, Sheets, Slides, and Drive.
- Comfortability in working with social media including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, and TikTok
- Time management, organization, planning, and problem solving skills
- Tech savvy, creative, curious, and persistent
What you can expect:
- The communications intern will join our remote team with flexible hours, working from 10-20 hours per week depending on availability
- Start date: As soon as you are ready, we can accommodate your class schedule so that you can collaborate with us during business hours. The internship is semester-based, and we request a two-semester commitment
- Attend weekly creative team meetings for brainstorming, collaboration, and to be given assignments
- One-on-one meetings with your proctor and mentor throughout the week
- You will be coached and mentored by Soaringwords’ Communications Manager and Managing Editor, award-winning news journalist, editor, and writer Hanna Smith
- Many previous interns/fellows received course credit while others applied for and received stipends from their schools
Responsibilities:
- Research podcast, TV, news, and magazine contacts to approach for story pitches about the SOARING into Strength book
- Plan and design the Soaringwords monthly newsletters
- Create story query letters to send to media contacts
- Engage in creative editorial sessions with the communications team and other creative teams at Soaringwords to create content
- Assist in tracking social media metrics and trends in addition to posting on all Soaringwords social media accounts
- Assist in creating written and visual content to post on Lisa Honig Buksbaum’s Positive Psychology blog
- Flex your editing skills and get practice with AP Style by editing real content that is published on a variety of platforms
Apply
If you have passion, creativity, energy, and the desire to make valuable contributions to a small team, we want you to become part of our success. The application questions can be found below. Please return these questions along with your resume and any clips/examples of your work to Hanna Smith at hanna@soaringwords.com, Greta Rozensweig at greta@soaringwords.org, and Lisa Honig Buksbaum at lisa@soaringwords.com. If we feel that you are a good fit for this role, we will contact you to set up a virtual interview.
Warm regards,
Lisa Honig Buksbaum, CEO & Founder, Soaringwords
Hanna Smith, Communications Manager and Managing Editor, Soaringwords
Greta Rozensweig, Community Outreach Manager, Soaringwords
Application Questions
To be returned with your resume and any writing clips/examples to hanna@soaringwords.org, greta@soaringwords.org, and lisa@soaringwords.org.
- Name
- Address
- Cell Phone
- Internship/fellowship timeframe: The semester for which you are applying
- Your relevant degree (currently enrolled or graduated)
- Any relevant previous experience.
- How did you hear about Soaringwords?
- What do you hope to accomplish in terms of professional development skills during your internship time with Soaringwords?
- What do you hope to gain in terms of your own personal growth and development?
- What are your greatest strengths? List these attributes and show examples to demonstrate how you have put these skills into action as an individual and on a team.
- What is your proudest accomplishment?
- What is your work style? Can you give examples of successful projects or work experiences and your role?
- How do others describe you (your friends, colleagues)? What are the traits that make you unique?
- Are you currently pursuing a career? In what area?
- How many hours and what days are you available to work at Soaringwords? When would you like your volunteer time to start and end?
- Is there anything else you’d like to share with us?
- Online portfolio (mandatory for design and production positions)
- LinkedIn (optional)
Include your CV/Resume, please.
