By Shah Rahman
At the start of my internship placement, I never would’ve thought I’d be travelling to different parts of the UK. It was a great opportunity to go to the Rank Foundation conference and meet other interns. It was great to see how the interns connected and got along so well. I really enjoyed our leadership seminar activities which focused on how to build and develop skills. I met new people who eventually became close friends.
After the conference in Morecambe, I had different tasks to complete for the year at St Hilda’s East. From no previous experience, I put together a football tournament for young people in the local area, organised a day of intergenerational games, brought staff and supporters on the annual London Legal Walk, introduced my nephew to the charity who designed the 130th Anniversary logo, supporting St Hilda’s East Street Party and helping out on the night of the 130th Anniversary Mercers’ Hall fundraising dinner and donating a landscape painting for the silent auction.
Now, back to the Rank Conference. Held at Windermere, one the most beautiful places I’ve visited. I really enjoyed the scenery, seminar activities with my friends, and creating a video about what we’ve overcome from our own challenges and what the support Rank Foundation has given us to reach our goals and objectives.
Leeds Conference
On my final Rank Foundation Conference for the Time 2 Shine programme, the conference was full of fantastic and inspiring people. I presented in front of 260 people from all over the UK. The video we made was about how much I enjoyed my time at St Hilda’s East. It was exciting to talk about St Hilda’s history, clients’ stories, local people, staff members and their 130th anniversary. We have achieved so much and made such a positive impact to the community as a whole.
“This time last year we (interns/friends) wouldn’t have believed to be on this stage speaking about our opportunity Rank has given us. Many of us did not have a lot of hope. Rank Foundation has given us that opportunity and we’ve used this to support our local community. It’s about passing on a good message.”
