Community Relations Volunteer

For nearly 50 years, Friendship Center has been a joyful, dignified, community-centered day program for older adults living with dementia, and a lifeline of support for the caregivers who love them. As we prepare for our 50th Anniversary in 2026, we are launching a large-scale Family & Community Engagement Initiative to reconnect with the thousands of families, volunteers, and community members who have shaped our story.

This internship is an opportunity to help build something meaningful, heartfelt, and lasting: a real “forever community” of alumni who continue to feel connected long after their loved one’s time at Friendship Center.

The Community Relations volunteer or intern will support the development of Friendship Center’s new “Alumni Network”—a project honoring 50 years of families, caregivers, volunteers, and loved ones who have been part of our history. The intern will help design systems, gather stories, organize events, build communication tools, and support the creation of a legacy archive.

You will get hands-on experience in nonprofit program development, community research, communications, event planning, qualitative data collection, and intergenerational engagement.

What You’ll Do

1. Alumni Roster & Data Projects

• Help review historic and current rosters to identify alumni families
• Capture key data points such as:
• caregiver name(s)
• relationship to participant
• dates attended
• notes about the loved one’s life/interests
• contact information
• program involvement or volunteer history
• Help build a working Alumni Directory or CRM list
• Identify potential alumni volunteers, mentors, and event hosts
• Assist in building a system for memorials and “graduated” members

1. Story Collection & Legacy Archive

• Interview former caregivers, volunteers, or staff (phone, email, or in person)
• Collect photos, memories, quotes, and written reflections
• Organize materials for a digital “Memory Wall” and in-person displays
• Support the creation of:
• video testimonials
• a timeline (“Since 1976…”)
• a potential coffee-table book or digital history book

1. Communications & Content Creation

• Draft emails for the new Alumni Email Series (“Letters to the Future”)
• Help write alumni newsletter content (stories, memorial moments, updates)
• Assist with alumni social media spotlights
• Coordinate outreach to families for submissions (photos, stories, favorite memories)
• Support the design of Alumni swag ideas (hats, sweatshirts, tote bags, etc.)

1. Event Support

• Assist with planning our first Alumni Picnic
• Help design “storytelling booths,” photo galleries, or decade tables
• Support the planning of the 50th Anniversary Conference & Legacy Wall
• Work with staff and volunteers to create meaningful remembrance activities

1. Volunteer Engagement & Outreach

• Help identify alumni who may want to:
• become peer mentors
• join an Alumni Host Committee
• volunteer at future events
• share lived experience with new caregiver support groups

What You’ll Learn

• Community-centered program development
• How to design a nonprofit engagement strategy from scratch
• Trauma-informed and dignity-centered communication with caregivers
• Event planning, logistics, and creative event design
• How a dementia-care nonprofit honors past families & legacy
• How to work with qualitative data, narrative collection, and archival projects
• Hands-on experience with relational nonprofit work (not just administrative)

Ideal Candidate

You might be a great fit if you are:

• Warm, empathetic, and comfortable talking with caregivers
• Organized and detail-oriented
• Excited about memory-keeping, oral history, or storytelling
• Creative with communications, writing, or design
• Interested in aging, dementia care, or community psychology
• Looking for a meaningful internship with real impact
• No prior experience with dementia care is required—training will be provided.