Introduction from Callum (Founder & Executive Director)
In this new blog entry, we will get to know one of the newest members of our ever-growing team. Shai is our new Marketing, Social Media & Communications Officer and will be working with us for the next 3 months as an intern from Glasgow Caledonian University!
Hi! My name is Shai and I am one of the newest bOunceT recruits. I have joined the team after studying International Marketing for 4 years at Glasgow Caledonian University, where I was initially introduced to the core concepts and value of social enterprise. In my 2nd year at University, I joined the Enactus society as a Fundraising Volunteer. There were various social enterprises I could have volunteered with, but the one which stood out to me most was the Glasgow City Mission – a daycentre which works with homelessness, addiction, isolation, and poverty. This opened my eyes to what we are capable of, how we can help build each other up by extending a helping hand to those in need. It was a life-changing experience for me and really shaped my perception of the world, and what I wanted to do with my life.
As I am beginning to learn that an “occupation” within the Occupational Therapy world actually refers to “meaningful activity” it would only be appropriate to tell you a little more about what I like to do for fun! I love movies and I always try and keep up with the latest releases, it was a bit tougher to do this when I was in my last year at university, but lockdown has allowed me to catch up on everything I missed! My favourite sport is football, with my team being Motherwell which comes with many ups and downs. I also like to run, however, I don’t do this anywhere near as much as I would like. One of my resolutions is to get and run more often, as I would like to work towards running a marathon one day.
After seeing the role at bOunceT advertised online and having read Callum’s blog entry about his journey into occupational therapy, I knew immediately that this was an organisation I wanted to work for. In my first year at University, I felt similar to how he felt, with no real aims or certainty as to what I wanted to do with my future career. As I mentioned, my time volunteering with the Glasgow City Mission was a life-changing experience for me. From then on, I wanted to use what I learned at University and put it into an organisation which helped those in need, and when bOunceT came along it felt like a perfect match!
I already had an idea of the importance of healthcare and therapy services, having had to watch someone in my own family use them. After watching this family member go through the mental and physical toll their injury had over them to finally getting their life back, it gave me a greater appreciation of the work done by professionals in this field. bOunceT has only further affirmed my appreciation for those that work in Occupational Therapy and other wider health and social care services. I was astonished to see that in just 4 years, the organisation has helped over 500 people which is truly an amazing number. I can say already from my short time working here, this really is a great organisation and to be able to be a part of it as the team’s transitions into their next phase of development is something that I am both excited and humbled to be a part of.
Although I am only 4 weeks into my internship, I’ve wasted no time in getting to work! I have already been working closely with the whole team to help get their ideas across all of our social media and online platforms. I was fortunate enough to come in at the same time as the announcement of bOunceT’s new membership model, enabling me to create the necessary visuals for these new advertisements.
As I continue my internship at bOunceT, I am excited to meet more of the management team (in particular the company’s Board of Directors) and I have lots of great marketing ideas which will spread the word of this wonderful business. I am really excited for what the future holds for bOunceT, and I am so happy to be able to use my skills from my degree to support an organisation that brings good into the world.
I believe this internship will not only give me the tools I need to be a better marketer, it will also give me the same life perspective that my volunteer opportunity gave me. Seeing the work that Callum and the team do is inspiring and to see someone create a business at such a young age is something that I definitely want to learn from. It will mould into a more thoughtful person with the necessary tools to further prosper in the marketing world.
