Jinny Buonfiglio
Former Administrator Assistant
“When I was a junior at Drexel University, I landed my first co-op experience with CEFN. Working at CEFN has been an excellent experience I will always remember. Sherry, an excellent boss, gave constructive criticism with a gentle heart. She has a strong passion for what she does, has a lovely community of individuals, and genuinely cares about her workers. Because of Sherry’s leadership, she allowed me to be more creative and trusted me with various projects, one where I rebuilt CEFN’s website on another CMS from scratch. Learning so much from CEFN and gaining this experience helped me land my first job out of college, which brought me to what I do now, digital marketing. I couldn’t be more appreciative of CEFN and Sherry Hill. Thank you.”
Lauren Smith
Former Event Coordinator
“CEFN has been an unforgettable experience for me! I am so grateful for the opportunity to have a hands-on working environment where I am encouraged to speak my ideas and be creative. CEFN events have been so rewarding in the sense that I am able to meet amazing Seniors. It is so wonderful to see the Seniors enjoy all the hard work that is put into the events. Sherry Hill has been an exceptional friend and advisor that has offered me so many job opportunities as well as life advice. CEFN is an organization that cares.”
Chad Mestres
Former Webmaster
“Doing my first co-op as a webmaster for CEFN was such a great opportunity! The hours were flexible, the team that I worked with was welcoming and willing to collaborate, and most important was the opportunity to do something that made a difference for other people. I had the opportunity to make improvements to the website so that it would be easier to navigate and to update it with important information. While working for CEFN, I was able to get hands-on experience learning about a field that I was interested in and given the freedom to try new things. Overall, it was a great experience and I’m very thankful to Ms. Hill and the rest of CEFN for the opportunity to learn new skills and make a difference.”
Gabriel Que
Former Webmaster
“The first co-op I had at Drexel was at CEFN, and my time working with Sherry and the other interns is a time I’ll never forget! I got many opportunities to learn and experiment with web design, and Sherry was very flexible in the ways I went about researching new technologies to integrate into the website. She also gave lots of constructive feedback which helped me map out new web pages when needed, and she was very cheerful and friendly with everyone throughout my time with the org. I’m grateful to CEFN for granting me this experience, since it’s helped me gain lots of skills that I’ve been able to transfer to other co-ops and job experiences.”
Amy Xi
Former Nutrition Assistant
“I was fortunate enough to do a co-op with CEFN in 2022 on a team with five other co-op students. Sherry helped build a productive community among the six of us and facilitated a supportive environment where we could easily cooperate within our intern group as well as with CEFN’s board and sponsors. Sherry Hill and the CEFN board is passionate about making sure older adults have an enjoyable and educational experience, and they gave me feedback to push me because they cared about making sure I produce the best work possible for the good of the older adults. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic limited the number of nutrition programs and activities CEFN could hold, I am thankful that I could explore other areas of interest, such as graphic design and mentoring the CEFN interns that came after me. With this experience as a CEFN co-op student under my belt, I was able to grow my skills and thrive with the help of Sherry Hill.”
Dean Warfield
Former Office Manager
“There were a few different responsibilities I had as an office manager, some of that I expected when joining CEFN and others that I was glad I was able to pick up. The task’s that I expected to encounter were notetaking, business planning, a few instances of coordinating the team, and mainly helping Sherry out with tasks at hand. The unexpected tasks that I was happy to take on were graphic design, policy writing, and fundraising work. Some of these tasks helped me learn new skills while graphic design is one of my passions and I was glad I had the chance to work on flyers, tickets, and other design projects.
One of, if not the best, part of working at CEFN was working under Sherry. Not only does Sherry lighten the mood of the Zoom room she is in, but she is also an extremely helpful mentor. Sherry was great to work with on all of the projects that included many many revisions and she was very understanding but also motivating when there were times I needed to improve. Sherry very clearly cares about all of the hard work that she does for CEFN and cares for all of the co-op employees at CEFN as her students. I could tell from my first call before my job interview that Sherry would be a great boss to work with and I was proved right”
Sonty Seang
Former Webmaster
“If I were to describe my experience at CEFN, I would say that it’s relaxing. My main role as the website master allowed for a lot of room to work. I was a bit intimidated about having to learn how to use a program that I’d never even heard of while also juggling other workloads.
However, CEFN (Sherry Hill) offered an environment of allowing me to take my time to learn various nuances of WordPress bit by bit where I started to get the gist of the program while also learning to adapt how to do other CEFN work. CEFN’s learning environment coupled with encouragement by Ms. Sherry Hill to do what needed to be done as was possible allowed me to pace myself. Ms. Sherry also encouraged us to attend seminars and encouraged work with our coworkers and seek help if needed. Ultimately, CEFN is an internship for OUR sake, and I can’t help but be thankful for that. I was allowed to work on other aspects of my life during that time being while also learning more about myself.”
Charles Nemeth
Former Grant Writer
“Working at CEFN really just made my life so much easier. Because while CEFN has responsibilities, obligations and tasks, it never felt as if Ms. Hill was in my face telling me to “get it done now”. For that I am thankful. But to move along, I think my work performance was very high while working at CEFN.
Lastly, I think my other biggest strength has been the energy i bring to the day and to the events. I absolutely loved being at the Gala back in my first week of working with CEFN, and i hope that my energy was seen on that day My strong suit, I have learned, is public speaking. Throughout this year i have given a plethora of detailed presentations and I am very proud of that fact. I am most proud of all the presentations i gave on the book “Fundraising is”. It was an amazing read that really gave me an opportunity to learn a lot about life through the book and fundraising.”
Leo Chang
Former Accounting Assistant
“Before working as CEFN’s Accounting Assistant, I had relatively little experience working for a third-party company/association. While I did know what my responsibilities are, I was unsure of how exactly I would carry those responsibilities out until I started gaining more experience in working with CEFN. Thankfully, I had the help of Sherry Hill, the previous Accounting Assistant, and my current team of interns to get used to this position. During my time as the Accounting Assistant, I have gained some knowledge of what employers expect when hiring individuals
During my time as the Accounting Assistant, I have enjoyed the time I spent working for CEFN. Whether it was having fun at CEFN’s events, or working with my team, I look fondly upon these moments. Overall, I would recommend working at CEFN to get a good idea of what it is like to work at a small company, where your ideas and contributions matter to the company”
Shaneil Barnaby
Former Social Worker
“My name is Shaneil Barnaby. I am a former social work undergraduate student from La Salle University. I interned at Community Enrichment Fitness Network (CEFN) in 2015. My primary duties consisted of conducting individual assessments with home-bound clients, case management follows up, and participating in training at the Philadelphia corporation for aging and community outreach programs. The valuable skill learned from interning at the organization is working with a diverse population and addressing the needs of providing resources. I continue to do volunteer work with CEFN. One such event is the Senior Fundraising Gala. My overall experience working for this organization was pleasant.”
Cecilia Mennia
Former Social Worker
“I started my internship as a student social worker from La salle University on Tuesday, January 18, 2022. During my 12th week stay with CEFN I have experience a lot from both my colleagues Drexel team and my supervisor, Sherry Hill. I have learned the importance of teamwork and division of labor.
Ms. Hill was such a role model to me. She loved her work and never gave up when things were tough. I watched and loved her spirit of hard work, dedication , commitment, and professionalism. Ms. Sherry Hill Has taught me how to conduct myself as a professional knowing how to communicate information well to the seniors I was serving.
CEFN has helped me to have a first-hand experience interacting either face-to-face or on phone with seniors to conduct wellness check and assessment. Ms. Hill assisted me on how to ask the right questions to build rapport and get information from the senior population I served. This skill has taught me the confidence to use questions to gain deeper understanding and to seek clarification from the seniors without the fear of hurting their feelings. I was also able to experience and learned how to seek for resources from different organizations to help the seniors to solve their problems. I enjoyed planning and coordinating CEFN’s Motown senior gala, organized for the seniors. Lastly, I learned how to document client’s information into their files online which is an awesome experience. I want to say that I really enjoyed working with CEFN and GOD bless all the people I worked with and CEFN. Thank you.”
Alice Yip
Former Event Coordinator
“As a Drexel co-op student, I worked at CEFN as an event coordinator. Throughout my time, I had a great team to coordinate my ideas and openly present and communicate different opinions. I enjoyed the flexible time on working on various projects. Sherry was very responsive in answering questions throughout the day if help was ever needed. As an event coordinator, it helped me build my communication skills as I had to reach out to many different vendors/representatives. It also helped me expand my creativity by working on flyers and creating newsletters. After a successful event, you get great satisfaction from putting together an amazing event and helping many others in the community.”
Jaydeep Grewal
Former Grant Writer
“I have spent on co-op at the Community Enrichment Fitness Network has been an invaluable experience during which I have seen significant growth in my personal and professional development. As the grant writer, I have picked up and strengthened skills that expand beyond the bounds of my position. For starters, in this role I have furthered my grant writing experience by submitting applications from the public, institutional, and private sectors. Moreover, I have worked on my communication skills by persistently contacting professionals via phone and email to make various inquiries with the intent of garnering funding for CEFN. Beyond grant writing, I have learned about efficient marketing, event planning, and accounting skills by co-working with the other students in my cohort.”
Connor Green
Former Digital Media Designer
“My experience at CEFN has been enjoyable, I really loved to express my creative freedom and design everything I did. A lot of my fun things were the designs for flyers, postcard flyers, and tickets. They were my favorites more so because my creative freedom was really expressed and I got to do so much with those designs. Initially coming into the co-op I wasn’t expecting to do such a variety of things for CEFN, but it was very interesting to be able to get my foot in the door to all those different things. For my strengths I definitely see that my communication skills have improved exponentially. Also, I would say that my time management improved greatly as well. Overall, I say that I have had a pretty good time here at CEFN and the last 6 months have been very interesting to experience to me as one of my first major job experiences in my life. My major accomplishment was developing the Digital Media Designer job description.”
Shari Calhoun
Former Public Relations Intern
“My time as a Public Relations intern with the Community Enrichment Fitness Network was invaluable. I got to apply many of the writing and communication skills and concepts I learned in my classes to help move the organization’s mission forward. I really appreciated that the company’s leaders didn’t view me as just an intern, but an actual member of the team. They were always open to any suggestions I had. My experience at CEFN has been a highlight on my resume, and has opened the door to many professional opportunities. I would recommend any student looking to get hands-on experience in their field to intern with CEFN. It will help give you the real world experience you need to stand-out to employers in the future.”
Khuong Nguyen
Former Webmaster
“My name is Khuong Nguyen. I am the Webmaster at Community Enrichment Fitness Network. My responsibilities at the organization include collaborating with the Digital Media Designer to update the website as well as helping Sherry out with sending emails, invoices, and other miscellaneous tasks. After my experience at CEFN, I was able to improve my communication skills, understand the environment of a workplace, and have some experience developing a website using WordPress.”
Salman Balgrami
Former Event and Marketing Coordinator
“As CEFN’s Event and Marketing Management Coordinator, I
would say my overall experience working at CEFN is pretty
positive. During my time, I got to learn more about marketing in a
non profit organization, and got to learn more about event
planning. My primary duties were working on the seating
arrangement, company proposal letters, volunteers, the senior
database, and my project. I got to learn more about what it takes
to run a non profit organization, and the amount of work and planning it takes. I would
say that my greatest strength working at CEFN is writing emails, hitting deadlines, and
working on my Linkedin Project. With tasks that I am assigned with, I was able to get
them done within the day if it was not something that would take longer like my Linkedin
Project. Overall, it was a really good working experience, and I look forward to utilizing
my skills that I have gained towards my future career.”
Chuanhui Yan
Former Digital Media Designer
“As a digital media designer, my overall experience with CEFN is eye opening. At CEFN, I have worked on flyers, tickets, newsletter, ad, website and promotion video, reorganize the google drive and many other miscellaneous tasks. I did experience some challenges when I just started, prior to CEFN, I didn’t have any work experience or any knowledge about organizing events. Working at CEFN let me gain a lot of knowledge in those areas and allow me to evaluate my skill set objectively. I have gained many soft skills like communication, networking, and adaptability that will help me in the future.”
Internship Positions
Office Manager
Office Manager
Position Description: This unpaid office manager position is for 20 hours per week and for someone interested in gaining experience in business administration for a health and fitness non-profit organization.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Excellent interpersonal and leadership skills
- Good communication skills
- Good organizational skills
- Ability to prioritize and attention to detail
- Excellent writing and computer skills (Microsoft Office Word, Access, PowerPoint and Excel)
Grant Writer
Grant Writer
Position Description: This is a generally unpaid position for 20 hours per week and for someone interested in gaining experience in grant writing for a health and fitness nonprofit organization. Primary responsibilities include preparation of proposals and grant applications, researching, identifying, developing, and responding to public and private grant opportunities. If the grant is accepted and approved, a stipend may be included for the grant writer
Recommended Qualifications:
- Excellent writing and computer skills (Microsoft Office Word, Access, Powerpoint, and Excel)
- Excellent time management skills
- Ability to implement systems and follow-up processes
- Considerable knowledge and willingness to learn the principles and practices of effective grant writing
- Ability to effectively work under pressure
- Ability to work independently and within a team
- Goal and detailed oriented
Accounting Assistant
Accounting Assistant
Position Description: This is an unpaid 20 hours per week position for someone interested in gaining experience working for a health and fitness nonprofit organization. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to, preparing and reviewing the organization’s financial documents and reports. The accounting assistant will be working primarily with the executive director in monitoring budgets, and the financial activities of the organization.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance or related field
- Knowledge of Excel and other accounting software
- Ability to work independently and within a team
- Goal-oriented
Nutrition Assistant
Nutrition Assistant
Position Description: This is an unpaid position for 20 hours a week for someone interested in gaining experience with a health and fitness program. Responsibilities will include, but not limited to updating healthy eating guides for participants, disseminating healthy eating tips/ information to participants during health and fitness programs, participating in health and fitness programs, TV shows, and health fairs. He/she should be aware of major health concerns/risks working with high risks populations. Also, he/she must be willing to work closely with an onsite Nutrition educator
Recommended Qualifications:
- Pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting, Finance or related field
- Knowledge of Excel and other accounting software
- Ability to work independently and within a team
- Goal-oriented
Webmaster
Webmaster
Position Description: This is an unpaid position for 20 hours a week for someone interested in gaining experience working for a health and fitness nonprofit organization. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, managing and updating CEFN’s website and marketing and promoting Focus on Fitness. The Webmaster will be working primarily with the Executive Director in developing a strong online presence through CEFN’s website and social media accounts. He/she should be aware of health disparities and/or major health concerns/risks when dealing with populations from lower socioeconomic communities. Also, he/she will be working with CEFN’s TV production crew to assist with producing, directing, and editing CEFN’s TV program
Recommended Qualifications:
- Pursuing an Associate or Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science or a related field from an accredited college/university
- Experienced in web design, HTML, JavaScript, FTP Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Web browsers, and other web applications
- Considerable knowledge and willingness to learn the principles and practices of healthy eating and living.
- Has strong interpersonal skills and enjoys working with people
- Ability to work independently and within a team
- Goal-oriented
TV Production Assistant
TV Production Assistant
Position Description: This unpaid position is for a 20 hour per week or volunteer interested in gaining experience working for a health and fitness nonprofit organization. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to, marketing, promoting, and producing CEFN’s TV program, Focus on Fitness. The TV Production Assistant will be working primarily with the Executive Director in developing a presence in the broadcast and print journalism community. He/she should be aware of health disparities and/or major health concerns/risks when dealing with populations from lower socioeconomic communities. Also, he/she will be working with CEFN’s TV production crew to assist with producing, directing, and editing CEFN’s TV program.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Pursuing an Associate or Bachelor’s degree in the field of communications, film, and media arts or related field from an accredited college/university.
- Considerable knowledge of editing software and other computer applications.
- Considerable knowledge and willingness to learn the principles and practices of healthy eating and living.
- Has strong interpersonal skills and enjoys working with people
- Ability to work independently and within a team
- Goal-oriented
Event Planner Coordinator
Event Planner Coordinator
Position Description: This unpaid event planner coordinator position is an unpaid 20-hour position for someone interested in gaining experience working for a health and fitness nonprofit organization. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to organizing, planning, and coordinating events. The Event Planner Coordinator Intern will be working primarily with the Executive Director in organizing the senior events before and on the day of the event.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Pursuing an Associate or Bachelor’s degree in the field of hospitality and tourism, public relations, or related fields from an accredited college/university
- Highly organized and creative
- Considerable knowledge and willingness to learn the principles and practices of healthy eating and living.
- Has strong interpersonal skills and enjoys working with people
- Ability to work independently and within a team
- Goal-oriented
Nonprofit Management Intern
Nonprofit Management Intern
Position Description: This unpaid non-profit management intern position is for up to 20 or less hours per week and for someone interested in gaining experience working for a health and fitness nonprofit organization. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, managing and updating CEFN’s database, assisting with fundraising and other non-profit management activities. The non-profit management intern will be working primarily with the Executive Director.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Pursuing an Associate, Master or Bachelor’s degree in Non-profit Management, Marketing or a related field from an accredited college/university
- Excellent knowledge of MS Office, non-profit computer software, and online applications
- General understanding of the digital media landscape, including various social media platforms
- Good written and oral communication skills
- Ability to work independently and within a team
Administrative Assistant
Administrative Assistant
Position Description: This unpaid non-profit management intern position is for up to 20 or fewer hours per week and for someone interested in gaining experience working for a health and fitness nonprofit organization. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, managing and updating CEFN’s database, assisting with fundraising, and other non-profit management activities. The administrative assistant will be working primarily with the Executive Director.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Good interpersonal skills
- Good communication skills
- Good organizational skills
- Ability to prioritize and attention to detail
- Excellent writing and computer skills (Microsoft Office Word, Access, PowerPoint and Excel)
Volunteer Coordinator
Volunteer Coordinator
Position Description: This unpaid position for 20 hours a week is for an intern interested in gaining experience with health and fitness programs. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to, recruiting volunteers, marketing, promoting, and representing CEFN at community outreach events and programs. The Volunteer Coordinator will be working primarily with, but not limited to, Older Adults and Persons with Disabilities. He/she should be aware of major health concerns/risks when dealing with this population. Also, he/she must be willing to work closely with on-site nutrition and fitness educator and trainer. Work will be done under the supervision of the Executive Director of CEFN
Recommended Qualifications:
- B.A. in Public Health, Public Relations, Social Work or related field (or equivalent training) and/or working on pursuing an Associate or Bachelor’s degree from an accredited college/university
- Considerable knowledge of computer and its applications
- Considerable knowledge and willingness to learn the principles and practices of healthy eating and living.
- Has strong interpersonal skills and enjoys working with people
- Ability to work independently and goal-oriented
Digital Media Designer
Digital Media Designer
Position Description:
This is an unpaid position that requires 20 hours per week and is designed for someone who is interested in gaining experience with digital media design in a company that needs many different designs and projects created to display CEFN’s events/projects/demonstrations/etc. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, helping provide graphics for different projects that will be needed at CEFN, working with your CEFN team to collaborate with your project, follow the guidelines of what you are creating and not making disrespectful pieces of work, and assisting those who may need graphics for things like the social medias or website. He/she should be aware of the responsibilities that come with creating different projects that would be seen by the CEFN older adult population and CEFN staff. They should also be aware of the strengths and weaknesses that may come with using free websites/software for graphic design compared to software like Adobe Suite that costs money.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Intermediate experience with graphic design (Experience in software like Photoshop and many other softwares)
- Preferably pursuing an Associate or Bachelor’s Degree Graphic Design, or a related field from an accredited college/university
- Good communication, collaboration, and time management skills
- Is experienced in using apps like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, etc. in order to help or even compose and post onto those apps
- Ability to manage multiple projects at once and plan/manage a way to maintain deadlines with each of those projects.
Marketing Assistant
Marketing Assistant
Position Description: This unpaid marketing assistant position is for 20 hours per week and for someone interested in gaining experience working for a health and fitness nonprofit organization. Responsibilities will include, but are not limited to, managing and updating CEFN’s database, assisting with fundraising and other marketing activities. The marketing student will be working primarily with the executive director to ensure that all marketing resources and social media are accounted for.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Pursuing an associate or bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communication, or a related field from an accredited college/university
- Excellent knowledge of MS Office, marketing computer software, and online applications (CRM tools, Online Analytics, etc.)
- Strong understanding of the digital media landscape, including various social media platforms
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Ability to work independently and within a team
Social Work Intern
Social Work Intern
Position Description: This unpaid position is for a social work intern interested in doing his/her field practicum at Community Enrichment Fitness Network (CEFN). Working under the auspice of CEFN’s Executive Director, the intern will be assigned to do his/her fieldwork assignments at CEFN. The Executive Director will be the primary supervisor. He/she should be aware and become knowledgeable about the health, social and economic concerns/risks in working with the elderly and disabled.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Attend weekly supervision meetings
- Write and submit monthly reports
- Maintain and keep all work in an electronic folder and a hard copy binder
- Attend staff meetings (whenever possible)
- Shadow supervisor on home visits
- Perform case management follow up as needed
- Assist with conducting assessments on home care patients and residents residing in an affordable housing
- Assist with planning, organizing, and coordinating special events
- Develop and/or update co-facilitate a support group (if available)
- Call inactive older adults who may need supportive and/or home care services
- Develop and/or update resource directory (if needed)
- Connect with resources in the community to develop programs
- Identify speakers to invite to do presentations
- Provide supportive counseling to clients in need
- Work with CEFN team on developing project management tools for special events
- Attend community outreach events as needed
- Attend Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA) training sessions on working with Older Adults
- Assist executive director with doing community outreach presentations for seniors’ health and wellness programs
- Assist with performing other duties as required
Fitness Assistant
Fitness Assistant
Position Description: This unpaid position is for 20 hours per week for someone interested in working as a fitness assistant to train participants for a six-week health and fitness program. The participants will learn the benefits of exercising, using low-impact workouts and fin interactive exercises, including chair exercises. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to creating chair exercise workout secessions, leading and monitoring weekly sessions, and being available for participants lingering questions. Fitness trainers will be working primarily with older adults. He/she should be aware of major health concerns when training individuals. Also must be willing to work closely with an onsite nutritionist. Work will be done under the supervision of the program director and is to report to her/him with any questions/concerns with the participant and/or program.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Interest in setting up exercise programs for physically disabled and older adults
- Working on pursuing a degree in kinesiology and/or related studies
- Considerable knowledge of the principles and practices of healthy living
- Considerable knowledge of food values and nutrition balanced with proper workout training
- Ability to plan and conduct exercise programs according to weekly focus
Public Health Communicator
Public Health Communicator
Position Description: This is an unpaid position for 20 hours a week for someone interested in gaining experience with public health education in the older adult population. Responsibilities will include but are not limited to helping to provide education and information to the senior population about food safety, disseminating healthy eating tips/information to participants, informing the senior population about the importance of immunizations, mental health, and general prevention of health conditions, chronic disease management. He/she should be aware of major health concerns/risks in working with high-risk populations.
Recommended Qualifications:
- Working towards B.S. in Public Health (or equivalent training)
- Considerable knowledge of the principles and practices of healthy eating and living
- General knowledge of public health concerns: immunization, mental health, food security, etc.
- Ability to plan and coordinate health & fitness programs, and public health education programs
Interested in a Position?
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