An Intern’s First Week at United Way

Alexa Carlozzi • June 1, 2022

When I began my first week as a Social Justice intern, I faced many unknowns. I knew the general goals of my eight weeks at United Way, I had met two of the four employees in my interview, and I knew a person I had never met before was picking me up in the morning. So, at exactly 7:50AM on Monday, with my lunchbox in hand, I left the residential hall, entered Kayley’s truck, and began my first week at United Way of Wayne and Holmes.

As I walked into the office, dampened by a cold rain, I was immediately enveloped in warmth. Within the light blue walls, three women introduced themselves to me with a smile and I gradually felt more comfortable in the new space. After learning how to operate the coffee machine and where to keep my belongings, I was invited to a “welcome brunch.” Over omelets and coffee, I learned more about the organization and the four women who would serve as my supervisors and mentors for the next eight weeks. With a full stomach, I spent the rest of the day touring the office, cleaning eight hundred ducks from the previous day’s Duck Derby, and being part of my first Facebook live.

My second and third day was an opportunity for me to feel the sunshine on my face, have dirt under my feet (or rather, turf), and meet the community United Way serves. Helping with the “Reading Under the Lights” events brought me face-to-face with people in the community that I would never meet otherwise. As a College of Wooster student, campus is a little “bubble,” with just an occasional visit downtown and uptown on the weekends. While floating around in my little bubble, I often miss the outside community, especially the K-12 students. Seeing their smiling faces while they choose their books and hearing their laughter as they meet a “Pete the Cat” mascot made the sweat on my brow and the soreness in my feet all worth it. I saw parents, who usually pass by in their cars on Beall Avenue on their way to work, sitting with their children to read as a family. The community who seems so far away sometimes was right there, asking me questions and saying hello, and I felt connected to them in a whole new way.

My interactions with the community did not end with the “Reading Under the Lights” events. I was fortunate enough to attend an Extreme Weather Shelter meeting with my supervisor, located at the Salvation Army. In this meeting, I was able to see the background planning and logistics of running the shelter, such as how many cots can fit in the space or how to find storage solutions. A day later, I helped with United Way’s Annual Meeting, where I met almost one hundred of their partners and donors. As I sat over a nice meal, overlooking the long tables of people chattering, I realized that in my first week at United Way, I saw all of the essential components of a non-profit. Helping a community isn’t just sitting in an office, going to meetings, or even, being face-to-face with the community. Rather, it is the wonderful combination of all those things. Without sitting in front of a computer for hours, making dozens of calls, and writing email after email, organizations cannot operate. But, without making real-life connections with those in the community, one can often lose focus and the drive to do what is needed. The balance is necessary, and it is impossible to function without it.

And that is what I learned in my first week as an intern at United Way.

- Alexa Carlozzi

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Books and Balance: Cultivating Mental Well-being Through Reading

By Kayley Cox • May 12, 2025

Growing up, I had a complicated relationship with reading. I thoroughly enjoyed reading various chapter books or series, ranging from the Arthur to The Baby Sitter’s Club to A Child Called “It” series. But once I reached middle school, many of the English classes I attended had required reading for the course, and the requirement meant reading was no longer an option, but rather it was mandatory, and to take notes, and to be tested on the material! The required reading lists often burned me out, leaving me disinterested in picking up a book for pleasure. I would go through phases of wanting to read more, but the enthusiasm was often short-lived. As an adult I have really tried to be intentional with reading. As someone who has made a New Year’s Resolution to “read more” the last 6 years, I have really tried to focus on finding what genres interest me because when I do, I do in fact “read more,” and I like it! It also makes me happy. I feel like I have more to talk about in conversations and enjoy the dialogue reading a book brings, along with the mental break it provides me from daily life. As a parent of two young children, I have really tried to make it a priority to foster a love of reading in my kids. I encourage them to choose the books we read, and to take it a step further, I have also been intentional that my children also SEE me reading. Reading books for my own enjoyment. I want them to remember that reading isn't just something we do together, but also something we can do for ourselves. It’s a form of self-care and can really help our health-our MENTAL health. Literacy plays a critical role in children's mental well-being. Research from Scholastic and the Yale Child Study Center-Scholastic Collaborative for Child & Family Resilience highlights the powerful influence of books and literacy on mental health. It shows that a love of reading can boost self-esteem, increase empathy, and mitigate anxiety and depression. Reading can introduce children to different types of people from all walks of life, and not only that, introducing children to different points of view, perspectives, ideas and ways of life. This exploration can foster creativity and imagination and innovation – traits that are needed for our community to evolve and grow. And this exploration can provide an opportunity to show that no matter your thoughts, you are not alone in them. By modeling reading, I hope to instill in my children the understanding that books, while educational tools, are also powerful allies in maintaining mental health. Our brain, just like anything else in the body, needs exercise. And we have the power to put the book down or keep turning the page. Whether it’s going to library to pick out our selections, or borrowing books through the Libby app, I challenge you to give yourself a moment of escape with a side of perspective that a good book can bring. Then, track your progress through Wayne County Public Library’s Beanstack app to follow your book journey. This action has truly helped me prioritize reading for my mental well-being while also instilling the love of reading in my children so they too can create a balance for their own mental health.