fourty8weeksindublin-blog

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My 48 Week Internship in Dublin

I am an Event Management student at the University of Central Lancashire. For my third year, I decided to do an Internship with an Irish Charity based in Dublin to gain new skills and experience in the Event Industry. My time with TeenLine Ireland was a rewording experience. 

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What is TeenLine?

As part of my placement year, I worked in Dublin for the TeenLine Ireland charity, a non-government funded free-phone and free-text service dedicated to teenagers. Everyone involved with the charity is a volunteer who is willing to give up their free time to help promote the phone service and man the helpline every night of the year. The charity was started a number of years ago by Maureen Bolger who’s son died by suicide in 2003. After his death, she realised there was a lack of services available specifically for young people who might be going through a tough time or feeling suicidal but who did not want to talk to a friend or family member about the matter. Unfortunately, unfunded charities such as TeenLine often struggle to stay open as they rely fully on donations and volunteers. The dedication of the volunteers and regular donators ensures the continuation of the helpline service. Having received over 26’000 calls and 25’000 text messages in 2016, TeenLine Ireland has become a known and reputable charity offering an much needed service. Therefore, all resources have to be invested into ensuring that the phone lines service continues for the increasing number of new and regular callers.

 In 2016, The Irish Times published an article featuring data from the Psychology Society of Ireland (PSI) which stated that Ireland had the fourth highest suicide rate amongst teenagers in the EU. Only Lithuania, Estonia and Finland recorded higher rates. These statistics accentuate the importance and magnitude of the issue of suicide amongst young people in Ireland. Additionally, leading us to ask ourselves what can be done to reduce the worryingly high figures.

Helplines such as TeenLine are considered an important option for people who are suffering with their Mental Health or needing someone to talk to. The HelpLine Partnership defines the importance of the role of a phone service. Firstly, they provide a trusted space that can be reached no matter the location or financial status of the person. Secondly, they deliver a person-led care that can represent the first step in reaching out for help. Finally, the caller values the independence of a helpline as they are in control at all times.

According to Child Helpline International, in 2014, approximately five million children and young people contacted helplines in Europe. This is a significant number, highlighting the importance of listening services for children and young people. Childline which is present in Ireland and the UK, is one of the most well-known phone services available. Their website states that they are specifically for teenagers up to the age of 18. On the other hand, Samaritans, is a service more specialised in adults. Young people between the ages of 18 and 25 are often intimidated by an adult service, as they do not feel they qualify for it because they do not consider themselves as adults. Thus, without TeenLine there would be a gap in services available for young people in Ireland.

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Group Picture with some of the amazing Volunteers

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A Day Out in Honour of the Volunteers

During my time with TeenLine, I was given the opportunity to attend and help organise a variety of events for the charity. In July 2016, the charity had a bbq for all the volunteers as a way of thanking them for their support, efforts and hard work. The day out consisted of a meal, a treasure hunt and a raffle. During the planning process of the event, I was assigned the raffle. Over the period leading up to the occasion, I contacted a variety of businesses by phone and by email to ask for donations that could be used as prizes during the raffle. Contacting organisations by phone for donations can be challenging, as you need the courage to ask and you do not know how a person will react. Reaching out for contributions for TeenLine helped me gain more confidence as I had just started the internship. In the end 30 different donations were made, including chocolates, cosmetics, wine, and gift vouchers for restaurants and hotel stays.

I quickly discovered that an event such as a bbq in honour of the volunteers is an important occasion for a small charity like TeenLine as it is a way of thanking the volunteers. The Centre for Volunteering (nd) stresses the importance of volunteer recognition as it can be a way of encouraging the current volunteers to remain with the organisation and to keep them motivated.  Additionally, for the individuals giving up their time for the charity, an event in their honour will help them see their work as rewarding and appreciated. For these reasons, a lot of time was invested in making the outing an enjoyable day out for the volunteers and their families.

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TeenLine Ireland Ambassadors and Volunteers

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The Importance of Events for TeenLine Ireland

Conferences, expositions and school events are important events for TeenLine. They enable the charity to spread awareness by being present and by interacting with attendees. TeenLine Ireland is known amongst Irish young people as the only charity that hands out free wristbands and lollipops. According to the psychologist Ariely (2008) the word ‘free’ is attached to an emotional charge that makes what is being offered appear immensely more valuable than it really is. Therefore, it is no surprise that free giveaways are often used by companies as a marketing strategy. Alton (2016) highlights the different ways the particular advertising method works. Firstly, the technique creates a buzz around the brand. Secondly, it drives traffic by attracting people. Thirdly, giveaways can develop positive brand association. During my time with TeenLine I have seen these methods to be true and efficient.  At an event, the free wristbands and lollipops generate a buzz amongst attendees, therefore leading to an increase of people interacting with the stand. Competitions with a prize giveaway have also been a popular way of encouraging young people to visit the TeenLine stand during an event. The attendees are quick to tell their friends about the competitions and giveaways by word of mouth or through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat.

In the twenty first century, social media is vital for any organisation or business. According to Rajsekar (2016), social media is a platform for business growth and a means of engagement with current and potential followers. Most importantly it is a free method that enables TeenLine to raise awareness about their service and Mental Health by being talked about by young people online. Messages, photos, tweets and posts from event attendees are then seen by people who were not at the event. Therefore, potentially reaching someone who might be in need of the service.

To keep up with the younger generation, Bracken-Ferguson (2013) stresses the importance of the business or organisation being where the consumer/customer is. For TeenLine Ireland this entails being present on the different social media platforms and ensuring the posts are tailored for a younger audience. One of my roles in the charity was to monitor the accounts and create content when promoting events. The task allowed me to gain a better understanding of the use of social media for an organisation and it’s power. A number of criteria have to be taken into consideration before posting on a platform such as Facebook. Firstly, the age group of the target audience must be defined to ensure that the content is written in a way that they understand and that appeals to them. Secondly, the timing of the posts determines how many people it will be seen by. Finally, the frequency of the TeenLine posts was monitored to make sure that the post were not too frequent which could annoy the followers and also not too far apart which could lose followers. These listed social media steps I have learnt during my time with TeenLine are elements that can be adapted to any business or organisation.

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TeenLine stand at different events around Ireland.

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Promoting Positive Mental Health at Events

Throughout the 40 weeks I spent with the helpline charity, I worked at the TeenLine stand at a number of events such as the Transition Year Exposition at the Puchestown Event Centre, at Zeminar in the RDS in Dublin, at the Mental Health & WellBeing Summit at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin and at a number of Youth Mental Health Events throughout the country. As mentioned previously, TeenLine hands out wristbands and lollipops at the events to help promote and spread the word about the services they offer such as school talks and the helpline. Due to this, the stand was constantly busy with young people and teachers. Our aim was to interact and speak to as many of them as possible. This task requires being outgoing and knowing all the information about TeenLine. I quickly became confortable at speaking to people about the helpline and the organisation, and was often sent on my own to other events as a TeenLine representative.

Events such as Zeminar and Youth Mental Health Events are important for the Irish society. As mentioned previously, there is a high suicide rate in Ireland furthermore, Mental Health and depression were taboo subjects. According to Connolly (2016), there has now been a change in society, with more and more people affected by suicide or depression speaking out on the matter to prevent the already high suicide figures from increasing. Many Irish personalities and celebraties are also becoming involved and speaking out in order to break the taboo of Mental Health. The most famous example in Ireland is Niall Breslin, known as Bressie. He is an Irish musician, who 2 years ago opened up publicly about his struggles with his own Mental Health. In October, I had the pleasure of meeting him at the Mental Health & Well Being Summit in Dublin. I also attended his talk.

Attending events and listening to speakers talk about their struggles has taught me a lot about Mental Health and has opened my eyes to how important it is to promote a positive Mental Health attitude. For Ireland to keep progressing in the right direction it is important for people to continue to speak about Mental Health and for people to understand that it is ok to reach out for help and the volunteers on the helplines are there to listen.

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A photo with Bressie at the Mental Health Well Being Summit at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin. 

A Conference at Zeminar.

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Walking the Camino for TeenLine Ireland - A Once in a Life Time Opportunity

During my internship with TeenLine, I had the opportunity to organise and work on a variety of events around Ireland, from visiting schools to talk about Mental Health and the helpline to managing a TeenLine stand at different conferences and expositions. These all enabled me to gain experience in the event industry and to make a number of new contacts.

The most exciting and interesting event I participated in during my time with the charity was when I was given the opportunity to walk 100km of the Camino from Sarria to Santiago de Compostela in August. I was sent to Spain to represent TeenLine and accompany the 15 volunteers from Ireland who were walking part of the Camino to raise funds for the Helpline. The Camino de Santiago also called the Way of St. James, is a large network of ancient pilgrim routes across Europe. All the routes come together at the tomb of St. James in the town of Santiago de Compostela in the north-west of Spain. According to Camino Ways, overseas challenges such as this one are seen as a fantastic way to raise money for a cause as the experience can help you raise awareness for your chosen charity, gain attention and increase long term support. In addition, it helps to promote a healthy lifestyle message to the supporters of your cause.

Before leaving for Spain I was assigned the project, I had to ensure that everything was organised and ready for the departure. The entire trip was booked through the Irish company Camino Ways. This simplified the organisational process as they took care of booking the guide and the accommodation and meals in each town. However, I was in charge of liaising with the company and the participants, ensuring that the different payments had been made and also booking the flights.

The weeklong trip had its ups and downs. Blisters, sore feet and uncomfortable shoes were challengers that some of us encountered along the way. Furthermore, the hot August weather was hard to adapt to and most of us found it very difficult to walk 25k in temperatures of up to 35 degrees. These were small aspects which were quickly forgotten when the TeenLine participants regrouped every night around good Spanish food and local wine. One evening after dinner, some of the older members of the group got up and sang a few traditional Irish songs. Moments like these brought the group closer. This close bond was very apparent when the group came together to encourage and motivate individuals who were struggling some days with the distance or the heat. In the end, this helped us to finish the challenge as one big group.

I enjoyed every minute of the experience with a fantastic group of dedicated volunteers. I would be delighted if I ever got the opportunity to do it again. However, the hot Summer weather is definitely a factor I would take into consideration if planning the same trip again. Secondly, I discovered how important it is for the group to get along and know each other before embarking on the adventure. A few weeks before leaving Dublin for Spain, I’d organised for the participants to meet, as they were not all acquainted. This was highly appreciated by those traveling on their own as it reassured them before the departure.

Taking part in the adventure was a rewarding experience as we were all doing it for one reason: to raise funds in irder to help TeenLine keep the phone lines open for the thousands of young people who need it. Additionally, I learned a lot about how to plan a trip for a big group of people and what steps to take to ensure it is a good experience.

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Photos of the Camino Trip

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TeenLine Group Photo in Santiago de Compostela at the end of the Camino.

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My TeenLine Projects

Being an Event Management intern with TeenLine Ireland was a great experience that gave me the opportunity to work on a variety of events and also to attend a few outside events. As previously mentioned walking the Camino was by far the most interesting and challenging thing I did during my time with the charity. However, the trip only represented one week of my work experience. With TeenLine I had the opportunity to work on organising three other big events.

Firstly, the TeenLine Purple Walk, which was held on the 27th of December 2016 in Dublin. The purpose of the event was to raise vital funds as quickly as possible because money was running low for TeenLine. During the planning process I was delegated to look after the insurance coverage, for the event, the promotional material such as organising the photo shoot with the TeenLine ambassadors and also social media accounts.  Additionally, I helped put together the press release which was sent out to a number of media. The Purple Walk was a success with a good number of participants allowing TeenLine to raise the needed funds.

The second large event was the first TeenLine Ball, which was planned for September 2017 in the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel, Dublin. During this project, I worked alongside two TeenLine Ambassadors: Sally-Anne Clarke, a famous Dublin restaurant owner and socialite Jackie Rafter. We had regular meetings to discuss the planning and organisation of the event. Venue hire, menu, budgeting and entertainment were discussed during these meetings.

Rise Above, was the third big event which was being organised in conjunction with the charity ChildVision, who are dedicated to the education and therapy needs of blind and multi-disabled children. The event entailed kayaking the length of the River Shannon in Ireland to raise funds and awareness for both TeenLine and ChildVision. Professionals would have the opportunity to take part in the full four-day event. However schools and amateurs would only have the possibility to kayak a short distance on a designated day. The idea for the event came from Wesley Bourke who is visually impaired and attended the ChildVision School when he was younger. After nearly completely loosing his sight he struggled with his Mental Health. Therefore, an event combining the two charities and raising awareness for both Mental Health and disabilities linked to vision was important to him. The name ‘Rise Above’ was chosen to highlight Rising Above the stigmas of Mental Health and Disabilities.

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The TeenLine Purple Walk on the 27th December 2016. 

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The End of my Time With TeenLine

Unfortunately at the end of February, due to unforeseen circumstances the majority of the TeenLine staff resigned. This led to the cancellation of the ball and the kayaking event and sadly to my resignation. I was lucky enough to quickly find a new internship thanks to some contacts I had made during my time with TeenLine. These people were very helpful and forwarded my CV to their contacts. Deciding to resign from TeenLine was a hard decision to make as I had spent manymonths with the team and was invested in the charity. It was a stressful period however it helped me grow.

A few weeks after resigning I was offered a new internship with Ireland’s Blue Book, a collection of Irish country House Hotels, Castles and Restaurants in Ireland. Since starting with the marketing company I have been working on the social media accounts of the different 50 properties in the Blue Book. Additionally, I have been promoting and uploading hotel deals on various tourist websites. The new internship is completely different to the one with TeenLine, Ireland’s Blue Book is more focused on marketing and the tourism industry.

I have also had the opportunity to attend several events such as the Irish AA Hospitality Awards and the opening night of the play Private Lives in Dublin, which was attended by many well-known people and members of the press.

Overall, the 40 weeks with TeenLine was an enriching experience, where I learnt a lot through gaining event industry experience but also gained a better understanding on the struggles a small charity can face, from money issues to the lack of volunteers. Furthermore, I gained knowledge on the subject of Mental Health, and the importance of promoting positive mental health attitudes among young people.

I am lucky to have been able to attend a variety of events with both TeenLine and Ireland’s Blue Book, that were held in different venues throughout the country. The experience of attending and seeing the layout, décor and execution of the event is intriguing and fascinating. My experiences might some day come in handy when I am the planner. From working in a small unfunded charity and planning events with a budget of zero I have also learnt to adapt to the situation and find solutions. Additionally, I have gained more confidence in contacting people for discounts or donations. However, for the moment I do not see myself pursuing an event management career with a charity.

I have developed an interest in marketing from my time with Ireland’s Blue Book. For this reason, I have started to look at Masters in Marketing. However, I do not know if I would go straight into studying for a masters when I finish my Bachelor in Event Management next year. This is something that I will need to think about during the next few months.

Working in Dublin over the past few months has been an enjoyable experience and perhaps I might move back to Dublin at the end of the course and pursue my career in Ireland.

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TeenLine Events in Cork, Nenagh and Galway.

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The Irish AA Hospitality Awards with Ireland’s Blue Book