My first few days at PeacePlayers International have focused on learning the history and current work of the organization. Although I am only an intern for the summer, it is important to completely understand the ins-and-outs of the organization in order to a be a valuable contributor to PeacePlayers. Here’s what I’ve learned so far:
We live in a world where 1 in 10 children (more than 230 million) currently live in countries affected by armed conflicts. Government leaders forge agreements in attempts to make peace, yet these treaties often prove unsustainable because the root causes of conflict are left unaddressed. Based on the simple premise that “children who play together can learn to live together,” PeacePlayers International was founded in 2001 to address those root causes by uniting, educating, and inspiring young people using the game of basketball.
Since its founding, PeacePlayers has reached more than 69,000 youth in 15 countries through year-round sports activities using groundbreaking peacebuilding-and-leadership development curriculum developed in partnership with the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the Arbinger Institute. PeacePlayers has become a worldwide leader in the use of sport to build a more peaceful world and is the only organization to have received the Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPYS (2007); the Laureus Sport for Good Award (2008); and the NGO for Peace of the Year Award from Peace and Sport (2011).
The DC headquarters oversees all operations and works to seek out government, corporate, and individual funders. PPI’s main sponsors include adidas, USAID, and the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation. PPI also has an active board of directors that includes the President and GM of the San Antonio Spurs R.C. Buford, Golden State Warriors Head Coach Steve Kerr, and well-known Sports Agent/Attorney Ron Shapiro.
As the communication and development intern, my responsibilities include running PeacePlayers’ social media accounts, writing original blog posts for their website and editing those written by coaches and participants of their program, crafting press releases and other marketing material, as well as helping with grant writing, prospect research, donor communication and general online outreach. I have also been given the opportunity to complete a “capstone” project where I will develop a grassroots fundraising campaign for PeacePlayers to implement after my internship has ended.
This is definitely not an internship where coffee runs will be my most important assignment!