An Unforgettable Experience: Be A Friend Project Internship
By Daniel Simpson
This summer, I interned at the Be A Friend Project (BAFP), a kids-for-kids non-profit organization that focuses on Bullying Prevention and Kindness Activism. I have been involved with the organization for seven years after performing in the Co-Founders’ original anti-bullying-themed musical, IT’S EASY! In October last year, I became Media Coordinator at the BAFP after remembering that Executive Director Jennifer Young was looking for someone to help grow the organization. To my surprise, Jennifer was willing to expand my role into a full-time Marketing & Strategy Intern this summer. I could not wait to spend more time building on this mission that I am so passionate about.
By the end of April, I was home in New Jersey from the University of Michigan and eager to start working at the BAFP in Cold Spring, New York. I was strangely excited that I would have a 45-minute commute three times a week! I was also excited to be working my first ever full-time job. My part-time role allowed me to connect with Jennifer, but in this role, I was fortunate to get to know the other employees — Amy, Heather, and Kimmie — on a close level. Everyone’s infectious high energy and goofy but driven personality always made the long commute worth it.
As a queer person, I felt proud to be working for an organization that was getting recognition from other organizations that target the LGBTQ+ community such as the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce and, of course, the Matthew Shepard Foundation. In addition to recognition from these organizations, the BAFP has sent support to queer people that are being bullied, and through my work, I have learned and shared how LGBTQ+ youth are disproportionately bullied.
This experience has been unlike any other. We put on events, we developed new initiatives, and there’s a whole lot more coming… just you wait! My favorite project was building a scholarship for high school juniors, high school seniors, and college freshmen. In addition to successfully expanding our outreach, the scholarship was instrumental in helping us generate ideas from our target audience about how we can end bullying and build kinder communities. I also enjoyed creating blog posts, video reels, and social media graphics such as our signature “Thoughtful Thursdays” and “Friendly Fridays” series. These series are ways we can use social media for good: raising awareness about bullying prevention and being a good friend.
Work trips are ways we can see our impact LIVE. Watching these Upstanders light up as we entered the room, it felt like we were superheroes…but the truth is, THEY ARE THE SUPERHEROES!! In Springfield, Massachusetts, we met our Kindness Club Challenge winners at Roger L. Putnam Vocational Technical Academy — high schoolers who completed 50 Bullying Prevention and Kindness activities. We also met the Upstanders at Sunshine Village, longtime Friend Mail (letters of peer support) artists/writers. Third stop, lunch with Christine Maiwald, former Executive Director of Unify Against Bullying. In Pleasant Valley, New York, we introduced the organization to the young campers at Camp Sunny Days. Campers gave each other compliments through our “Pat on the Back” Challenge and wrote letters of support to our summer Friend Mail recipient, Toni. Furthermore, down the street from our office in Cold Spring, we had a tent at the Modern Makers Market — super fun!
I may have learned some logistics on how a non-profit runs, but my most important takeaway is just how much our words and actions matter. I learned from Jennifer that 42 kids die by suicide each week in the United States due to bullying. For each of those deaths, there are at least 100 attempts. In preparation for our annual Walkathon to End Bullying, I tearfully made posters honoring 42 of these kids, my heart breaking as I read each of their stories. You never know what someone is going through. The solution is clear: be kind to each other.
The beauty of working at a small non-profit is that my voice always mattered and my brainstorming became material impact, even though I was just an intern. Not everyone can come into work each day being their authentic self, feeling loved, appreciated, and celebrated; for that, I am beyond grateful. I could open up about anything in my personal life and it would be truly listened to. My colleague and friend Kimmie Edge (20) delivers a speech where she shares that although she was never a recipient of Friend Mail, she was able to recover from severe bullying through volunteering for the organization. Though I was fortunately never severely bullied, I can say that participating in the BAFP’s kindness initiatives has truly made my days brighter, especially after the emotional toll of the first-year college adjustment. It was no surprise learning that statistics prove that kinder people are happier people!
In the future, it is my goal to be an active member on the BAFP Adult Board and have a stable job so I can be a high donor. In the meantime, I have the honor of continuing my roles as a part-time Media Coordinator and Teen Kindness Board Chair. Though I am excited for my sophomore year of college, saying goodbye to my colleagues was hard. However, I will be paying as many office visits as possible! Thank you to all involved in the BAFP for making this an unforgettable summer. Much love ❤
About the Author
Daniel Simpson (he/him) is from Park Ridge, NJ, a small town outside of New York City. He is a first-year student at the University of Michigan pursuing a dual degree in Business Administration and Theatre Arts. Go blue!
Daniel was bitten by the theatre bug at the age of seven and has been a performer ever since. When Daniel was in middle school, he performed in a professional new musical called It’s Easy: The Friend Strong Musical, where he was introduced to the Be A Friend Project (BAFP). Daniel started an anti-bullying club at his high school, and now works for the BAFP as a Media Coordinator and a National Teen Kindness Board member.
In addition to performing and spreading the anti-bullying message, Daniel enjoys marketing, coffee, cooking, working out, and going on adventures with friends.
