A charity which supports children who have a rare genetic disorder has gained a new perspective on their organisation after hiring a Keele University student.

Fanconi Hope, based in Portsmouth, supports children with Fanconi Anaemia - a disorder which affects bone marrow and is a predisposition to certain neck and head cancers. It is run by parents of affected children and clinicians who have an interest in this area. The charity promotes awareness of the disorder to the public and medical professionals, encourages research and is currently partnered internationally with the USA-based Fanconi Anaemia Research Fund

The organisation looked to Keele University’s Virtual Internships scheme, funded by Santander Universities, to hire a paid intern for 100 hours.

During the pandemic, the scheme was formed to give charities and not-for-profit organisations access to the talented students and graduates at Keele University, at no cost to their business. Interns can help with a variety of business support related to their area of study, from process or product management to market research. In the case of Fanconi Hope, the internship was created to help the charity develop their social media presence and improve the posts on their website, focusing on targeting a younger demographic.

The charity’s Chairman, Bob Dalgleish, commented:

“Our intern has improved our understanding of social media and has brought new ideas to our attention. Now we use shorter, image-centric posts rather than the text heavy ones we use previously.

Her psychology background has also given us an insight into how those with disabilities such as dyslexia and dyspraxia view our website. During the internship she also learnt how to use Photoshop which resulted in producing graphics to promote our online webinars.

Taking part in the Keele Internships scheme has been great for getting a fresh perspective on our organisation, and I would recommend any charity or non-for-profit to get in touch with the University.”

To find out more about our internship schemes including Santander Universities UK programme and our fully-funded charity internships please visit https://www.keele.ac.uk/business/businesssupport/placementsinternshipsandcareers/

For more information about internships and other support opportunities available to businesses, please visit www.keele.ac.uk/business.

Team photo taken early 2020