Intern Takes the Lead in Local Nonprofit’s Makeover

Jennifer Anderson

Master of Arts in Arts Administration student in IU’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs

Highland, Indiana

“I was given the opportunity to really make an impact for an organization whose mission I have grown to accept as my own.”

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My Sister’s Closet of Monroe County needed a makeover, and Jennifer Anderson was just the person to help.

The first student to participate in the Center for Retailing’s paid service-learning internship, Anderson spent a summer working 15 hours a week for My Sister’s Closet, a nonprofit that provides gently used, high-quality business attire to low-income women who are looking for jobs and also sells low-cost professional clothing to the public.

Anderson helped redesign the organization’s store to appeal to IU students, and she took the lead in rebranding My Sister’s Closet with a new logo and marketing materials. Along the way she gained valuable experience in nonprofit marketing and leadership.

“I was given the opportunity to really make an impact for an organization whose mission I have grown to accept as my own,” says Anderson, who continued volunteering for My Sister’s Closet after the internship. “Most of the women that come into the store have children, and when they do get to go shopping they certainly aren’t buying things for themselves. But when they come into My Sister’s Closet, it is about them, which is nice.”