In and around the Greater Boston area, there are tens of thousands of nonprofit organizations. The work that these organizations do is incredible and necessary, especially during times like these, when a pandemic is still surging through the world. Project Kompass is one of these organizations, which BU senior Grace Stone has been working with through PRLab, a campus club that does public relations work with local businesses.
Project Kompass, co-founded by Dave Aldrich and Ronnie Hoey, strives to provide a seamless transition from unstable living conditions to secure housing for local youth, ages 18 to 24. The organization has two locations: North Chelmsford for their transitional housing program and Lowell for their parenting and reliable transportation program.
“We [my team and I] were assigned Project Kompass, and essentially what we do for them is any type of PR work,” Stone said. “For example, my job is doing media relations and reaching out to journalists who would like to cover Project Kompass.”
According to Stone, the team’s goal is to raise awareness and gain a social media presence for the organization. One main project they focused on was creating a website for Project Kompass. Stone herself learned many things through working with them.
“The issue that they’re covering is so interesting,” Stone said. “When you think of the homeless population, I always used to think of older adults that were struggling, but I never really thought about people who came out of the system who have no family to assist them. The work that they’re doing is so important, and I think it’s a really great thing to see an organization that’s actively making a difference.”
Stone is majoring in Public Relations and minoring in Women’s Studies, which gives her a unique perspective when working with Project Kompass.
“When we were picking what we wanted to focus on [in PR], I chose nonprofits,” Stone said. “The Women’s Studies background shows so many things that can be done for women in society; there’s such a gap that exists, not even just the wage gap, but women are facing poverty at a higher rate, and a part of me wants to work in a realm that helps bolster women.”
“I wanted to work with a company that was making a real difference. I really don’t think I could have asked for a better client to receive at PRLab,” stone said.
Want to keep up with HCBU? Make sure to like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, check out our Pinterest board, and read our latest Tweets!