Allison Mi
SPARKING HOPE
A Harvard-funded public service project
About
My name is Allison Mi
I am a freshman at Harvard from the lovely Ann Arbor, Michigan (Go Blue!). I plan on concentrating in Economics and Global Health and Health Policy. I have a strong passion for marketing and communications, as well as promoting healthcare access and DEIB programs within this field.
Why SPARK?
Or rather, why not SPARK?
When I found out I was admitted to Harvard, some sadness did seep into my mind: I would be leaving my hometown I have grown to love so much. But, when I found out about the SPARK project, there was no question as to whether I would participate. The community service aspect with my hometown, the opportunity to receive top-tier mentorship from Harvard members, and the endless space for creativity in executing this project all pointed fingers at the “Apply” button.
And most importantly, I wanted to participate in SPARK because I love helping others. Additionally, even though high school is now over for me, passions piqued by my time there have only just begun to grow. That includes my passion for advocacy of healthcare access, and marketing and communications. SPARK has led me to find an opportunity to not only serve my home, but also to blend budding labors of love.
"Spark would be a really good word for what Allison was able to do in the time that she was with us."
Betsy King-McDonald, Hope Clinic Communications Manager
Enter: Hope Clinic
For my SPARK project, I partnered with Hope Clinic, a non-profit clinic that offers Whole-Person, free, and accessible healthcare to low-income and uninsured individuals by helping and bolstering their marketing and communications branch.
The people I worked most closely with was the communications team. Left to right: Patti, Betsy, Allison, Marissa
Me posing with a Hope Clinic mug and pen gifted to me on my last day.
My projects
Meet my to-do list
A.K.A. the backbone of every project
Reaching dental volunteers
If there's one thing I learned at Hope it's that volunteers are the foundation of all they do. This holds true for the dental clinic. I created a dental pamphlet targeting potential volunteer dental providers.
I made copies of the flier to see if everything printed well, and received feedback from the CEO and Dental Clinic Manager.
To increase accessibility, I turned the flier into a website page, as well, so such information could be reached in numerous places.
Working on the frontlines
In addition to marketing work, I thoroughly enjoyed getting to meet staff beyond the communications team and helping them out when I could, whether it was through the food pantry or in the pharmacy. The hands-on work that contrasts with marketing's heavily digital work definitely made my work feel more complete.
Me helping the Pharmacy Coordinator Clara date and pack up the donations she received that day.
Pamphlets in Español
At Hope, a large majority of the dental patients speak only Spanish. That's why they found this Spanish pamphlet detailing the harm of sodas on tooth health very helpful. However, those copies quickly ran out and they didn't have a way of creating new ones. So, with the approval of the original creator, I recreated the pamphlet. This was a challenging project, because no, I do not know any Spanish.
I had to work with my supervisor to figure out which colors were best on paper, by printing out numerous copies.
The learning goes on
My supervisor encouraged me to watch this marketing course called StoryBrand. It completely shifted and clarified my view on marketing. It also greatly helped my work onward at Hope.
In addition to reading through the employee handbook to get a sense of the core values at Hope, I went through a HIPPA training. This was especially important for someone like me dealing with media.
Expanding to LinkedIn
My supervisor had informed me that LinkedIn is a platform on which Hope Clinic has lots of potential to grow on. So, I created a report (as seen below) for her based off of research and analysis of alike organizations' strategies. Throughout the following weeks, I helped implement those ideas.
Email marketing
To improve the volunteer communication system, thus increasing volunteer sign-ups, I created a simplified and engaging way for them to join Hope.
It began with a flowchart I brainstormed with my supervisor.
Below is the final product, which will be programmed into Hope's system. Each email is a tailored response depending on each potential volunteer's trajectory in responding to the follow-up form.
Instagram behind the scenes
The Instagram revamp started with ideas for reel series, then turned into a posting calendar, and eventually reality.
Keeping it Reel
Day in my Life
more to be posted in coming weeks
Stories of Hope
more to be posted in coming weeks
Miscellaneous
This tour video was also posted on the website as the main video, since the last ones became outdated.
And so the spark continues...
Meet Emily!
Emily is a sophomore at the high school I attended. Throughout last year, we collaborated in multiple instances of marketing. When it came to planning how my work at Hope would continue beyond the summer, I knew Emily would be the perfect person to pass it on to.
During my last week at Hope Clinic, I worked with Emily closely to pass on all that I had learned, mentored her in how I created posts and fliers, as well as curated profiles.
Knowing Emily and having seen all that she has done for Hope within such a short period of time leaves me confident the next steps of my SPARK project are left in the best hands.
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