By Dayton Keffer
Supporting young adults throughout their education is an ongoing goal for Gwyneth’s Gift Foundation. This year, we have furthered our strides by hiring two college interns for the first time. Kathryn Durham and Dayton Keffer are the newest additions to our team. Both are seniors at the University of Mary Washington with majors in Communications and Digital Studies.
Chosen for their high work ethic and passion for service, they make an excellent contribution to our team. They both have a strong desire to help further Gwyneth’s Gift’s vision of creating a Culture of Action in our community.
“I wanted to apply to Gwyneth’s Gift because I believe in what they are doing,” said Kathryn. “I believe that they are equipping people with the skills to save lives.”
When Dayton first saw the internship listing for Gwyneth’s Gift, she was excited to see an opportunity with an organization right here in Fredericksburg.
“I realized Gwyneth’s Gift Foundation was doing something for the greater good and they were doing it well,” Dayton said.
In addition to having a passion for community service, Kathryn and Dayton enjoy working with the dedicated team at Gwyneth’s Gift.
“I like knowing that we all are coming together to make a difference,” said Kathryn. “We all come to work each day and work to figure out how to train more people to be life savers.”
“I really like the atmosphere of working for Gwyneth’s Gift,” Dayton said. “The team is really nice and have always made me feel welcomed and involved within their organization. I also liked that once I started working for Gwyneth’s Gift, I realized how much the employees value me as an individual and allow me to bring my skills and input to their team.”
In their short time of being with the organization so far, the interns have created numerous posts for our social media platforms and have taken on specific individual projects that are best suited for their skills. They have also joined us in the community to assist with trainings and awareness events.
Kathryn notes that her favorite event she has attended was the Frosty 5K that benefited Gwyneth’s Gift in December 2023.
“It was such a cool experience to watch all the runners,” she said. “Jennifer and Joel spoke about what it meant to them to be collaborating with the event coordinators and it was awesome to see it all come together.”
Dayton’s favorite project since starting her internship is the profile story she wrote on Director of Operations Veronica Gutierrez.
“I really enjoyed writing the piece and I put a lot of work into it,” said Dayton. “It was accepted for the Front Porch February 2024 issue and I am looking forward to seeing it in print!”
In addition to their work with Gwyneth’s Gift, Kathryn and Dayton are involved with various extracurriculars and clubs at UMW.
Kathryn is a member of the Student Alumni Ambassadors and serves as the current Vice President of Social Media and Marketing for the organization. She is also involved with New Student Programs.
“This past summer I worked as an orientation leader,” she said. “I helped to welcome thousands of new students to campus! It was a great experience and I definitely learned a lot.”
Dayton is a member of Mary Massacre, UMW’s Women’s Club Ultimate Frisbee Team.
“I am a handler on the team and this is my 5th semester playing,” said Dayton. “ I am a Co-Social Chair for the team which means I handle all our social media and plan social events for the team.”
She is also a new member of WMWC Campus Radio.
“I have a show every Wednesday from 10:00 am – 11:00 am on the Campus Radio broadcast,” Dayton said. “I usually talk about things that interest me or play music I like.”
Kathryn and Dayton have already proven themselves as wonderful additions to the Gwyneth’s Gift Foundation team. We are excited to see them flourish throughout their internship program!
