Georgie Frykberg was on the hunt for work experience in a not-for-profit when she came across Shopfront’s listing of the Take Heart Australia project: “I was looking for an internship that would be challenging but rewarding both personally and professionally, and I believed that Take Heart Australia was an organisation that needed to be heard.”
30,000 Australians suffer from sudden cardiac arrest each year, with only a 10% survival rate. It accounts for almost 20% of all deaths in Australia and effects people regardless of age, claiming the lives of 5 Australians under 35 years old every week.
Take Heart Australia formed in 2014 with an aim to improve survival rates from cardiac arrest from 10% to 65%. They plan to educate the public about cardiac arrest, and to increase both the amount of automated external defibrillators (AED) available and the number of people trained in high quality CPR.
Photo courtesy of Take Heart Australia.
Take Heart Australia partnered with Shopfront to expand its capacity in campaign development and marketing and communications support. Georgie came on board as Communications Intern to increase awareness of the organisation in Australia through a social media strategy. She’s also been updating the website and creating business and marketing plans.
Through the internship, Georgie has been supported and guided by two of Take Heart’s key partner organisations – OnQue and Hill and Knowlton. Working out of OnQue Digital’s offices, she has worked closely with their CEO and gained invaluable experience of workplace environments, whilst her experience with Hill and Knowlton has exposed her to a large company with a wealth of knowledge.
‘Young Hearts’ has been the focus of Georgie’s internship, a campaign that aims to increase awareness and community engagement through 2 key program areas: a screening tool used to identify children and young people at risk of early cardiac arrest; and the development of a high quality CPR training program for children in all schools. Georgie believes this campaign is crucial to help combat the low survival rates of people who experience sudden cardiac arrest: “Sudden cardiac arrest can happen to anyone - the young, old, fit and healthy – it doesn’t discriminate…early training leads to a gradual increase in the proportion of the community who are willing and able to save the life of the person standing next to them, and that’s why we need a nationwide CPR program in our schools.”
Take Heart is currently fundraising for a new paid position for Georgie to take up when she imminently completes her degree. She is excited to continue working with Take Heart and can’t imagine anything better than being able to work on projects that could help save lives. She’s loved her internship experience, and truly believes in the importance of internships and the value they can bring alongside university study: “I’m constantly learning every day – about marketing and communications, about work environments and about myself. No matter how well UTS prepares you, there are some things you just can’t learn in a classroom, and that’s why internships are so valuable.”
In November, Take Heart will be holding the first ‘Take Heart Australia Day’. To find out more about this day and Take Heart Australia’s mission to increase the survival rates of people who experience cardiac arrest, you can visit their website here or watch a video teaching High Quality CPR here.