“Cultivating A Relationship With The Community”
by Makenzie Sanders
I began my internship with the New Orleans Abortion Fund in the Summer of 2022 and have continued working with this organization this past Fall. When transitioning between sessions, I assessed what I wished to see change with how we engaged with our communities on social media. After drafting several ideas and proposing them to my supervisors and the Board of NOAF, I was allowed to move forward with a new project. The “Meet the Board” series has been the most extended and engaging project I have worked on.
When I thought of ways to strengthen the New Orleans Abortion Fund’s relationship with its community, I first thought about my relationship with NOAF. At the time, I felt very estranged from the Board as social media was separate from the day-to-day management of working with an abortion fund. Since I was curious about the inner workings of NOAF’s Board, I wondered whether our community members felt the same. Based on our interactions with the series so far, they did. On top of my weekly graphics for the NOAF Youth Action Instagram, the occasional Tik-Tok, graphics for NOAF’s prominent Instagram, and a few collaborations with NOAF’s fundraising committee, I began to interview NOAF’s Board members. The interview features one of NOAF’s volunteer Board members who briefly explains their role in the organization and a brief statement on the impact that NOAF has made on their life, which can now be found on the New Orleans Abortion Fund Instagram page. As the series ends, I am hopeful that a relationship between the Board members and supporters of the New Orleans Abortion Fund has been allowed to prevail.
As my work with NOAF continues into the spring, I aim to collaborate with community partners on fresh projects and initiatives surrounding reproductive health. Currently, I am editing a visual podcast featuring VAYLA Intern Emma Dong that focuses on the history of abortion in America. This collaboration aims to emphasize how the criminalization of abortion has developed since the age of Puritans. With the release of this mini-podcast, the hope is to provide otherwise unknown knowledge concerning the legality of abortion.