August 2025
JS Interns Emma Doyle, Alasne Murphy, Madeline Moye, Eva Berggren and Anna Parel share their experience working on the 2025 BrandAid project.
At Jackson Spalding, the BrandAid project is a unique opportunity for its summer internship program, blending professional development with purpose-driven work. Each year, the intern class collaborates across offices to provide pro-bono public relations and marketing support to a nonprofit organization selected through a JS-employee-nominated process.
This summer, we partnered with Ferst Readers, a nonprofit dedicated to improving early childhood literacy by providing free books and resources to families. For six weeks, the 2025 intern class was entrusted with the project, while receiving guidance from JS mentors every step of the way. As teammates, decision-makers and storytellers, we diagnosed Ferst Readers’ growth opportunity on social media and developed methods to help them grow their online presence. Along the way, we gained invaluable experience in client relations, strategy development and project execution.
BrandAid started as a way for JSers to give back during the uncertainty of the pandemic. Today, it’s grown into a defining experience of the summer program. For many of us, it was the first time seeing our ideas move from brainstorm to brief to execution, in partnership with a real-world client. We’re proud to continue the tradition, and even prouder of the story we helped Ferst Readers tell.
Since its establishment in Madison, GA in 1999, Ferst Readers has provided books and learning materials to children across the country. Statistics show that early literacy is essential in fostering future success. However, 61% of low-income families have no books at all in their homes for children. Ferst Readers seeks to address this problem by spreading the gift of reading and working to close the literacy gap. Through providing age-appropriate books and preparing parents to be their children’s first teachers, Ferst Readers uplifts communities and changes lives.
Ferst Readers came to Jackson Spalding with a powerful mission, and we saw an opportunity to help expand their outreach on LinkedIn. Using our DRIVE process, we guided the project from start to finish with a strategic foundation centered around one goal: creating an authentic and informed LinkedIn presence.
We started by developing a social media brand kit that included logos, color schemes, typography and a distinct voice and tone. We then introduced four content pillars—Educate, Trust, Culture and Promote—and provided post suggestions, customizable templates, a posting schedule and key dates to guide content planning using those content pillars. We also created and optimized their LinkedIn presence, including profile setup and nonprofit verification. To ensure the page could be sustained beyond our involvement, we wrapped the project with actionable recommendations for ongoing content creation, engagement and performance tracking.
Working on the BrandAid project for Ferst Readers was more than just a campaign: It was a valuable learning experience. Of course, one of the first action items was to dig into Ferst Readers as an organization and understand their vision and their work. In learning more about their mission, we became genuinely passionate about their cause. Many of us were new to working with nonprofit brands, so we had to quickly learn and adapt to how different the approach can be from campaigns for “profit-driven” companies. For example, nonprofits don’t talk about “competitors,” they use terms like “peer organizations.” Most even prefer not to think in terms of “competition” at all.
As a team, we also discovered how to collaborate effectively while building our own sense of leadership. We learned how to divide tasks, communicate across multiple offices and lean into each team member’s strengths. But at the same time, we were challenged to take the initiative and lead the campaign on our own.
Our final presentation was another powerful highlight. Before we presented, several leaders shared advice on how to build audience anticipation and confidence. Their input helped us finetune not just what we said, but how we said it. In the end, it paid off. The Ferst Readers team was emotional over our presentation, and we were so proud of how it turned out.
As we saw our project come together, we felt incredibly grateful for how the project supported Ferst Readers. “I can see that we have advocates in all of you,” shared Elisabeth Wang, Ferst Readers board member and Vice President of Brand Building and Communications at Piedmont Healthcare. She went on to explain, “What you’re giving is not just an hour or two; you’re helping to change the direction of an organization and that splits off into the greater community.”
Davida Morgan-Washington, the President of Ferst Readers, shared, “Your work has positioned us to tell our story more clearly, connect with our audiences more effectively and elevate our mission in meaningful ways.” Our team felt especially moved as we heard that our project could expand Ferst Readers’ outreach and ultimately provide more books to children who need them most.
We are so honored that we not only supported Ferst Readers’ mission of closing the literacy gap but also represented JS well. Elisabeth Wang commented, “I feel such a sense of pride for our relationship with Jackson Spalding.” Bea Perdue of St. Vincent DePaul, who is also Ferst Readers board member, noted, “Like everything else that Jackson Spalding does, this is a tremendous example of great work.” Looking back at these results, we feel so thankful for our fellow team members, advisors and supporters, all of whom helped us grow into true JSers.
As this year’s intern class, we now understand why BrandAid is such a cornerstone of the JS summer experience. What started during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic has grown into something truly special: a chance for interns to create meaningful work with purpose at the center.
This summer, BrandAid gave us more than a project. It gave us the opportunity to contribute to a mission we believe in, to collaborate across offices and disciplines and to see our ideas move from brainstorming to execution with a real-world client. Ferst Readers inspired us, and we’re proud to have played a part in helping them expand their impact.
Most of all, BrandAid gave us confidence, not just in our skills, but in our ability to lead, support one another and make a difference. We’re grateful for the mentors who guided us, the teammates who pushed us and the chance to be part of a tradition that will continue long after we leave. This is only the beginning, but it’s a beginning we’ll never forget.
