This blog was written by mentee Kayla Santos Sabino on Planned Parenthood Donor Services Representative Cassidy Chait. Kayla was the Industry Talk speaker at Girls Write Now’s How to Get What You Want: Politics, Philanthropy, & Persuasive Writing Workshop.
Cassidy Chait came to speak at the Persuasive Writing workshop to give us a breakdown of the organization she works for as a donor service representative: Planned Parenthood. It is an organization that gives different types of advice and provides healthcare services. Planned Parenthood is something I find to be of importance, so Cassidy’s presentation on all the things they accomplish really helped me better understand what I may possibly join in the future. She showed us how we can easily connect to them. Not to mention they will listen to our voices and help us no matter the situation we are in.
During the Q&A, Cassidy mentioned that in her interview she was trained to be able to notice “fake” from “real” phone calls, such as those who were calling for assistance or those from the media, who were trying to get a statement from the organization. That is a really important skill because it shows the professionalism of the program, making it more trustworthy. It also shows how much they take into consideration their own responses, and how much they really want to respond to those who really need help. Instead of answering with basic responses like answering machines, they try to show they care about our cases and issues. Cassidy did mention that each email that is sent to Planned Parenthood is sent to a department where they will carefully read each message and personally respond to it. This is a great way to make each individual feel truly special and feel like they are given the respect they deserve.
What really helped connect Cassidy to us is that she spoke in a manner that was friendly rather than work-professional. She projected in a clear and nice manner that allowed us to easily understand and follow what she was saying. The factor that connected us the most would be when she told us her story on how she chose her career. Telling your story really helps you connect with others, and gives them a better understanding of you by showing your point of view, which is why it is great that she did that. She explained that her organization’s new president Dr. Wen does the same in the letters that she sends. Dr. Wen wrote about her family’s history with Planned Parenthood, how her mother when she immigrated here joined it, and how she and her sister were also a part of it. This helps her connect with her patients. Cassidy told us that after that letter they received over 1,000 emails in response.
Cassidy’s presentation was really persuasive in getting us to support Planned Parenthood now or in the future. I would personally love to do an internship there or just send personal emails for any issues or questions I should have in the future. She did an amazing job in speaking to us and I do hope she comes in to speak with us again in the future. I, for one, would absolutely look forward to it.