Power Play for the Community: Joelle Brown ’24’s Bruins Foundation Internship  

Even as the world’s eyes have been glued to the recent Olympic Games in Paris, Boston’s sports teams are hard at work maintaining their legendary reputation. The Celtics just won their first championship in 16 years, and the Red Sox are currently ranked third overall in the major leagues. Boston sports fans are also legendary for their passionate support for their teams. The Bruins—Boston’s National Hockey League (NHL) team—have found a way to galvanize this fan energy for the greater good through the Boston Bruins Foundation. 

Newly minted alumna Joelle Brown ’24 (communication arts) finished a six-month internship with the Foundation earlier this summer. The Boston Bruins’ nonprofit seeks to serve not only its fans but the entire Boston community. She found in the Bruins team, organization and fans a spirit of generosity and inclusivity—ideals she seeks to live out as she pursues her career as a Christian. Through her time, she impacted the environment by being a light and sharing her faith. 

Gathering Around the Raffle Table 

The Foundation's raffle table at a home game.

During the first three months of the internship, Brown worked for the Foundation internally, fielding charity and accessibility requests for Bruins tickets and sorting fan mail to Bruins players. In addition to her daily office work, Brown attended several home games to help run the Boston Bruins Foundation raffle table. It brought Bruins fans and even other hockey fans from other teams to participate.  The raffle would raise funds for a designated nonprofit, charity or beneficiary. Fans can stop by to participate in the raffle and talk to Foundation members.  

From setting up interactive games and handing out raffle tickets, Joelle was determined to make the fans’ experience fun. She would help set up the table, sell 50/50 tickets to the fans and listen to their stories. “They're really dedicated to the Bruins,” Brown observed. “Some of them have been fans for 30 years and some of the fans were new fans...It was so cool to listen to them and ask how their day was, what brought them to the raffle table...A lot of the fans who were there for a long time always came back and asked how everyone on the Foundation team was doing.” 

From Bruins Games to the Boston Marathon 

The second half of Brown’s internship was with the Foundation’s community relations team, which works within the Boston community in places like schools, hospitals and sporting events. The Foundation orchestrates a Summer Reading program for kids, sending Bruins players to kids’ birthday parties to give out goody bags, hockey clinics in underrepresented communities and fundraisers for first responders and military charities. 

One of the biggest events Brown helped with was the 2024 Boston Marathon. This year the Foundation had 11 Boston Marathon racers, and their fundraising efforts brought in over $120,000. Brown leaned heavily on her communications skills to plan and support these events. In her team, she organized cookie packages to send out to public workers in Boston. She also helped with graphic design for events and selected memorabilia to give away from “the Cage,” a massive storage space filled with every kind of Bruins merch you could think of: Boston Bruins calendars, jerseys, foam fingers, bobbleheads and even hockey sticks signed by the players.  

“What they do inside and outside the community, specializing in giving back, really highlighted their focus on diversity and inclusion,” Brown said. “I was a little intimidated at first, learning what community relations did, but they were very welcoming. They had student interns from different backgrounds, they worked with many diverse organizations and neighborhoods, and with fans of a range of ages...to have that experience overall was just very special. 

A Light in the Sports Industry 

Brown’s internship with the Boston Bruins Foundation showed her how to combine a passion for sports, communications and service into a meaningful career. More importantly, she also recognized how she can integrate her faith into her career. 

"I'm called to honor God in whatever I do, no matter the environment. My internship made me realize that it's OK to...believe in something different than everyone else around me. I was surprised at how everyone was very welcoming to students from all different backgrounds...even if they don't believe in the same things. The Foundation is all about serving others, so it’s important for me to...stay true to who God wants me to be and be a leader in the sports community.”