Brave Like Me Foundation Social Impact Merchandise Intern Cincinnati, OH · Intern Company website

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Brave Like Me Foundation creates moments of joy for children with complex medical conditions. Through Brayden’s Books, we bring comfort and connection; through Brave Friends Adventures, we create unforgettable experiences; and through Brave Pets, we reunite kids with the pets who love them most. Inspired by Brayden Otten, we exist to bring courage, hope, and joy when families need it most.

About Brave Like Me Foundation

Brave Like Me Foundation exists to bring courage, comfort, and joy to children with complex medical conditions and their families. Inspired by the life of Brayden Otten, our work is grounded in three pillars:

• Mind – Brayden’s Books: literacy, connection, and ease during medical care
• Body – Brave Friends Adventures: joyful experiences and outings for children and their closest friends
• Spirit – Brave Pets: reuniting hospitalized children with their beloved pets through the Mobile Family Pet Reunion Center

Together, these pillars form a wholehearted approach to healing, one that recognizes that true care extends beyond medicine. By addressing emotional connection, joyful experience, and inner resilience, Brave Like Me meets children where they are and walks beside them with compassion, courage, and love.

Internship Description

Brave Like Me Foundation is seeking a creative, entrepreneurial, and detail-oriented Social Impact Merchandise Intern to own the creation and growth of Brave Like Me merchandise, from design concepts to finished products. This internship is ideal for a student who wants real-world experience building mission-driven products, launching drops, and learning how ecommerce can fund and expand nonprofit impact.

Brave Like Me operates with a startup mindset. We move fast, build what’s needed, and scale what works. That means interns get meaningful projects, real ownership, and the tactical experience of a growing organization. You will leave with portfolio-ready work you can actually show and measurable outcomes you can talk about in interviews.

This role has two major focuses:

1. creating merchandise that Brave Kids and Brave Families are proud to wear and receive as part of the Brave Like Me community, and
2. growing online sales that fuel our programs. Every product sold not only supports our mission financially, it also spreads our mission by inspiring strangers to be brave, relentless, and bring joy.

This is an unpaid internship; however, candidates may be eligible to receive academic credit or eligible work study as approved by their institution. Interns are expected to work approximately 15–20 hours per week, primarily during standard office hours (Monday–Friday, 9:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.), with occasional evenings or weekends tied to events, product launches, or special initiatives.

Core Responsibilities

What You Will Own with Mentorship

This role comes with real ownership. You will lead a defined set of deliverables, such as:

• Launching at least one merchandise drop from concept to live listings
• Building or improving Shopify collections and product pages tied to a campaign or event
• Creating a product storytelling kit (photos, copy, and launch assets) for Shopify and TikTok Shop
• Designing merchandise that is distributed to Brave Kids and Brave Families at events
• Tracking results and recommending what we should launch next

Product and Merchandise Development

• Create merchandise concepts from idea to finished product, including design direction, product selection, and messaging
• Design merchandise for events supporting Brave Kids and Brave Families, including sizing needs, quantities, and distribution planning
• Build a cohesive merchandise strategy across campaigns, seasons, and program moments
• Translate mission stories into wearable, giftable products people are proud to share

E-commerce Growth (Shopify and TikTok Shop)

• Own product listings and merchandising across Shopify and TikTok Shop, including titles, descriptions, photos, variants, and collections
• Plan and execute product drops and launch moments, including timelines and assets
• Help create short-form product storytelling content for TikTok Shop and social channels, including creator-style product demos and behind-the-scenes moments
• Track performance (sales, conversion, clicks, best sellers) and make recommendations that improve results

Creative Assets and Brand Consistency

• Create or coordinate launch assets including product images, collection visuals, and promotional graphics
• Maintain organized product files and clean version control for designs and assets
• Ensure merchandise and storefront visuals align with Brave Like Me brand voice and style

Operations, Shipping, and Fulfillment

• Learn the ins and outs of ecommerce shipping and fulfillment workflows, including direct shipping through tools like Pirate Ship
• Support fulfillment operations across multiple channels, including Fulfillment by TikTok, Fulfillment by Amazon (FBA), and third-party fulfillment partners
• Help evaluate and coordinate third-party dropshippers and print-on-demand vendors for select products
• Coordinate basic fulfillment needs including ordering timelines, inventory organization, and event readiness
• Help document product workflows so the system is repeatable as we scale

Qualifications

• Current undergraduate or graduate student in fashion merchandising, graphic design, marketing, entrepreneurship, business, or a related field
• Strong design instincts and comfort taking ideas from concept through production
• Interest in e-commerce, consumer products, or social impact brands
• Comfortable learning tools like Shopify and TikTok Shop and working with performance metrics
• Strong attention to detail and ability to manage multiple moving parts
• Comfortable working independently, bringing ideas forward, and owning outcomes
• Experience with Shopify, TikTok Shop, Canva, Adobe, or similar tools is a plus (not required)
• Interest in learning shipping and fulfillment operations is a plus

What You’ll Gain

• Real ownership of a merchandise and e-commerce function in a growing social impact nonprofit
• Portfolio-ready work including product designs, product drops, storefront improvements, and launch assets
• Resume-ready outcomes tied to measurable performance, not just tasks completed
• Hands-on exposure to e-commerce operations including direct shipping, fulfillment partners, and multichannel workflows
• Mentorship and feedback focused on product creation, ecommerce execution, and mission-based marketing
• A meaningful role where your work helps fund and expand Brave Like Me programs and spreads our mission through products people are proud to wear