One Day, One Internship » non-profit

Extreme Sports Camp

Willy Franzen — Sun, 14 Mar 2010 15:56:04 +0000

We’ve grown up in the age of extreme sports. Not only did we get to see the X Games when it was a new thing, but we also got to see sports like snowboarding make their way into the Olympics. I’m sure many of you have tried (and failed if you’re anything like me) your hand in at least one extreme sport. The best thing about extreme sports is that they’re huge confidence boosters for kids. While just playing baseball isn’t usually good enough—you actually need to be good at it—being able to do an extreme sports is an accomplishment in itself. That’s why it’s a perfect outlet to help “enhance the health, abilities, personal growth and social engagement of people with autism,” which is what the Basalt, CO based non-profit, Extreme Sports Camp, is all about.

Make Your Internship Search Extreme

I don’t know much more about autism spectrum disorder than what pop culture (Rain Man for example) has taught me, but I do know that Extreme Sports Camp sounds like an amazing opportunity for children with autism. The goal is to help campers “more fully engage in everyday life,” and I find that sports are often extremely effective at inducing that kind of positive change. The camp offers both summer and winter sessions, and they maintain a 1:1 counselor to camper ratio while only accepting 15 campers per session. The staff at Extreme Sports Camp “receives extensive training in autism learning styles and characteristics,” so they’re not just experts in extreme sports. If you’d like to join the staff, you should check out Extreme Sports Camp’s Internships on Idealist. They’re looking for unpaid interns in the following areas: Marketing, Fundraising, Social Network Marketing, Web Design, E-mail Campaigns, Database Maintenance, Writing, and Office Support. You can apply by sending a cover letter and résumé to scott@extremesportscamp.org, and you better not be scared of extreme sports like I was as a kid.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite extreme sport?

The Reinvestment Fund

Willy Franzen — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 16:20:50 +0000

I grew up in Fairfield, CT, which is next to a city, Bridgeport, that is always aiming for “revitalization.” They’ve talked about a building a casino for years, and they even built a minor league baseball stadium. It’s hard to say whether that has helped or hurt, but it seems that Bridgeport is at least doing a little better than it was a decade ago. I’d imagine that the real reasons for improvement have come from smaller projects that are more in tune with the city’s communities’ needs. These are the kinds of projects that The Reinvestment Fund invests in in cities in the Mid-Atlantic. They are “a 24 year old nonprofit financial lending institution with a strong social mission” and offices in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, DC. They started out as a small community development organization, and they’ve grown to become something much bigger.

Reinvest in Yourself

So far the Reinvestment Fund has invested nearly a billion dollars in capital into economic development projects. The results speak for themselves, as TRF has helped create:

532 businesses

18,590 housing units

28,870 charter school slots

45,755 jobs

8.2 million square feet of commercial space

2.7 million MWh of clean energy – enough to power over 290,000 homes for a year!

It may not sound as sexy as a baseball stadium or a casino, but The Reinvestment Fund is all about finding “the point of impact.” That means that they’re looking for the place where they can get the most bang for the buck. They want to maximize the opportunity that they create for both individuals and neighborhoods regardless of what might be popular. If you’d like to help “build wealth and opportunity for low-wealth people” while revitalizing communities, then you need to look no further than The Reinvestment Fund’s Internships page. Current postings include two paid part-time Policy and Information Services positions along with a general call for Student Interns. These internships are offered in the following areas: Lending, Policy and Information Services, Real Estate/Urban Planning, Real Estate Development, Finance, Marketing & Communications, and Information Technology. I’m not sure whether these are paid, but you should check out the TRF Internships page to get all of the application details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about The Reinvestment Fund?

Institute for Environmental Awareness

Willy Franzen — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:17:03 +0000

I don’t know about where you are, but here in Chicago it’s pretty clear that spring is on its way. We’re going to break 50 degrees this week, and the geese are already back and looking for places to nest. I may be in a huge city, but I’m not completely out of touch with nature. However, I’ve always wanted to spend more time closer to nature. The Institute for Environmental Awareness is a Massachusetts based organization that offers that kind of experience. Their mission is “to promote and support programs and services that encourage living and learning in harmony with the Earth and all Life,” and they do this through a number of earth-based, outdoor education programs. You may have noticed that I couldn’t find a suitable logo for them. That’s because their website looks like it’s from the mid 90s, and I wasn’t going to subject you to yellow text with a black drop shadow over a photo of a tree. An ugly website may be a bad indicator for a marketing firm or a web startup, but not for a nature based organization.

Be Environmentally Aware

The Institute for Environmental Awareness runs three programs: Earthlands (“operates an off-grid program and retreat center”), the Earthlands Land Trust, and University of the Wild (“earth-based education programs that empower people to become leaders in growing new and sustainable cultures”). There’s not much more information about the Institute on their website; however, their internship descriptions tell you a lot about what they do. Right now they’re looking for Summer Interns for Earthlands. These people will work on Program Coordination, Facilities Maintenance, Educational Program Assistance, and Community Involvement. They’ll also live on-site in a shared cabin and get fed, although there isn’t any stipend or payment. You’ll be able to live in harmony with nature and get away from it all. It sounds like a once in a lifetime opportunity, so if you’re interested, reach out to Michael Iacona, Earthlands Office Manager, at office@earthlands.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Can you tell that spring is coming?

Bank Information Center

Willy Franzen — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 17:14:24 +0000

You’ve probably heard of the World Bank, but do you know what it is? Now’s a good time to head over to Wikipedia to find out. The short version is that they’re “an international financial institution that provides leveraged loans to developing countries for capital programs” with the goal of reducing poverty. Bank Information Center is a Washington, DC based non-profit that helps “developing and transitioning countries to influence the World Bank and other international financial institutions to promote social and economic justice and ecological sustainability.” Basically that means that they work at the local level in countries across the world to make sure that the interests of the people are represented in the decisions of international financial institutions. Their aim is to democratize development.

Be Informed About the BIC

The Bank Information Center approaches its mission with three major strategies: “(i) information services and capacity building; (ii) project and policy monitoring; and (iii) policy reform.” They do this by having staff who are dedicated to specific regions and who know the ins and outs of how to work in these areas to influence development decisions. It’s all really complex, so your best bet for getting a full understanding of how the BIC works is to read their About page. Once you get a feel for them, you can check out their Internships page, where you’ll see how their strategy and mission are reflected in their positions. Right now they’re looking for a Europe/Central Asia Program Internship and Finance and Development Intern. These positions are paid, and you can apply by sending “a cover letter explaining your interest in this internship and a 1-2 page resume to jobs@bicusa.org” with the name of the position in the subject line.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about the Bank Information Center?

New York Hall of Science

Willy Franzen — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 14:36:02 +0000

In 1964 New York City hosted the World’s Fair for the third time. The fair was held in Queens at Flushing Meadows Corona Park, and it was dedicated to “Man’s Achievement on a Shrinking Globe in an Expanding Universe.” More than 50 million people visited the fair to see all kinds of cool exhibits—many focused on technology (you can read more about the fair on Wikipedia. One of these exhibits was the New York Hall of Science, which continues to operate to this day as New York City’s “only hands-on science and technology center.” It has been remodeled and revamped multiple times since 1964, and wide range of science focused educational programs. It looks like a really cool place to visit, even if most of their activities seem to be targeted towards kids.

Be a Hall Monitor

There are all kinds of neat attractions at NYSCI. These include Science Playground, Rocket Park Mini Golf, Search for Life Beyond Earth, Sports Challenge, and plenty more. The New York Hall of Science also offers “Virtual Visits” that allow people from around the world to enjoy what they have to offer. Hopefully you have a younger relative whom you can use as an excuse to visit, because the place looks like a lot of fun. If you’d like to intern at the New York Hall of Science, then you’ll want to skip past NYSCI’s Jobs page and head for their Idealist page. It only has one opening posted right now, but it looks great. They need an unpaid Development Intern. To apply for the position, you can send a cover letter and résumé Caroline Loftin at cloftin@nyscience.org. You should specify your availability in your cover letter.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited the New York Hall of Science?

Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center

Willy Franzen — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:00:24 +0000

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it or not, but I’ve spent the last week in Florida. It’s been a partial vacation, but I’ve spent most of the time working (since it’s been cold and rainy here). One thing that I’ve noticed down here besides the terrible weather and bad driving is that immigration is still a major issue. With Florida’s proximity to Cuba and Haiti, the state runs into a lot of immigration issues. It may be refugees arriving by boat or raft, or it could be immigrants flocking to the state to work in agriculture. Whoever they are and wherever they’re from, they are eligible for support from Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, a non-profit “legal assistance organization dedicated to protecting and promoting the basic human rights of immigrants.” The organization is based in Miami, and they’ve been around since 1996.

Emigrate to Florida

Since being founded, Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center has “closed nearly 75,000 cases and has become a national trendsetter in the immigration field.” That’s an impressive feat! Wherever you stand on the immigration debate, I’m sure that you agree that all people deserve a certain standard of human rights. FIAC is all about ensuring that an appropriate level is maintained for immigrants. Now, if the weather keeps acting like it has been, I don’t know why anyone will want to come to Florida anymore… but seriously, Florida is going to continue to attract immigrants, and that means that FIAC will continue to stay busy. If you’re interested in being a part of what they do, check out their internships. They have Legal Internships posted on their website for Law students, and the regular internships can be found on Idealist. The former positions are unpaid, while the latter come with a $5,000 stipend and will be focused on “work assisting Haitians to apply for Temporary Protected Status (TPS).” You can apply for any of these internships by sending a résumé and cover letter to info@fiacfla.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s with Florida’s weather?

Appalachian Mountain Club

Willy Franzen — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 13:25:14 +0000

I don’t know if you’ve ever spent anytime on the Appalachian Trail, but if you haven’t, you should. The trail stretches from Georgia to Maine, while the range of mountains touches as far south as Alabama and as far north as Newfoundland. It’s 1,500 miles of natural beauty that is prime territory for naturalists and adventurers. Back in 1876 there was a club called the Appalachian Mountain Club started in Boston for people who enjoyed the range. Now the club consists of more than 12 chapters and 100,000 members—it’s the “nation’s oldest outdoor recreation and conservation organization.” They’re still based in Boston, and they’ve developed into a non-profit that promotes “the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the mountains, forests, waters, and trails of the Appalachian region.”

Outdoor Enthusiasts Wanted

The work that the Appalachian Mountain Club varies greatly. They fight for conservation, educate people on safe outdoors practices, maintain trails, and put on more than 8,000 trips a year. It’s a great organization that spans many different interest groups—it’s not just the hikers or the birdwatchers or the fisherman. It’s for everybody who loves being outdoors in the Appalachians. The scope of their work is really impressive, and if you want to be a part of it, you should check out the AMC’s Internships page. They have a ton of opportunities that include Massachusetts based internships in Publishing, Membership, Magazine, Major Excursions Adventure Travel, Outdoor Leadership, Volunteer Relations, Youth Opportunities Program, Editorial, Web Development, Development, and Education; New Hampshire based internships in Interpretive Naturalism, Research, Trails, and Volunteer Coordination; and a New Jersey based internship in Education. The internships are typically unpaid, but there may be a small stipend available. The application instructions vary, so check out the AMC Internships page for all of the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you spent any time in the Appalachians?

VolunteerMatch

Willy Franzen — Sun, 14 Feb 2010 16:19:48 +0000

Happy Valentine’s Day! In past years we’ve featured the American Heart Association and eHarmony, both of which have clear connections to today’s holiday. Today’s organization is more of a stretch, but if you’re looking for the perfect match, they can help you out. No, they won’t identify your soul mate for you, but they will help you find an organization whose mission and values align with your personal beliefs. And if that’s not enough, they might even put you in a situation where you’ll meet that special someone. I’m talking about San Francisco, CA based VolunteerMatch, an organization that “strengthens communities by making it easier for good people and good causes to connect.”

Meet Your Match

If you’re feeling lonely on Valentine’s Day, there’s no better way to beat it than to get out and volunteer. If you already have someone special, then there’s no better way to spend time together than doing some community service work. VolunteerMatch is the perfect website for finding the right opportunities. It’s a very simple idea, which explains why it’s been around almost as long as the Internet. Right now they have 60,392 available opportunities from 75,560 organizations, and since 1998 they’ve made 4,637,038 referrals. That’s a lot of volunteering! Now, I must admit that they don’t have any internships posted right now on their Jobs page, but that shouldn’t stop you from reaching out to people on their staff to see how you might be able to help. And if that doesn’t lead anywhere, you can always find a place to volunteer until you do find an internship.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

How are you spending Valentine’s Day?

Sparkseed

Willy Franzen — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 15:59:12 +0000

As a member on the Board of Advisors for a startup non-profit, I know how hard it is to get things going. Building a website, raising the first $1,000, and writing a “business plan” are all huge challenges that separate ideas from real non-profits. And that doesn’t even include getting started on the good work that is the organization’s mission. The first few years are filled with ups and downs, and leaders of non-profit startups can use every little bit of extra help that they can get. One way that they can get that help is to work with Sparkseed, a San Ramon, CA based non-profit organization “that exists to develop the next generation of social entrepreneurs and increase their impact on society.” It’s an incubator/angel fund for early stage, student-led social ventures (both for-profit and non-profit).

Spark Your Career

The way that Sparkseed works is that they select up to ten “student-led social ventures” every year to get “six months of high-impact support.” To some extent, it’s a contest, and the prize includes the following:

Mentoring from entrepreneurs and executives
Pro-bono consulting from business and nonprofit professionals
$1,000 in seed money towards start-up costs
Webinars that teach skills such as creating a business plan, managing a team, pitching to investors, leveraging social media, and measuring financial and social impact.
$10,000 in web tools, including web site design, web hosting, & SEO consulting.
A four-day summit in Silicon Valley that includes networking, skill-building, and strategic planning.

After the six months have passed, Sparkseed chooses three ventures to receive ongoing support. I think it’s a wonderful idea, and it has the potential to significantly push forward innovation in the social venture community. As of now, Sparkseed doesn’t have any internships listed on their website, but they do have three posted on their Idealist page. These positions include Venture Support Intern, Design Intern, and Fundraising Intern. The positions are unpaid, and you can apply by sending your résumé and a cover letter that explains your interest and fit for the position to Samantha Given-Dennis at samantha@sparkseed.org. Be sure to put the title of the internship in the subject line.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Sparkseed?

National Football Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:52:12 +0000

It’s Super Bowl Sunday, which means that it’s time to talk about internships in football (we’ve featured NFL internship in addition to a few other cool opportunities). Since it’s our practice to feature non-profits on the weekend, I started browsing around the NFL’s Join the Team site, which features all of the league’s charitable work. One of the things that I came across was the Play It Smart program, which partners “academic coaches with student-athletes in order to, ‘take a student-athlete’s passion for sports and intense dedication to their team and transform it into a force for greater good in their lives.’” It’s a partnership between the NFL Youth Football Fund and the National Football Foundation. I decided to focus on the latter, as they’re exactly what I was looking for—a football related non-profit. The organization’s full name is The National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame. The Foundation is located in Irving, TX, while the Hall of Fame is located in South Bend Indiana. The organization’s mission is “to promote and develop the power of amateur football in developing the qualities of leadership, sportsmanship, competitive zeal and the drive for academic excellence in America’s young people.”

Touchdown at National Football Foundation

Although the National Football Foundation occasionally works with the NFL, they’re an independent organization that is really focused on amateur football. I’m a big fan of organizations like this and National Coaching Fellows that work to improve achievement at the intersection of athletics and academics. Unfortunately, the National Football Foundation’s About page, so you should probably rely on their Wikipedia page for more info. You’ll see that the organization was founded in 1947 “by General Douglas MacArthur, legendary Army Black Knights football coach Earl “Red” Blaik and journalist Grantland Rice.” You’ll also find that their current chairman is Archie Manning, the father of Colts’ QB Peyton Manning. Just as it’s hard to find information about the organization, it’s nearly impossible to find information on their internships. I did find a note about an internship program in Morristown, NJ with the College Football Hall of Fame that runs year round and focuses on communications, public relations, media, marketing, and journalism. Unfortunately this blurb links to the NFF’s main Internships page, which no longer exists. As of now you’re not going to find and current internship postings, so you should try using their LinkedIn Company Profile to do some research, and then use the Foundation’s Contact page to reach out to them.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Whom are you taking? Colts or Saints?

Advertising Research Foundation

Willy Franzen — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 16:52:24 +0000

I’m always amazed with the diversity of the non-profits that I come across. Yes, there is a lot of redundancy in the non-profit world, but I swear that you can find an organization for every idea, interest group, and cause. Take Advertising Research Foundation for example. They are a New York City based organization that aims “to improve the practice of advertising, marketing and media research in pursuit of more effective marketing and advertising communications.” They bring together people from all areas of marketing to promote collaboration and the open exchange of ideas. The ARF (as they’re often called) spends significant resources on developing new research and publishing it in the Journal of Advertising Research. They also put on all kinds of events and run councils on a variety of different advertising niches.

ARF! ARF!

Advertising Research Foundation may not be out to save the world, but that doesn’t mean that their work isn’t important. They drive industry standards and work to push forward the quality of the art of advertising. The ARF’s members “include more than 400 advertisers, advertising agencies, associations, research firms and media companies,” so they really are representing the greater advertising community—not just a small subset of it. If you’re intrigued by what The ARF does, you should head over to their Internships page. You’ll see a general description of the internship program with instructions to send a résumé and cover letter noting areas of interest to Kathryn@thearf.org. If you click through to vie the actual postings, you’ll see four paid position posted. These include Membership Services Internship, Research/Social Media Internship, Intern with the President & CEO , and Council Program Internship—some of these positions have multiple openings. It appears you can apply online for these specific positions, but I always prefer e-mailing a real person over submitting through a fixed form.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Advertising Research Foundation’s FAQ

What have you heard about Advertising Research Foundation?

The Aspen Institute

Willy Franzen — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 16:25:08 +0000

I don’t usually do this, but this is important. I find many of the non-profit internships that I feature on One Day, One Internship on Idealist.org. It’s the best resource for non-profit internships on the web, and it’s a non-profit itself. The organization is in trouble right now, and they need money. If they’ve helped your internship search in any way, go to their home page and make a donation—I just did. Even $5 will help.

If Aspen is known for anything, it’s known for skiing and affluence. In 1945 Walter Paepcke, a Chicago businessman, was so inspired by the town’s natural beauty that he wanted it to be known for something else—”as an ideal gathering place for thinkers, leaders, artists, and musicians from all over the world to step away from their daily routines and reflect on the underlying values of society and culture.” He started by organizing events in Aspen like “a celebration of the 200th birthday of German poet and philosopher Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,” and then he founded The Aspen Institute. It started as a “forum based on the writings of great thinkers of the past and present,” but now it’s evolved into something more. It is now a non-profit organization that fosters “values-based leadership” and provides “a neutral and balanced venue for discussing and acting on critical issues.” It’s certainly an ideas-focused organization, and it is now headquartered in Washington, DC with offices in Aspen, CO and on the Wye River on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

Happy Goethe-Day

Although it may sound as though The Aspen Institute is light on action, that’s not really the case. Their focus is on taking action to bring people together to discuss big ideas. The organization has four main modes of operation: they put on seminars; they provide young leader fellowships; they run non-paritsan policy programs; and they put on public conferences and events. What it really all comes down to, though, is promoting dialogue and the sharing of ideas. If that sounds like something that you could get behind, then you might want to consider an internship at the Aspen Institute. Right now they’re looking for 2010 Summer Interns in their Aspen office, but the deadline is today! Additionally they have the following internships available in their Washington, DC office: Communications/Public Relations Internship, Development Internship, and Council of World Leaders Internship. They don’t seem to mention whether or not the internship are paid, so you’ll have to investigate that yourself. You may also want to look at The Aspen Institute’s Leadership Programs for fellowship opportunities.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about the Aspen Institute?

Feeding America

Willy Franzen — Sat, 30 Jan 2010 14:43:26 +0000

Some of the most effective non-profits are the ones that work at a local level; however, the non-profits that operate at the national level usually have a much easier time raising money. Feeding America is a non-profit that is able to take advantage of both these facts by using a network model. Based in Chicago, they are “the nation’s leading domestic hunger-relief charity.” They’re able to do this by operating “a nationwide network of member food banks.” This network of more than 200 food banks across every state distributes “more than 2.5 billion pounds of food and grocery products annually.” Those are numbers that are hard to get your mind around.

Feeding Your Job Search

Feeding America used to be known as America’s Second Harvest. They changed their name in 2008 to better convey their mission and generate awareness—I think that they made a good choice. Feeding people isn’t complicated; it’s one of oldest charity ideas around. Doing it on the scale that Feeding America does is different. It’s not necessarily complicated, but it’s extremely impressive. What I find amazing is that Feeding America is able to provide 7 people with meals for every dollar donated. That is an outstanding return on investment. If you’re as impressed by Feeding America as I am, you should check out their Careers page and browse their Internship openings. Right now they have two internships posted at their Washington, DC location; one paid—Child Hunger Corps Intern—and one unpaid—Public Policy & Programs Intern. I’m sure that if you keep an eye out, you’ll find something in the Chicago office, and you may also want to watch for internship opportunities at other locations across the Feeding America network (these are posted on the site). They have application instructions at the end of each job description, so make sure you look at those carefully.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about Feeding America?

U.S. Green Building Council

Willy Franzen — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 16:32:47 +0000

I live across the street from what was formerly the world’s largest building—the Merchandise Mart in Chicago. It’s massive at 4,000,000 square feet, which is extremely impressive considering it was opened in 1930. What’s even more impressive is that, with some debate, the Merchandise Mart is now the world’s largest “green” building. It is LEED-EB Silver certified, and apparently the retrofitting that they did to achieve this certification has cut utility bills by 10%. Upgrading one of the largest buildings in the world to be more energy efficient and environment-friendly is a daunting task, luckily the LEED Certification process provided the owners of the Merchandise Mart with guidelines to work to. The organization behind LEED is the U.S. Green Building Council, which is based in Washington, DC. They are a non-profit that is “committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings.”

LEEDing You to a New Career

We’ve heard a lot about green jobs over the past few years, yet we haven’t seen the growth to back up the talk. Although the U.S. Green Building Council is a non-profit that probably won’t grow as quickly as a for-profit focused on the $60 billion green building industry, they do have some pretty cool job offerings. Here are some stats that explain why the USBGC is doing what they do:

Buildings in the United States are responsible for 39% of CO2 emissions, 40% of energy consumption, 13% water consumption and 15% of GDP per year, making green building a source of significant economic and environmental opportunity. Greater building efficiency can meet 85% of future U.S. demand for energy, and a national commitment to green building has the potential to generate 2.5 million American jobs.

If you like where the USGBC is going, then you should check out their Internships page. They have three unpaid internships posted right now. They are Data Analyst Intern, Market Research Intern, and Test Development Intern. To apply for any of these positions you can send your résumé and letter of interest with the title of position applying for to jobs@usgbc.org. It does appear that the USBGC is looking for Masters’s students to fill these positions, but I wonder if it’s a “soft requirement” or a “hard requirement.”

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about the U.S. Green Building Council?

Oxfam America

Willy Franzen — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 16:00:05 +0000

Yesterday we took a look at one of the most familiar names associated with the Haiti Relief effort—the American Red Cross. This morning I came across a couple lists that shine a light on other organizations that are also putting a focus on Haiti. One is from U.S. News & World Report that discusses 10 Ways You Can Donate to Haitian Earthquake Victims, and the other is Haiti Earthquake—Best Ways to Assist in Providing Emergency Relief from the American Institute of Philanthropy, which rates charities involved with Haiti Relief. One of the organizations on both of those lists is Oxfam America, a Boston, MA based “international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice.” They already have teams delivering aid in Haiti, and you can find out all about what they’re doing their on their Haiti Earthquake page.

Relief for Your Job Search

Oxfam America’s work includes a good mix of ongoing projects and response to disasters and conflicts. The issues that they work on range from climate change to aid reform and from US public policy to indigenous & minority rights. Their recent emergency response work has focused on disasters like a flood in El Salvador and a cyclone in Bangladesh and India. The truth is that most disasters don’t get the media attention that the Haiti earthquake has, but that doesn’t stop Oxfam America from getting on the ground and providing aid. If Oxfam America sounds like the kind of organization that you’d like to join, then check out their Internship postings. Current openings include Humanitarian Livelihoods Intern (Boston, MA) and Climate Change Intern – Government Affairs (Washington, DC). Both positions include a paid stipend. You can apply by sending your cover letter and résumé to jobs@oxfamamerica.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you donated to Haiti relief?

American Red Cross

Willy Franzen — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 13:12:45 +0000

By now I’m sure that you’ve all heard about the earthquake in Haiti. It’s the kind of tragedy that most of us will never be able to understand no matter how much we see about it on television or read about it in the newspaper. It is a worst case scenario for millions of people. The one positive thing to come out of this disaster is the response from the rest of the world—it shows that compassion is an overwhelmingly human trait. One of the organizations that is most associated with disaster response is the American Red Cross; in fact, “compassionate services” is what they do. In addition to disaster relief, they also work on: “community services that help the needy; support and comfort for military members and their families; the collection, processing and distribution of lifesaving blood and blood products; educational programs that promote health and safety; and international relief and development programs.” While headquartered in Washington, DC, the American Red Cross has hundreds of local chapters across the country—it’s almost a certainty that there is one near you.

Compassionate Careers

If you look hard enough, you can find opportunity in nearly every situation. The earthquake in Haiti provides a tremendous opportunity to make a difference. There is so much that needs to be done, and, thankfully, the outpouring of donations from concerned people around the world will help to fund the work. The world of non-profit work has changed over the past week as projects directed towards helping Haiti have taken priority over other work. If you’ve been motivated by the earthquake in Haiti to look towards a non-profit internship, then the American Red Cross might be the place to look. They have numerous opportunities at the local level (way too many for me to list here), along with opportunities at their headquarters in DC. If you’re interested in interning at a local chapter, then check out this page to help you find the Internships page of the chapter closest to your desired location. You can also use the Red Cross’ job search function to sort through the 322 positions that they currently have listed. There’s also a paid Presidential Intern Experience at the American Red Cross headquarters in DC. There are a plethora of internship opportunities with the American Red Cross, so use this terrible situation to motivate yourself to make a difference.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you made a donation for Haiti earthquake victims?

The Food Trust

Willy Franzen — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 16:54:32 +0000

Last night I was driving home and heard a radio commercial for an 89 cent burrito. It made me realize how cheap calories are these days. Cheap calories used to be a good thing. It meant that fewer people would go hungry, but unfortunately cheap calories are often low-quality calories. As hunger becomes less of a problem, nutrition continues to be a major problem. The Food Trust is a Philadelphia based non-profit that “works to improve the health of children and adults, promote good nutrition, increase access to nutritious foods, and advocate for better public policy.” They work with “neighborhoods, schools, grocers, farmers and policymakers” to educate people about making the right food choices while also making access to good food easier and more affordable.

Good Food, Good Internships

The Food Trust has quite a few active programs that are aimed at pushing their mission forward. These range from school-based initiatives like Farm to School and School Food & Beverage Reform to community-based programs like Corner Store Campaign and Pennsylvania Fresh Food Financing Initiative. A number of these programs come with great success stories. If you think the answer to hunger and poor nutrition goes beyond 89 cent burritos, then you might want to check out internships at The Food Trust. Their current openings include Project Intern: Youth, Healthy Corner Store Initiative, Project Intern: After-School, Healthy Corner Store Initiative, Project Intern: Corner Store/Small Business, Healthy Corner Store Initiative, and Nutrition Education Internships. The applications instructions vary depending on the internship, so check out the Internships page for all of the info (it doesn’t mention whether the positions are paid, but one of their postings on Idealist indicates that they are).

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about The Food Trust?

SingleStop USA

Willy Franzen — Sat, 09 Jan 2010 16:51:12 +0000

We all know that poverty is a huge problem, even here in an extremely wealthy country like the United States. We have thousands and thousands of non-profits working to eradicate poverty, while the government always seems to be creating new programs to help those in need. Still, poverty continues to exist despite the billions of dollars allocated to fighting it. Part of the reason for this is that many of those billions go unclaimed. Too many people don’t know what services and programs are available to them, so they never take advantage of potentially life changing help. It’s kind of like how you never stepped foot in the career services office, and now you are struggling to find an internship. SingleStop USA is a New York City based non-profit that is trying to change this problem by closing the information gap. They’re fighting poverty by informing people about the services that are already available to them.

What Internships Are Available for You?

The way that SingleStop works is pretty simple. They have locations in underserved communities where they work directly with clients. They input specific information about an individual into a computer program, and in less than 15 minutes it spits out information on “a family’s eligibility for a wide spectrum of benefits and tax credits.” This is work that would normally done by a caseworker, but there’s no way that even the most well-informed caseworker can compete with a comprehensive computer database. From there counselors then work with clients to help them apply for the programs and benefits that are available. The computer program also helps identify how using one program may negatively affect the potential benefits from another program so that clients can maximize their options. SingleStop was only founded in 2007, but they are apparently on track to “deliver $2 billion in benefits to up to a million households” in their first five years. It sounds like an amazing organization, and if you want to be a part of it, you should check outSingleStop’s internships on Idealist. They have two paid internship positions: CEO Intern and Legal Intern (not for undergrads). You can apply for either position by sending a résumé and cover letter to jobs@singlestopusa.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of SingleStop USA?

Jazz at Lincoln Center

Willy Franzen — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 15:59:46 +0000

I may not be into jazz, but I will readily admit that people who like jazz have better taste in music than I do. I don’t know why I feel that way, but jazz gives off an aura of being ultimately cool. You just can’t tell a jazz lover that he has bad taste in music. If you’re one of those people who is cooler than me, then I hope that you know about Jazz at Lincoln Center. It’s a New York City based non-profit arts organization that aims “to enrich the artistic substance and perpetuate the democratic spirit of America’s music.” Their mission is accomplished through four key strategies: Curatorial, Educational, Archival, and Ceremonial. Whether it’s producing and presenting performances or maintaining “a comprehensive library of original scores, transcriptions, arrangements, books and artifacts important to jazz,” Jazz at Lincoln Center is doing its best to promote the art.

Jazzy Internships

Jazz at Lincoln Center is everything jazz. While most other genres of music are driven by commercial interests, it seems that jazz—along with classical music—is more tied to the arts scene than popular music. That’s why non-profits like Jazz at Lincoln Center play such a big role in promoting and preserving the art. If you’re a jazz lover and looking to intern in the non-profit world, then you need to head over to the Jazz at Lincoln Center Jobs page. They have a number of internship openings in areas that include Business & Legal Affairs, Development, Education, Information Technology, Marketing, Music Administration, Public Relations, and Programming & Concert Administration. You can find all of the details about the internships including how to apply here. There is a weekly stipend for all of these internships, although they don’t say if it’s enough to consider the internship paid.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you a jazz lover?

Cultivating Community

Willy Franzen — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 08:38:37 +0000

Agriculture has done a lot for us over the past few millennia. It’s by far the biggest development in the history of our species, as it’s pushed us forward into all kinds of other technological advances. Sadly, most of us have left agriculture behind—we couldn’t possibly feed ourselves without supermarkets and restaurants. That’s not really a problem, but it’s still a bit disheartening. Luckily, there are some non-profit organizations out there like Portland, ME based Cultivating Community that are using agriculture to enact positive change. Cultivating Community, for example, grows “tens of thousands of pounds of organic produce with and for people with low incomes” while using “community food work as a platform for youth empowerment programs.” It almost sounds too good to be true.

Cultivate Your Career

What’s really interesting about Cultivating Community is the fact that their tagline is “Feeding our hungry. Empowering our youth. Healing our planet.” They’re killing three birds with one stone, and it’s all based on simple agricultural practices. Small farms and gardens can play a huge role in our communities if we let them. Cultivating Community is pushing to make this happen. If you share the same ideals, then you might want to consider an internship with Cultivating Community. Although their Jobs page doesn’t show any internships, you will find three openings if you check out their internship postings on Idealist. They’re looking for interns in Special Events, Volunteer Coordination, and Marketing. The positions are paid through AmeriCorps, and the application instructions vary, so pay close attention to the job descriptions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you know about Cultivating Community?

Doctors Without Borders

Willy Franzen — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:50:00 +0000

I was traveling yesterday, so I scheduled yesterday’s post and hopped on a plane. Little did I know that my server would somehow forget to do what I told it. Sorry! If you’re looking for yesterday’s post, you can find it here. (Or if you’re reading by e-mail, just scroll down.)

There are a lot of people who aren’t very thrilled with healthcare in the United States. Yes, it can be atrociously expensive, but at least we have access to pretty much any medical procedure out there. Whether it’s something very basic or something that has never been tried before, the US certainly has the medical infrastructure to get the job done. There are plenty of countries in the world where even the most basic medical care is out of reach, and there are other countries where basic medical care becomes out of reach due to a crisis. That’s where New York City based Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières) comes in. They provide “aid in nearly 60 countries to people whose survival is threatened by violence, neglect, or catastrophe, primarily due to armed conflict, epidemics, malnutrition, exclusion from health care, or natural disasters.” Doctors Without Borders does this by recruiting both medical and non-medical personnel to travel abroad to offer a level of medical assistance that is well beyond what is typically available.

MD Not Necessary

You don’t have to go to med school to make a difference through Doctors Without Borders. There are plenty of opportunities for lay people to get involved and make a difference. Here’s a sample of the work that Doctors Without Borders does:

In 2006, MSF medical teams gave more than 9 million outpatient consultations; hospitalized almost half a million patients; delivered 99,000 babies; treated 1.8 million people for malaria; treated 150,000 malnourished children; provided 100,000 people living with HIV/AIDS with antiretroviral therapy; vaccinated 1.8 million people against meningitis; and conducted 64,000 surgeries.

If that sounds like the kind of work that you’d like to be involved with, then you should head over to Doctors Without Borders’ Work page. You can learn more about working in the field, or you can take a look at their Paid Internship opportunities. They offer internships three times a year, and the deadlines are January 8, 2010 for Spring Internships; April 15, 2010 for Summer Internships; and August 2, 2010 for Fall Internships. Their internship positions include Access Intern, Development Intern, Editorial Intern, Executive Intern, Field Human Resources Intern, Foundations and Corporations Intern, Human Resources, Systems Intern, Major Gifts Intern, Marketing Intern, Planned Giving Intern, Press Intern, Program Intern, Public Events Intern, and Web Intern. You can find full descriptions on the internships page, and you can apply by sending a résumé and cover letter to internships@newyork.msf.org with Subject line: (Internship Title – Term). They’ll even let you apply for multiple positions, so be sure to send a separate application for each if that’s what you want to do.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Doctors Without Borders?

Casey Trees

Willy Franzen — Sat, 26 Dec 2009 15:00:50 +0000

Although it may seem bad that millions of trees are cut down every year for Christmas, the truth is that most of the trees are farmed and are a completely renewable resource. Most. It was not the case with the tree that some frat boys that I went to school picked out. Their foyer had extremely high ceilings, so they picked out a very tall tree from the front of someone’s yard. They cut it down, loaded it up in their truck, and sped off. Unfortunately for them, someone spotted their plates and called the police. The cops saw the tree through the fraternity house’s windows, and they nailed the culprits. Whoops. What’s the point of this story? Trees are important, and they face lots of risks. In forests trees are often left to do their own thing, but in urban environments they need a little help. That’s what Casey Trees does. They are “a Washington, DC based not-for-profit dedicated to restoring, enhancing and protecting the tree canopy of the Nation’s Capital.” Whether they’re planting trees, protecting against development, or fixing damage done by idiot frat boys, they’re doing their best to reverse the “trend of tree cover loss in the District of Columbia.”

Oh, Christmas Tree… Oh, Casey Trees

It’s amazing how complex Casey Trees’ work gets. It’s not just about planting seeds and pruning branches. It’s about a broader movement to ensure that trees continue to be an integral part of the DC landscape. As they put it:

Casey Trees plants trees, trains people to become Citizen Foresters, engages thousands of volunteers in tree planting and care, teaches students in District schools about trees, monitors the city’s tree canopy and provides guidelines for better planting space design so trees will thrive in the city.

It’s a perfect organization for the forestry types who aren’t quite ready to give up urban pleasures. If that’s you, then you need to check out the Casey Trees Internships page. They’re typically looking for people who have strong skills in Urban Forestry, Arboriculture, Ecology, Landscape, Architecture, Public Policy, Communications, Community Outreach, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), and Mentoring. The only specific internship opportunities that they have posted right now are for high schoolers, but I’m sure that you’ll get a little more information on their internship program if you reach out to them.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Where’d you get your Christmas tree?

RxArt

Willy Franzen — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 16:58:48 +0000

Last night I went to an event for National Coaching Fellows (I’m on their board). It was held at an art gallery, and it went extremely well. For the past few years, the organization has been struggling to feel legitimate (that’s a common problem with startups, non-profit or for-profit). Holding an event at a place with expensive art on the walls made a drastic difference—it felt real. Even though I’m not all that interested in art, there was no doubt in my mind that the art on the walls played a huge role in the mood of the event. RxArt is a New York City based non-profit that is taking advantage of this effect in a very different way. They curate contemporary art exhibitions in healthcare facilities to “relieve stress and anxiety, while increasing appreciation for contemporary art” for patients and staff. Considering how cold hospitals and doctor’s offices usually feel, I think this is an amazing idea.

An Rx for Your Internship Search

Being a patient sucks. No matter how much better off you’ll be after going in for treatment, you never actually want to be in a medical facility. RxArt will never be able to change that, but they can make the process a little more pleasant. Through a variety of projects and working with a number of contemporary artistsRxArt is improving everyday people’s lives. I wouldn’t even be surprised if the health outcomes of people who are cared for in RxArt facilities end up being a tiny bit better than those in places with bare walls. I don’t know that we’ll ever seen an epidemiological study of RxArt’s effectiveness, so for now we’ll have to go off of their stories. If you’d like to be a part of those successes, then you might want to consider interning for RxArt. Right now they’re looking for an unpaid Intern (Idealist posting) to help with various tasks around the office. You can apply by sending a cover letter and résumé to diane_brown@rxart.net.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of RxArt?

International Center of Photography

Willy Franzen — Sat, 19 Dec 2009 13:18:13 +0000

I think that I take pretty decent photographs. I even won a fishing photography contest once—ok my friend submitted the picture that I took with his camera and took the prize for himself. My expertise may end with a point and shoot camera, but I’m ok with that. If I ever want to advance my skills, I’ll be sure to check out the International Center of Photography. They are a New York City based non-profit that runs “a world-class museum and school dedicated to exploring the possibilities of the photographic medium through dynamic exhibitions and educational programs.” They were founded in 1974 by photographer Cornell Capa, and since then they’ve been moving forward the art (and science) of photography.

Picture an Internship at ICP

The International Center of Photography has a wide range of offerings. They run a museum, offer continuing education courses, provide great online resources, and even offer a Master’s program. Beyond that, they seem to be eminently conscious of how they can help other causes whether it’s bringing attention “humanitarian documentary work” or organizing “award-winning youth education initiatives.” If you love photography, but want to do more than just take pictures, then the ICP is a perfect place for you. You should check out their Internships page, where you’ll find a number of unpaid openings with rolling application deadlines. Right now they’re recruiting for Winter/Spring 2010, and you can apply for the following positions: Collections Internship, Collections Cataloguing Internship, Development Internship, Education Internship, Exhibitions Internship, Exhibitions Internship for Vishniac Collection, Information Technology Internship, and Museum Store Web Internship. Their site has more in-depth internship descriptions, and you can find the application form here. If you have any questions about internships at ICP, you can direct them to internships@icp.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited the ICP’s museum?

Brooklyn Academy of Music

Willy Franzen — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 16:02:48 +0000

When did Brooklyn become the cool place to live? It’s definitely trendy, and I think a big part of that has to be the borough’s unique culture. It’s pretty artsy, which is why it makes sense that it’s the home of “America’s oldest continuously operating performing arts center,” Brooklyn Academy of Music. BAM was founded in 1861 and is still going strong—they had an attendance of more than half a million people last year. Although they have the word academy in their name, BAM’s mission is “to be the preeminent progressive performing and cinema arts center of the twenty-first century, engaging both global and local communities.” That’s not exactly what I think of when I hear academy, but maybe that’s why they usually go by BAM.

BAM BAM!

Performing arts isn’t really my thing, but if you’re into it, BAM is the perfect place to intern. They have a diverse set of programs that span a wide array of interests. It’s hard to believe that they’re continuing to be at the forefront of performing arts after nearly 150 years of operation. If you’d like to be part of BAM’s History, then check out their Internships page or their internship postings on Idealist. Right now they’re looking for a Spring interns, and the positions are paid. BAM actually seems to have more detailed job postings, but they’re pretty well hidden on their website. You can find them here, where you’ll learn that BAM’s internships are paid and offered in areas including Archives, Cinematek, Government & Community Affairs, General Management, Web Marketing/Digital Media, Education and Humanities, Public Relations & Communications, BAMart, Marketing, Development, Fiscal Department, Sponsorship, Special Events, and Grants. You can apply for any of the positions by sending a cover letter and résumé to HRresumes@BAM.org..

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited BAM?

National Endowment for Democracy

Willy Franzen — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 15:58:05 +0000

I have to say that democracy is a pretty darn good thing—even if it is the only government system that I’ve ever known. It certainly has its flaws, but I’m not sure that we’ve found a better way to ensure the freedom of a nation’s citizens yet. I don’t think that there is a lot of debate about whether spreading democracy is a good thing—most of the debate centers around what are appropriate ways to spread it. The National Endowment for Democracy is a Washington, DC based “private, non-profit, grant-making organization” that aims to “strengthen democratic institutions around the world through nongovernmental efforts.” They’re funded through “an annual appropriation from the U.S. Congress through the Department of State;” however, they are not a government organization. They make grants to pro-Democracy groups across the world with the goal of helping democracy evolve naturally in a way that suits the nations culture and history.

Do You Support Democracy?

I guess you could get into a pretty heated debate about how you define democracy, but I like the NED’s definition:

Democracy involves the right of the people freely to determine their own destiny.

The exercise of this right requires a system that guarantees freedom of expression, belief and association, free and competitive elections, respect for the inalienable rights of individuals and minorities, free communications media, and the rule of law.

The NED has been around since the early 1980s, and since then they’ve suffered criticism from both sides of the political spectrum (I guess that means they’re pretty balanced). They have an extremely detailed history on their website that goes into great depth about how they work and what they’ve done in the past. The long and short of it is that they spend their time finding the right groups to distribute money to in support of democracy. If you’re intrigued by the NED, you should check out their Internships page. Current openings include unpaid positions like Latin America and the Caribbean Intern, Government Relations & Public Affairs Intern, and World Movement for Democracy Intern. You can find the full descriptions and application instructions on the NED’s Internships page, so check it out.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think of the NED?

Long Island Pine Barrens Society

Willy Franzen — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 16:00:59 +0000

When I hear the words “pine barrens,” I either think of the area in New Jersey called the Pine Barrens or the band, which was also called The Pine Barrens, that played at my 7th grade class’ end of the year party. Until today, though, I didn’t really know what pine barrens were beyond a big forest of pine trees. There’s a lot more to them than that, and, luckily, Wikipedia is able to help out. Its definition of pine barrens is “plant communities that occur on dry, acidic, infertile soils dominated by grasses, forbs, low shrubs, and small to medium sized pines; most extensive barrens occur in large areas of sandy glacial deposits, including outwash plains, lakebeds, and outwash terraces along rivers.” These areas aren’t typically found in populated areas, which makes it surprising that Long Island has its own Pine Barrens (see the Wikipedia article for all of the specifics). That’s why the Long Island Pine Barrens Society exists—to protect an ecosystem that is constantly under pressure from development. They’re based in Riverhead, NY, and their focus as a non-profit is on education and advocacy.

Barren Isn’t Always a Bad Thing

Beyond preserving open space in the Long Island Pine Barrens, the Long Island Pine Barrens Society also works to preserve drinking water. These two ideals fit together because the Pine Barrens is essential to recharging the ground water that Long Island relies on for drinking. There’s a lot more to learn about the Long Island Pine Barrens Society, and the best way to do that is to check out their website. They have tons of information on their history and the work that they do along with more general organizational information. That includes information on their internships. They don’t really provide specifics on what kind of internships they have, but they do invite you to learn more by sending questions or applications (cover letter and résumé) to info@pinebarrens.org. You should note that Long Island Pine Barrens Society requires their interns to be over 21 years old. I’m not sure why.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever visited pine barrens?

Thrive DC

Willy Franzen — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 13:02:28 +0000

It’s pretty common for non-profit organizations to go through name changes as they expand their scope. While it’s often a sign of failure to change your name for a restaurant, I think it’s usually a sign of success with non-profits. It means that they’ve been so effective at achieving their goals that they’ve taken on an expanded mission. It’s not always the case, but it seems to be the case with Washington, DC based Thrive DC, which was originally founded in 1979 as Dinner Program for Homeless Women. I’d imagine that they found having gender specificity in their name became too limiting, as Thrive DC aims to provide “the last available safety net for people facing economic crisis and housing instability while also providing the first step towards independence for people experiencing extended periods of homelessness.”

Help Others Thrive

Along with expanding to serving men, Thrive DC has also added services like a job training program, case management, and educational programming. It’s really about helping people stabilize their lives in times of uncertainty. These aren’t new ideas, and what Thrive DC does may not sound as exciting as what some startup non-profits are doing, but Thrive DC makes up for this with effectiveness. They have been honored as recently as last year by the 2008-09 Catalogue for Philanthropy as “one of the best small charities in the Greater Washington region.” I guess that makes sense when a small organization is able to serve 75,000 meals, provide 1,322 hours of case management, and make 2,603 referrals in the course of a year. That sounds like a lot of great work. If you want to be a part of it, check out Thrive DC’s Internships page. Right now they’re looking for an unpaid Community Relations Intern and an unpaid Development and Communications Intern. The application instructions vary, so check out each posting to get the details.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What have you heard about Thrive DC?

Active Transportation Alliance

Willy Franzen — Sun, 29 Nov 2009 15:49:36 +0000

It may seem counterintuitive, but people who live in cities are typically much more active than their rural and suburban counterparts—at least when it comes to transportation. I always associate activities like walking and bike riding with open space and the great outdoors, but urban centers are actually much more inviting for self powered transportation. Here’s an example: my parents live 1.2 miles from a great restaurant, yet we’d never walk there—it’s too dangerous. There are no sidewalks, and the cars on the road usually drive well over the 30 MPH speed limit. However, in Chicago, where I live, I’d easily walk 1.2 miles to go out to dinner. There are sidewalks, crosswalks, and plenty of streetlights to keep me safe. With that said, there are quite a few ways that Chicago can improve the city for active transportation, and that’s why the non-profit organization Active Transportation Alliance exists.

Be an Active Internship Seeker

It’s hard to argue with the fact that walking and biking are often superior to driving. Not only do you get some exercise, but you also generate less pollution and noise. You’re also constantly interacting with people and adding to the sense of neighborhood. Still, driving can be pretty tempting—as long as you can find somewhere to park. That’s why the Active Transportation Alliance “works to improve conditions for bicycling, walking and transit and engage people in healthy and active ways to get around.” Nobody likes walking down a poorly lit street at night or riding a bike on a road where the area near the curbs is riddled with potholes. Walkers and bikers need advocates, and in Chicago they have the Active Transportation Alliance exists. If you want to help lead “the charge for a transportation culture that values safety, health, sustainability and choice,” then you should check out internships at the Active Transportation Alliance. Right now they’re looking for an unpaid Events Intern. Check out the internship listings for details on how to apply.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your preferred mode of transportation?

Food Bank for New York City

Willy Franzen — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 15:58:45 +0000

I guess it makes sense that people are more giving during the holidays. When you’re filling up on delicious food and getting lots of gifts, you can’t help but want to spread around the good fortune. Unfortunately for many food banks that spirit of giving isn’t distributed evenly throughout the year, while hunger is. Food banks and soup kitchens need food and volunteers year round, and sometimes they even have employment opportunities. One of those organizations that does is Food Bank for New York City. Their mission is to “end hunger by organizing food, information and support for community survival and dignity” throughout New York City’s five borough. While you’re still in that Thanksgiving mindset, you should take a look at Food Bank for New York City and see if you can add a helping hand as an intern.

Take These Internships to the Food Bank

Food Bank for New York City does a number of things to help the 1.3 million New Yorkers who rely on emergency food including “direct services, food sourcing and distribution, nutrition and health education, financial empowerment, disaster relief and policy and research.” They’re running a huge program, as they distribute food “to a network of approximately 1,000 food assistance programs citywide.” That takes a lot of manpower, so it’s big surprise that they’re hiring interns. They do have their own Jobs and Internships page, but I actually found it easier to browse their internship listings on Idealist. They’re currently looking for an unpaid Media Intern. You can apply for any of these positions by sending a resume and cover letter to agoforth@foodbanknyc.org .

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you in the giving mood?