One of the cool things about the world that we live in these days is that not every decision need to be politicized. You aren’t restricted to voting your social conscience once a year on election day. You can also vote with your pocketbook/wallet/loose change. There are all kinds of products that not only serve your everyday needs, but that also represent a social idea. I’m not just talking about brands either. That Nike symbol on your t-shirt doesn’t really mean anything, but building a house with LEED certified green materials or buying Fair Trade Coffee allows you to ensure that you’re spending your money in away that aligns with your moral stances. TransFair USA, based out of Oakland, CA is the non-profit organization behind the Fair Trade Certification – as you can see from the logo to the right. They have programs that certify coffee, tea, chocolate, vanilla, fresh fruit, rice, sugar, and much more along a specific set of guidelines. Continue reading about TransFair USA…
Let’s say that I wrote an article about scam internships. And let’s say that the company whose internships I wrote about wasn’t too happy about my exercising my First Amendment rights to expose their scams. I could, theoretically, end up with some legal trouble. That wouldn’t be a very good situation for me, because I don’t have a legal team on retainer. Luckily there’s a non-profit organization called Citizen Media Law Project that provides “legal assistance, education, and resources for individuals and organizations involved in online and citizen media.” If I was ever in a legal situation because of something that I published online, they’re certainly the first place that I would go to for help. I’d check out their Legal Guide and their Legal Threats Database, and try to put together a plan of action for how to respond. I think that the “citizen media” is an extremely important part of our society, and I’m happy to see that the CMLP is there to protect people like me if we ever need it. Continue reading about Citizen Media Law Project…
If you’ve been reading One Day, One Internship for a year or more, you probably remember that last year we did a holiday post for Pi Day. I’m a dork, and I love dorky holidays. That’s why I’m already counting down the seconds until 1:59:26 (ok, I didn’t stay up for it, I’m waiting for the PM version), when the date and time will represent 8 digits of pi. Since today is a weekend, I thought that it was my duty to bring you info on internships with math related non-profits. Unfortunately, there are a lot fewer of those than one would think, so we’re going to stretch a bit by looking at job opportunities with The Mathematical Association of America. They’re located in Washington, DC, and they’re “the largest professional society that focuses on mathematics accessible at the undergraduate level.” Continue reading about The Mathematical Association of America…
Today my little sister is on her way back from a few months in Ethiopia teaching art at an orphanage for children who have lost their parents to AIDS. From what I’ve heard so far, she’s had an amazing impact, so I’m obviously overwhelmingly proud of her. It’s hard to imagine what life without a family is like, but there are millions of children all across the world who know all too well what it’s like. That’s why we’re taking a look at Kidsave today (not the organization that my sister was working with). They’re a Los Angeles, CA based non-profit that is aiming to “to ensure that no orphan or foster child is forgotten and that every child grows up in a family with love and hope for a successful future.” It all started when friends and business partners Terry Baugh and Randi Thompson, both adoptive parents, realized how tragic the stories of orphaned children really are. They started Kidsave in 1997, and since then they have helped “more than 2700 children [find] parents and lasting connections with adults.” Continue reading about Kidsave…
When people ask me what I do, I tell them, “I help college students find and land jobs and internships.” That’s my 3-second elevator pitch. If you were to ask people at The Cara Program what they do, you’d probably get a response like, “We help the homeless and at-risk populations find and land jobs.” Essentially we’re doing the same things – just for different groups of people. Finding a job (or internship) isn’t easy, as you probably know, but think about how difficult it is for someone who is homeless. Employers typically want employees who can provide stability, but being homeless is a pretty big sign of instability. The problem is that it’s really hard to become stable without a job. That’s why The Cara Program, based out of Chicago, provides “comprehensive training, permanent job placement and critical support services.” Continue reading about The Cara Program…
We’re always on the look out for different kinds of non-profit internships to feature on weekends, and today we’ve certainly found some. Battelle Memorial Institute is a Columbus, OH based organization that looks very much like a business – their tagline is even “the business of innovation” – but they are actually “organized for charitable, scientific, and educational purposes.” They have 5 main areas of focus – Energy, Health & Life Sciences, National Security & Defense, Laboratory Management, and Community & Education – which means that they do all kinds of things to further their vision of building “long-term relationships with their clients by anticipating their needs and delivering economically and socially valuable science and technology.” Continue reading about Battelle Memorial Institute…
What happens when you put Angelina Jolie together with a suspected conspiracy to create a “one-world government?” No, it’s not an upcoming movie release. It’s actually a non-profit organization called the Council on Foreign Relations. They are “an independent, nonpartisan membership organization, think tank, and publisher dedicated to being a resource for its members, government officials, business executives, journalists, educators and students, civic and religious leaders, and other interested citizens in order to help them better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other countries.” They can claim Angelina Jolie as a member, and because of their secrecy clauses and interesting membership requirements (and the fact that so many high-ranking government officials are members), people get all kinds of ideas about Council on Foreign Relations. In fact, Wikipedia says that “some believe it to be the most powerful private organization to influence United States foreign policy.” Ok, let’s cut through all the crazy stories and see what CFR is really about. Continue reading about Council on Foreign Relations…
Yesterday we talked about one student-focused non-profit’s internships, and today we’re going to talk about another. Student World Assembly is “a non-governmental, non partisan organization created to represent students globally.” The overarching goal is to promote global democracy by providing “a deliberative assembly where students around the world can exchange views, vote on global issues through online discussion forums and in annual international conventions, and translate these views into meaningful actions.” It certainly sounds like the kind of thing that you’d want to be involved in if you have an interest in International Relations. Continue reading about Student World Assembly…
How’s the relationship between your college or university and the town or city that it’s in? Let me guess. Not so hot. It always seems that students and “townies” don’t get along too well. Beyond that, there can also be situations like at Yale in New Haven, CT where the students are generally much wealthier than the people who live in the surrounding neighborhood. This just exacerbates the fundamental gap between the university and the community. National Student Partnerships is a non-profit organization that was started in New Haven by two Yale students who wanted to close this gap. They “designed a program where college student volunteers work one-on-one with community residents, coordinating access to employment opportunities and social services, including job training, housing, health care, child care, and transportation.” It’s a wonderful idea, and it’s working – look at the success stories. Continue reading about National Student Partnerships…
If your sweetheart is having trouble landing an internship this Valentine’s Day, then give him or her a gift that shows that you really care. Chocolates, flowers, and jewelry only bring temporary satisfaction, but there’s nothing more satisfying (besides a relationship with you, of course) than an awesome internship. Enroll your sweetheart in Found Your Career (our online job search training course) today.
Since Valentine’s Day fell on a weekend this year, I had to find a Cupid approved non-profit. Since today is all about hearts, I thought that it’d be fitting to talk about internships with American Heart Association. In case it’s not obvious, they’re a non-profit organization devoted to cardiovascular health. Their mission is to “build healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke.” It’s a simple mission, but it’s not an easy one. Since Valentine’s Day is really about the people whom we love, it’s fitting that we’re talking about an organization that is working to make sure that our loved ones are around and healthy for as long as possible. Continue reading about American Heart Association…
Happy Super Bowl Sunday! Last year on this day, we hadn’t even launched yet, but on One Day, One Job we featured USA Football, a non-profit organization that promotes amateur football. Since then we’ve taken a look at some other Super Bowl related internships like the those with the NFL’s teams and with World Vision (they administer the donation of Championship paraphernalia that was produced for teams that didn’t win a championship). If you want to work in or around the sport of football, it’s a good idea to use all of the hoopla surrounding today’s events to generate ideas for your internship search. That’s why we’re going to look at the Pro Football Hall of Fame today. Despite their strong ties to the NFL, they’re actually a non-profit organization based in Canton, OH.. Their mission includes 4 parts, and it’s what you would expect:
To honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to professional football; To preserve professional football’s historic documents and artifacts; To educate the public regarding the origin, development and growth of professional football as an important part of American culture; and To promote the positive values of the sport.
If you love football, then finding an internship at the Pro Football Hall of Fame would be pretty cool. Continue reading about Pro Football Hall of Fame…
Sometimes I can be a dunderhead. When I am behind the wheel of a car, I can get irrationally angry at having to share the road with pedestrians and bikers. And when I’m walking or riding a bike, I can get irrationally angry at having to share the road with cars. I can’t be right on both accounts, so the problem is obviously with me (or maybe with the government for not setting up a better transportation system). When it comes down to it, though, it’s pretty obvious that bikers and pedestrians are second-class citizens to drivers. Cars dominate the roads, and the burden of responsibility falls on those who are biking or walking to stay alert and avoid getting hit by a couple thousand bounds of fast-moving metal. The Thunderhead Alliance for Biking and Walking is a Washington, DC based non-profit advocacy organization that stands up for the rights of bikers and walkers by “strengthening and supporting bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations” across the country. They’re a meta-non-profit. organization – an organization for organizations. Continue reading about Thunderhead Alliance for Biking and Walking…
Nobody likes bugs or rodents. Ok, some people do, but I know some people who absolutely freeze up at the sight – or even thought – of a little critter. At the very least, pests are unpleasant. Nobody wants to live with ants, roaches, mice, rats, or whatever other uninvited guests might be trying to make a stay at your place. That’s why we use pest control. It gets rids of the unpleasantness that is readily apparent, but what are the after effects that we don’t see? It’s hard to know for sure, but much of what we do to get rid of pests includes toxic chemicals. It’s not good for our environment, and it’s not good for our children. That’s why the Safer Pest Control Project is trying to change the way that we deal with those nasty little critters. Continue reading about Safer Pest Control Project…
Henry Ford was one of the most ingenious men to grace our country’s history. “Fordism,” his philosophy of bringing inexpensive automobiles to the masses through cost cutting and the assembly line has truly changed the face of world history. It’s amazing to think that ideas that we now take for granted were so revolutionary back then. You can find plenty more on Henry Ford on Wikipedia, but what about The Henry Ford. It’s kind of an odd name for what it is, but it’s a place in Dearborn, MI that includes historic Greenfield Village, the Henry Ford Museum, the Ford Rouge Factory Tour, the Benson Ford Research Center, and The Henry Ford IMAX Theater. It’s something between a museum and an educational center. It’s a non-profit organization, but that doesn’t really tell us much about what it is. I guess that’s why they call it The Henry Ford. Continue reading about The Henry Ford…
Even if your college or university isn’t giving you the day off from classes, I hope that you remembered that today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. It’s an important day to reflect, and it’s becoming even more important as there is a growing movement to make MLK Day a day of national service. They’re calling it “a day on, not a day off,” and I think it would be pretty cool to see employers and schools embrace this movement. It’s the next step in making Dr. King’s dream come true. If one day of service just isn’t enough for you to honor the memory of Martin Luther King, Jr., then you might want to consider an internship at The King Center in Atlanta, GA. The King Center is located on a privately owned inholding within the authorized boundaries of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Historic Site, and it is “dedicated to the advancement of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.” Continue reading about The King Center…
These days it seems like more and more internships are unpaid. With the economy the way it is, people want to get their work done for free. We don’t mind it so much when it’s coming from non-profits, but areas like journalism seem to be some of the worst offenders when it comes to not paying interns who are doing valuable work. Today we’re going to at internships with The American Spectator – a journalistic publication run by a non-profit organization that actually pays their interns. The Spectator’s roots were planted in “1924 by George Nathan and Truman Newberry over a cheap domestic ale in McSorley’s Old Ale House,” but The American Spectator as we know it wasn’t started until 1967 when the Saturday Evening Club took over the defunct publication. Today The Spectator, published by the non-profit American Spectator Foundation, is a monthly magazine covering news and politics with a strong conservative slant. Continue reading about The American Spectator…
Internships are often a good way to figure out what you want to do with your life. They are a low commitment way to make sure that your expectations for a given career are realistic. Today’s internships still provide an opportunity for students to try out a career path, but they’re reserved or students who have demonstrated an extremely serious interest in space science research. The Space Studies Board is a division within the National Academies (a non-profit organization that advises the nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine) that focuses on space research. The Board is based in Washington, DC and was founded in 1958. They “oversee advisory studies and program assessments, facilitates international research coordination, and promotes communications on space science and science policy between the research community, the federal government, and the interested public.” If you’re committed to studying space, you need to intern with the Space Studies Board. Continue reading about Space Studies Board…
Just a few days ago, I told you about my early love for Hip Hop when I brought you the details on Hot 97’s internships. Today I’ve found some more internships that take me back to my days of having my Mom drive me to Sam Goody to get the newest Rap CD. They’re with the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation in Atlanta, GA. Whether you sided with Biggie or Pac, if you want to work in an “environment that encourages freedom of expression, serves as a resource for families, and empowers via education,” then the TASF is the perfect place for you to intern. Tupac Shakur’s life may have been tragically cut short, but his legacy continues to live on, both through his music and his foundation. Although much of his public persona was based on the “Thug Life” image, Tupac definitely had a softer side and a love for the arts. That certainly comes through in the work of his foundation. Continue reading about Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation…
I’m not going to start an Economics debate on a Saturday morning, but I’m tempted. Trickle Up is a non-profit organization that was named as a slap in the face to the theory of trickle-down economics. Regardless of their economic philosophy, they appear to be doing great work by empowering “people living on less than $1 a day to take the first steps out of poverty, providing them with resources to build microenterprises for a better quality of life.” Trickle Up is based out of New York City, and they believe strongly in microfinance, micropreneurship, and microenterprises as being the solution to worldwide poverty. Their website does a great job of telling their story, so I recommend that you check it out to get a full feel for whom Trickle Up helps and how they do it. Continue reading about Trickle Up…
Happy New Year’s Eve! Today we’re going to take a look at some internships that couldn’t be more intertwined with New Year’s Eve. Times Square Alliance is a non-profit organization that “works to improve and promote Times Square – cultivating the creativity, energy and edge that have made the area an icon of entertainment, culture and urban life for over a century.” Times Square for New Year’s Eve isn’t on my list of things to do, but for many people it’s a big deal. I’m sure that there will be millions of people there tonight, so why not use tonight’s celebration to generate ideas for your internship search in the New Year. Oh yeah, and if your New Year’s resolution includes landing a top notch internship, you absolutely need to check out our job search training course. Continue reading about Times Square Alliance…
I’m back home for the holidays, and I hope most of you now are too. It’s wonderful to always have a safe place to go back to, but not everyone is so lucky. Victims of crime and abuse often don’t have anywhere to go. They’re often left with the choice of living in terror in a place that is familiar yet unsafe, or facing total uncertainty. Safe Horizon is a non-profit organization whose mission “is to provide support, prevent violence, and promote justice for victims of crime and abuse, their families, and communities.” They run 80 programs which “are located throughout the five boroughs of New York City in court houses, police precincts, schools, shelters, and community offices.” They may not be able to provide a safe place to go for all 350,000 victims whom they work with each year, but they find a way to support these people until they can find their way to a safe horizon. Continue reading about Safe Horizon…
Have you ever heard of the slow food movement? Despite what it might sound like, it’s not about eating snails, turtles, and sloths. The slow food movement about envisioning “a word in which all people can eat food that is good for them, good for the people who grow it and good for the planet,” or as USA Today puts it, “slow food aims to everything that fast food is not.” As delicious as Chicken McNuggets are, I have to say that fresh, locally grown produce usually comes out ahead for me. Slow Food USA is a non-profit organization based in Brooklyn, NY that is working to grow the slow food movement and “to create dramatic and lasting change in the food system.” I wish I could tell you more about what their strategy is to accomplish this, but their 5 Year Strategic Plan is “coming soon.” Continue reading about Slow Food USA…
I was just browsing the news this morning when I came across the story of how Bernard Madoff, a prominent Wall Street trader, allegedly admitted to defrauding investors in his hedge fund of $50 billion. It is an unbelievable amount of money, and it’s hard to believe that anyone would go through the effort and risk to steal that much money – I can’t even fathom what you would do with $50 billion in illegally acquired money. The most outrageous part of the story might be that Madoff has been released on $10 million bail. That’s peanuts for him. It’s .02% of what he allegedly stole. After reading this story I started browsing non-profits for today’s post, and I came across the Vera Institute of Justice. It’s a New York City based organization with locations in Washington, DC and New Orleans, and it was founded when “philanthropist Louis Schweitzer and magazine editor Herb Sturz recognized the injustice of a bail system in New York City that granted liberty based on income.” Today’s story about Madoff is a perfect example of this injustice. Continue reading about Vera Institute of Justice…
We’ve catered to the PBS junkies before – we’ve covered internships at PBS and at WTTW11 in Chicago – and we’re going to do it again today. WGBH is a non-profit PBS affiliate based out of Boston that also happens to be the “single largest producer of PBS prime-time and online programming.” They started out by broadcasting the Boston Symphony Orchestra over the radio in 1951, but they’ve expanded to television and the web since. It’s really amazing how much of PBS’s programing comes out of WGBH. One of my all-time favorites was ZOOM, which is a little embarrassing to admit, since I was a bit old to be watching it at the time. Another interesting thing about WGBH that I picked up from Wikipedia is that they’re “considered a leader in services for people who are deaf, hard-of-hearing, blind, or visually impaired.” WGBH actually “invented television closed captioning, audio description (Descriptive Video Service), and created the Rear Window Captioning System for films.” As you can see, WGBH is an innovator not just in public television, but in all media, and probably a great place to work. Continue reading about WGBH…
I don’t know about you, but my stomach still hurts a little bit from eating too much on Thanksgiving. Hunger should be the last thing on my mind, but as I think about how lucky we are to have a holiday that is all about stuffing our faces, I can’t forget that the first Thanksgiving was preceded by meager times. The Pilgrims faced a lot of suffering and starvation before they got to celebrate a Thanksgiving, and, unfortunately, there are many people in this world who still continue to battle hunger. Action Against Hunger is a New York City based non-profit organization that hopes to change this by “providing innovative solutions to battle hunger.” They work across five continents in five program areas (Nutrition, Water & Sanitation, Food Security, Health, and Advocacy). They’re doing excellent work, and they also appear to have an excellent internship program. Continue reading about Action Against Hunger…
I’m in the lucky position of having a girlfriend who has an 8 year old sister. That means that I have a built in excuse to continue to do “kid things,” even though I’m way too old to do them on my own without seeming creepy. Mini golf and bowling are certainly staples, although it’s not too weird for 20-somethings to do those (bowling with bumpers is another story), but one of my favorites is going to children’s museums. Not only do they provide a lot of fun, but they also always seem to teach me something. It’s amazing to see complex concepts explained with simple exhibits and toys. I also particularly enjoyed the “screaming booth” at one museum because I was able to max out the decibel meter. Now, the Boston Children’s Museum may or may not have a screaming booth, I don’t know, but they do have some exciting internships for college students. That means that you can have a built in excuse to continue to do “kid things” just like I do. Continue reading about Boston Children’s Museum…
Yesterday we wrote about The Cleveland Foundation’s Internships because they asked us to (and the internships looked great). Today we’re writing about internships at WTTW11, a local PBS station in Chicago, because one of their former interns e-mailed us to let us know that he highly recommended interning with them. We’ve looked at internships at PBS and we’ve also looked at internships with American Documentary before, so today’s internships should be similar to those. That’s because WTTW11 is a major local PBS affiliate that produces a number of its own shows. They have some major projects going on, and they need lots of interns to help out. They work on both local and national productions, and both are of impressive quality. This isn’t some tiny tv station – they’re producing shows that can be seen across all PBS stations (in the past they’ve produced classics like Lamb Chop’s Play Along and The Frugal Gourmet). Continue reading about WTTW11…
As this site grows, we get pitched more and more by companies and organizations asking us to feature their internships. Last week I got an e-mail from a woman who is a Public Affairs Associate at The Cleveland Foundation. Since non-profits usually pitch me with good internships, I was excited to see what the Foundation has to offer. As I suspected, The Cleveland Foundation has a top notch internship program; in fact, other organizations are modeling their internship programs on it. Before we get into the specifics though, you should know that The Cleveland Foundation is “the world’s first community foundation and the nation’s third-largest today, with assets of $2.2 billion and annual grants nearing $85 million.” Everything that they do is with the intent of improving the lives of people who live in the Greater Cleveland area now and in the future. Most of what the Foundation does consists of raising money, making grants, and providing leadership on the vital issues facing Cleveland. Continue reading about The Cleveland Foundation…
I’m intrigued by the idea of non-profits for non-profits. Whether we’re talking about a major Fortune 500 corporation or a tiny 2 person non-profit, every organization relies on other organizations to achieve its mission. Nobody can do everything in-house, so it makes sense that some non-profit organizations exist solely to help other non-profits. The Nonprofit Quarterly may not provide a service that other non-profits rely on, but they do provide information that informs non-profit leaders how to act more effectively. Or as The Nonprofit Quarterly puts it, they “promote spirited nonprofit management.” They also differ with us on whether the word “non-profit” should be hyphenated. If you’re looking to get a better sense of what kind of content The Nonprofit Quarterly provides, check out the NonprofitQuarterly.org home page to see some of their recent articles. Continue reading about The Nonprofit Quarterly…
Do you feel most at home when you’re surrounded by trees? Would you rather be in the woods at risk of being eaten by a bear than walking through the city at risk of being hit by a bus. Well if you want to intern for Forest Trends because of your love for great forests, you’re going to have to risk being hit by a bus, because they’re located in Washington, DC. Still, it will be worth it. Forest Trends is all about conservation “by capturing market values for ecosystem services such as water purification, flood control, carbon sequestration, and biodiversity conservation.” You can’t do that it in the woods, but when you’re done interning, you’ll have helped to ensure that the forest is still there for you to enjoy. Continue reading about Forest Trends…
