Did you know that how wealthy your family is has a lot to do with which sports you play growing up? Sometimes it’s a demographic thing, but a lot of times it just has to do with whether or not your family can afford to pay for the equipment. Take hockey for example. There’s a ton of stuff you need, and it’s all expensive; whereas, basketball can be played with just a ball and a hoop in a park. There are no hard and fast rules about this, but it’s very clear that many kids don’t get the opportunity to try some sports because of the costs involved. Good Sports is a Boston based non-profit that “provides sports equipment to disadvantaged youth in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Philadelphia, and Chicago.” They may have pictures of Boston athletes plastered all over their website (yuck!), but they’re doing a really good thing.
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development,
Internships,
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non-profit,
outreach,
public relations,
research,
sports,
unpaid
Some of the most fun that I had during college was playing in a charity dodgeball tournament. My team was doing really well until we ran into a team of future NHL players, pitchers from the baseball team, and some former softball players (they threw underhand, and they threw hard) in the semifinals. That match was pretty ugly, but even when you lose at dodgeball, you have fun. We’ve seen dodgeball gaining more and more popularity, and with that trend we’ve seen more and more non-profits using dodgeball to raise funds. Best Shot Foundation is a Washington, DC based non-profit that is doing just this. They’re an organization that is focused on bringing attention to the fact “that pneumonia kills more young children than any other disease,” and then doing something about it.
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advocacy,
events,
Internships,
nationwide,
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paid,
sports,
Washington DC
Often people don’t realize what services are available to them. I see this all the time with college students and Career Services offices—the students complain about a lack of help even though they’ve never stepped foot in the office. Another example is students who are having trouble paying for college yet have never applied for the thousands of dollars of scholarships that are available to them. This same thing happens all the time in the world of government programs—people endure hardship because they don’t know that there are programs intended just for them. We often hear that there’s a need for more programs to help the poor, yet programs like the Earned Income Tax Credit are significantly underutilized. Ladder Up is a Chicago based non-profit organization that has “returned $183 million to 100,000 hardworking families” by providing “free, real world financial solutions that maximize earnings and savings.” Whether it’s helping their clients claim a tax credit that they didn’t know about or walking a future college student through the financial aid process, Ladder Up helps people make the most of what’s available to them.
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accounting,
finance,
Illinois,
Internships,
non-profit,
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program development,
unpaid
I’ve heard a lot of people complain about the plight of “Generation Y” and the bad rap that “we” get, but I think most of it is bunk. Complaining isn’t going to get “us” anywhere. Working hard and taking action will. There’s one exception though, and that’s with the political process where complaining is the preferred way of taking action. Right now we live in an era where older people have mortgaged our country’s future for their own benefit. Yes, they have literally amassed huge amounts of debt to pay for all of things that they want. We live in a Democracy, and there are more of them than us, so they get what they want. And when the bill arrives, they’ll have left the table—to put it nicely. This is a real generational issue, unlike the generational issues that “Gen-Y experts” are constantly talking about. Young People First is a Washington, DC based non-profit startup that is attacking this issue with fervor. They’re sick of “how much lip service was being paid to young voters, yet how little real inclusion in the political process they were offered,” and so am I.
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non-profit,
outreach,
paid,
research,
training,
Washington DC
When it comes down to it, most of the problems in our world have some sort of economic root. Unfortunately, people rarely see economics as the solution. One non-profit organization that is an exception is Washington, DC based Green America (formerly Co-op America). Their “mission is to harness economic power—the strength of consumers, investors, businesses, and the marketplace—to create a socially just and environmentally sustainable society.” I like their approach. They’re not trying to force their ideals on people by regulation or intellectual intimidation. Instead, they’re working towards a building a powerful new economy that not only holds to their ideals, but also works efficiently. They may still be imposing their ideas, but they’re doing it purely with economic power.
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advocacy,
green,
Internships,
non-profit,
outreach,
social media,
social networking,
unpaid,
Washington DC,
web development
Homelessness is pretty terrible, but the problems that it leads to can be even worse. One of those problems is often AIDS. Housing Works is a New York City based non-profit that “provides homeless and low-income New Yorkers living with HIV/AIDS and their families with housing, meals, medical care, drug treatment, social support, employment opportunities and other lifesaving services.” The cool thing is the scale that they’re doing this on—they are “the largest community-based AIDS service organization in the United States.” That means that since 1990 they’ve served more than 20,000 New Yorkers.
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Internships,
New York,
non-profit,
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social venture,
unpaid,
writing
Whether you’re trying to land an internship, start a business, get in shape, figure out your personal finances, or get a date, there’s one piece of advice that I’ve found to be the most appropriate. It’s really simple and a little disappointing, but it just works. Do something! Get off your butt and take action. It will get you 80% of the way to accomplishing your goal. I’m not the only one who thinks this. Do Something, a New York City based non-profit, has adopted this two word phrase as their name. They’re focused on encouraging teenagers to take positive ideas and turn them into action. Instead of focusing on a specific cause, Do Something is all about getting teens to do something about the issues that matter to them—whatever they may be.
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communication,
Internships,
marketing,
New York,
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outreach,
paid,
program development,
public relations,
research,
writing
What was the first book that you ever read? Mine wasn’t actually a book—it was a Super Mario Bros. comic book. My parents had decided that it would be fun to take Amtrak to Florida to visit Grandma and Grandpa instead of flying. And it actually was. I spent a lot of the time struggling through the comic book, and then I was suddenly reading. That wouldn’t have happened on a 3 hour flight. Do you have as vivid of a memory of reading your first book as I do? First Book hopes so. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit that “provides new books to children in need addressing one of the most important factors affecting literacy – access to books.” In 16 years they’ve provided more than 65 million books, so you have to call First Book a huge success.
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communications,
education,
events,
Internships,
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public relations,
unpaid,
Washington DC
What’s good? Depending on your mindset right now, that question could have a lot of different answers; however, today we’re talking about GOOD, a company and integrated media platform that makes “a magazine, videos, and events for people who give a damn.” They’re relatively new on the scene, and they’re breaking a lot of rules when it comes to how to run a media company. For instance, instead of keeping your subscription fees, they’ll donate them to the non-profit of your choice. Since magazines don’t actually make money on subscription fees, they think this is better for business. They’re well known for their “unique editorial perspective,” but they’re even better known for their “fresh visual aesthetic.” I first came across their website GOOD.is to see some of their amazingly gorgeous (and informative) infographics.
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business development,
California,
community development,
design,
editing,
editorial,
engineering,
Internships,
magazines,
marketing,
media,
outreach,
product development,
software development,
unpaid,
web development
For nearly as long as humans have been around, we’ve been building shelters—places to sleep, eat, work, and play. And nearly as long as we’ve been building shelters, we’ve been doing it artistically. Function is still our primary goal—it’s the reason that we build things, but it’s amazing how development, architecture, construction and engineering, interior design, landscape architecture, and urban planning come together as an essential part of human culture. The National Building Museum in Washington, DC was started to “advance the quality of the built environment by educating the public about its impact on people’s lives.” Yes, it’s a museum filled with artifacts and objects related to the history of buildings, but it’s more than that. It’s really about “fostering lively discussion about a wide range of topics.”
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architecture,
design,
development,
engineering,
Internships,
museum,
non-profit,
outreach,
Washington DC
I love it when I get great recommendations for companies/organizations to feature from readers (if you have one, let me know at willy@onedayonejob.com). That’s how I found out about Gloucester, MA based Action Inc. I was sent a link to this article about how the non-profit agency will be getting “$8.5 million in federal stimulus money over the next three years to improve energy efficiency in low-income households from Gloucester to Haverhill to Lynn.” The cool thing about the project is that it not only focuses on reducing energy consumption, but it also focuses on helping low-income people save money that they’re literally burning away. Action Inc. is all about economic security, so their work goes well beyond energy efficiency. It also includes Advocay, Youth Outreach, In Home Care, Housing Loans, Job Training, Emergency Shelters, and Toy Drives.
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education,
energy,
entry-level jobs,
Internships,
Massachusetts,
non-profit,
outreach,
unpaid
Three months ago when I featured the American Lung Association’s Jobs, I mentioned a good friend who is battling lung cancer. From what I’ve heard, he continues to be doing well and fighting for his life. Unfortunately, I recently learned that my grandmother is also facing a battle with lung cancer despite the fact that she stopped smoking before I was born. It’s obviously very upsetting for my family, and we’re going to do our best to get her through this. I don’t usually like getting too personal with these posts, but there’s no better way for me to introduce the American Legacy Foundation. They are a Washington, DC based non-profit organization that “is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit.” I’ve seen what tobacco can do to people, and it absolutely amazes me that anyone chooses to smoke these days, but many do. It may be their right to do what they want with their bodies but I’m glad that the American Legacy Foundation is working hard to push them towards a smarter, healthier decision.
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human resources,
Internships,
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paid,
public policy,
research,
Washington DC
I never thought that I’d hear the words “city” and “harvest” used together as often as I do these days, but now it seems that every city has a farmers market, urban vegetable gardens, and restaurants with hyper-local cuisine. Oddly enough, City Harvest means something slightly different when they talk about harvesting food. They are “a non-profit organization founded in 1982” and “the world’s first and New York City’s only food rescue program.” What does that mean? It means that this year they will “collect 26 million pounds of excess food from all segments of the food industry, including restaurants, grocers, corporate cafeterias, manufacturers, and farms.” They’re harvesting anything and everything that they can (as long as it’s up to their food safety standards) to feed New York City’s hungry. It’s a brilliant idea, and the organizations longevity proves that it’s working.
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development,
food,
Internships,
New York,
non-profit,
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unpaid
Last month I got an e-mail from a One Day, One Job reader named Lindsay Dick who has landed in an Internship Coordinator position. Her extensive internship experience during college has led to a job managing an internship program! It’s funny how that works. The organization that she works for is a Cocoa, FL based non-profit called To Write Love on Her Arms. They’re “dedicated to presenting hope and finding help for people struggling with depression, addiction, self-injury and suicide. TWLOHA exists to encourage, inform, inspire and also to invest directly into treatment and recovery.” If you don’t know a lot about these issues, check out TWLOHA’s Facts page. It sounds like an amazing organization, and if its internship program is run by one of our readers, it has to be good.
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advocacy,
Florida,
Internships,
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You know all those rights that you learned about in school? All that stuff in the Constitution. I’m sure it’s important to you now, but how important was it to you as a kid? Unless you were a unique kid, you just wanted to play. That’s why Right To Play is such an interesting non-profit. They’re “an international humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills, and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world.” Play may seem trivial to many, but Right To Play has found that it’s often the key to opening up those other rights that many of us take for granted. They’re a Toronto based organization with a New York City presence, and they’re currently working in 23 countries: Azerbaijan, Benin, Botswana, Burundi, China, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Liberia, Mali, Mozambique, Pakistan, Peru, occupied Palestinian territory, Rwanda, Sudan, Tanzania, Thailand, Uganda, the United Arab Emirates and Zambia.
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communications,
development,
Internships,
New York,
non-profit,
outreach,
sports,
unpaid
Have you ever heard of animal-assisted therapy? Wikipedia defines it as “a type of therapy that involves an animal with specific characteristics becoming a fundamental part of a person’s treatment.” This type of therapy can have all kinds of beneficial effects for a wide array of ailments, and it can be done with animals ranging from dogs to horses to elephants to lizards. Green Chimneys is a Brewster, NY based non-profit organization that “operates residential treatment for children and a special education school” with a large focus on animal-assisted therapy. They’re located on a 200-acre farm, and they’re constantly working towards “restoring possibilities and creating futures for children with emotional, behavioral, social and learning challenges.”
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agriculture,
animals,
education,
Internships,
New York,
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outreach,
psychology,
social work,
teaching
Happy Mother’s Day! It was a lot harder finding a mother related non-profit organization to feature today than I thought it would be, but luckily I came a cross the Family Health and Birth Center in Washington, DC. They are “a full scope birth center providing prenatal, birth, postnatal, gynecological and primary health care to women and their families,” and since what they do is all about motherhood, they’re a perfect fit for today. The reason that the Family Health and Birth Center exists is that there are often high rates of infant and maternal mortality in low-income areas. That is unacceptable for a country as advanced as the United States, so Ruth Watson Lubic, “an experienced nurse-midwife and health care reform advocate,” decided to do something about it.
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healthcare,
holiday,
Internships,
non-profit,
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Last night I had some friends over for dinner, and we played a question and answers game. My questions for everyone was “if you got arrested, what would it be for.” Think about that for a second. I’m sure most of you never expect to run into trouble with the law, but not all criminals intend to break the law and not all people who are arrested are guilty. Since you’re a college student/new grad with limited financial resources, how would you afford a defense lawyer? Your parents? (If your parents would pay for it, then maybe you should take advantage of that generosity and have them sign you up for our job search prep course.) Or would you end up needing a public defender? That’s not a good thought – “someone you’ve never seen; someone you didn’t choose; someone you have no reason to trust” is responsible for your freedom. That’s why The Bronx Defenders exists. They “have transformed the role of the public defender by changing the nature of the attorney-client relationship, investing in the communities where our clients live, and striving to create justice for the people [they] serve.” It’s still not pleasant to consider a court case, but having better public defense makes it a little less scary.
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I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned it before, but I’m on the Board of Advisors of a startup non-profit called National Coaching Fellows. One of my fellow board members also has a full-time job at another Chicago based non-profit organization called Near West Side Community Development Corp. She said that they’re looking for interns, and asked me to share some information on the internships with you guys. Near West Side Community Development Corp. was established in 1988 “to create a viable, mixed-income community in West Haven without the displacement of low and moderate income residents.” They’re doing all kinds of things to make this happen, but they remain focused on doing everything in their power to make one small area of Chicago a better place to live.
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I’ve already recounted my whale watch story in our post on internships at the Whale Center of New England, but I will say again that I think whales are absolutely amazing creatures. To see them in the wild is an experience that I think everyone should be able to have. And one of the reasons that we continue to be able to see whales in the wild is Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society.They’re based in Plymouth, MA, and they are “the global voice for the protection of whales, dolphins, and their environment.” Their internship coordinator e-mailed me to tell me about the organization and its internships, and because they sound so great, I’m sharing them with you. I also figured that if you were anything like the kids I grew up with, a good number of you wanted to be Marine Biologists at some point. For those of you who still have a strong interest in Marine Biology, Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society offers amazing opportunities year round.
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animals,
biology,
conservation,
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international,
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scotland,
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zoology
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.”
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Washington DC
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.”
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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.
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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.
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Pennsylvania,
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Virginia,
Washington DC
Do you remember your family’s first computer? Were you early adopters with an Apple IIe? Or did you have a Gateway 2000 (back when 2000 was futuristic) that came with a free month of AOL? Was it the original Macintosh or a later Performa model? If you remember that computer better than you remember your first grade teacher, today’s job will be right up your alley. One Laptop Per Child is a non-profit organization that was founded by faculty members of the MIT Media Lab to offer children across the world educational opportunities through laptop ownership. Based on 5 Core Principles of Child Ownership, Low Ages, Saturation, Connection, and Free and Open Source, OLPC is looking to change millions of lives by allowing children to explore, experiment, and express themselves.
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Cambridge,
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Peru,
software development,
unpaid,
Uruguay
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.
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Internship searching is hard enough on it’s own. When you have to worry about not being able to feed yourself over the summer because you might have to take an unpaid internship, it can become overwhelming. Obviously the best remedy is to find a paid internship, but that’s easier said than done. What you can do to ease your financial fears for the summer is to start paying attention to personal finance (that’s a link to Ramit Sethi’s I Will Teach You To Be Rich, because he’s the go to guy for that kind of stuff). You can also start using Thrive, a website that “brings all your credit card, checking, savings, retirement, and investment accounts into one place so you can easily see what you have, what you owe, and where you can grow.” They’re based out of New York City, and as far as I can tell they’re offering a product that is extremely similar to Mint, which has been on my radar for well over a year now. Still, Thrive appears to have developed a great tool for monitoring your personal finances, and since they’re hiring paid interns, we thought we should take a look at them.
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communications,
design,
Internships,
marketing,
New York,
outreach,
paid,
personal finance,
software development,
user experience,
web development,
writing
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.
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arts,
Georgia,
Internships,
music,
non-profit,
outreach,
unpaid
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.
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Internships,
marketing,
New York,
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unpaid
My mother sent me to Ballroom Dancing School in 4th and 5th grade. My friends and I called it “Monday Night Karate” at school to avoid being made fun of, but every monday night we got dressed up in a jacket and tie and had to act prim and proper and say things like, “Good evening Mrs. Jones. It’s a pleasure to see you again.” At least I didn’t have to wear white gloves like the girls did. The real goal of the weekly class was to teach us manners, but you would think that I would have learned a step or two. I didn’t. I am a terrible dancer, so I’m probably not the best person to tell you about Dancing in the Streets, a NYC based non-profit organization that “strives to illuminate the urban experience with free public performances and site-specific installations that examine the kinetic life and history of natural and architectural public spaces,” but I’m going to tell you about them anyway.
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performance
