Information for CAUSE/CPR residential intern position

The Abundant Table

P.O. Box 6295, Ventura CA 93006

E-mail:

Web Site:

Organization Description

The Abundant Table is a non-profit organization based in Ventura County, CA. Our organic farm located in Camarillo, CA is the heart of our organization and serves as a base for our Farm to School educational projects, and Farm to Faith outreach projects, and young adult intern program.

Program Description

The Abundant Table internship is a service-learning program for young adults to provide them the opportunity to learn from organizations who are leaders in creating positive social impact. The internships are meant to prepare young adults for careers focused on community development and social change. The Abundant Table internship is unique as it focuses specifically on social change connected to food systems and food justice. Partnering with the Episcopal Service Corps, Abundant Table Interns serve 11 month paid volunteer internships at various non-profits throughout Ventura County. Past internship sites have included: The Abundant Table farm, Alma Via Assisted Living facility in Camarillo, Community Roots Garden in Oxnard, Oxnard City Corps, House Farm Workers, VC-Clergy and Laity United for Economic Justice and Bartimaeus Cooperative Ministries in Oak View. The worksite placement is coupled with participation in a rigorous and rewarding leadership development program that emphasizes intentional living, service to the community, spiritual balance, and social justice. Our goal is to create lifelong community leaders and citizens committed to serving the needs of others.

The total term of service is 11 months, beginning with an orientation and ending with a retreat. Homestay arrangements are provided by the Abundant Table for residential interns. Interns are expected to participate in the wider Abundant Table community, and meet the expectations of the not-for-profit organization to which they are assigned.
2017-18 CAUSE/CPR Intern Position Description

Position:
Pesticide Community Organizer: Ventura & Santa Barbara Counties (with Ventura emphasis)

Purpose:

The Service-Learning Pesticide Community Organizer (organizer) will spend 11 months (potentially longer contingent on interest and funding), building community capacity and empowering community residents in Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, to develop, plan, and implement pesticide campaigns to improve environmental health. The organizer will work closely with and mobilize ally organizations to address disparate environmental impacts on low-income communities of color caused by pesticide air pollution. The position will also support work on general activities of the statewide coalition Californians for Pesticide Reform. Although the position will work in both Ventura as well as Santa Barbara Counties, approximately 80% of the organizer’s work will be in Ventura County.

Reporting structure:

The organizer will be a participant in The Abundant Table’s Episcopal internship program. This program is an 11-month, service-learning program for young adults that places service corps members in paid internships with social change organizations focused on food justice. More information about the internship program is included below. Four days a week the organizer will be based with, and work out of the offices of, the Central California Alliance for a United Sustainable Economy (CAUSE). CAUSE will be working in close collaboration with the statewide coalition Californians for Pesticide Reform (CPR) to develop strategic pesticide campaigns that address the most pressing local community pesticide concerns while ensuring that work fits strategically with broader statewide pesticide goals. The position will be co-supervised by Lucas Zucker of CAUSE (on the ground, day-to-day supervisor) and Mark Weller of CPR (supervision on campaign strategy and pesticide issues). Lucas will supervise on a weekly or biweekly basis. The organizer will have weekly campaign strategy calls with Mark and every two weeks submit brief written updates to CPR. As a member of the service corps program, the community organizer will spend every Friday at The Abundant Table learning to farm and participating in leadership development and vocational reflection. The organizer is required to participate in three mandatory Abundant Table retreats during the year. The Abundant Table will provide the organizer with a “sustenance stipend,” health insurance, subsidize some other expenses as needed (gas, food, etc.), and will arrange local housing (homestay in Ojai).

Duties, Responsibilities & Expectations:

Specifically, the Organizer is responsible for:

Activity / Measurable/specifics
Develop Expertise on Pesticides & Pesticide Regulatory Systems /
  • Work with CPR to become a local expert on pesticides and how they’re regulated at the local level, in California, and nationally.
  • Work with CPR and CAUSE to develop and/or deepen skills in media, legislative/regulatory work, campaign strategy, etc.

Community Training & Leadership Building /
  • Recruit and train community members on pesticide issues using CPR’s pesticide training materials. Prioritize directly-affected community members, including farmworkers.
  • Support skills development (media, legislative, organizing, etc.) to community members as needed/requested.
  • Generate and distribute educational and training materials for community use.

Local Campaign Development & Implementation /
  • Work with community members to develop and implement locally-relevant pesticide campaigns and workplans that align with CPR/CAUSE/TAT policy priorities.
  • Provide policy analysis.
  • As needed, testify and prepare community members to testify at regulatory and policy hearings related to environmental justice and health.

Coalition Building /
  • Build a strong local movement to change pesticide policy by recruiting strategic allies.
  • Collaborate with community residents, allies, coalitions, and government agencies.
  • Recruit ally organizations to become members of the CPR coalition.

Coordinate with Statewide Campaigns /
  • Implement CPR work plans in collaboration with other coalition member organizations.
  • Join relevant CPR campaign strategy and planning calls.

Media & Communications /
  • Organize strategic media events for local campaigns and in support of statewide pesticide efforts. Act as key media contact.
  • Participate in CPR’s statewide communications strategy development, as time allows.

Fundraising & Reporting /
  • Provide timely updates on work progress.
  • Assist CPR’s Director of Development and Communications with fundraising proposals and reports, as needed.

Other tasks & responsibilities: Assist CPR staff and other CPR coalition members in coordinated statewide activities, including CPR’s annual meeting, as necessary.

Working Environment & Travel:

This position is primarily based out of the CAUSE offices in Oxnard and Ventura, with some travel to Santa Barbara County required, where CAUSE has offices for use in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria. Additional travel outside the two counties may be required on occasion to attend critical CPR coalition events. Due to the nature of community organizing, the organizer will be required to work some nights/weekends. The intern’s housing is located in Ojai.

FTE & Time Management:

This position is 11 months at full-time, supported by a sustenance stipend, health insurance and housing, starting September 1, 2017, and ending July 31, 2018. The organizer will be responsible for tracking hours worked and keeping his/her supervisors informed about time worked and activities completed to ensure adequate planning. CPR and CAUSE are currently seeking funding for a permanent organizer position in the region, for which the service corps member could be eligible at the end of TAT intern program, continent on funding and mutual interest.

Intern Profile

The typical intern is a college graduate between the age of 21 and 29. The Abundant Table prides itself in attracting a diverse and accomplished group of interns—our worksites routinely praise our interns as articulate, creative, dependable hard workers. We strive to assure each intern cohort represents a variety of ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Some interns are bilingual. We typically receive over 60 applications every year for only one to five intern positions. The Abundant Table emphasizes working in relationship with the worksite placement to identify interns that might be a good fit for the worksite and The Abundant Table intern program. We recruit both locally and nationally.

Scheduling / Service Hours / Vacation

Full-time Abundant Table Interns serve a 32-36 hour (4 day) work week for 11 months and are treated as regular staff members. (Part-time interns serve a 16-18 hour or 2-day work week.) Every Friday, interns gather together at the The Abundant Table farm for leadership development and formation: a half day of agricultural work/learning and 2-3 hours of facilitated leadership development and vocational reflection. Worksites recognize that interns may have additional time commitments such as: weekly common meals, weekly worship, weekly household obligations, and monthly full program meetings. Interns typically have several retreats throughout the year that are a mandatory components of the program. In addition, interns receive sick days comparable to site employees and 10 paid days of vacation. The Abundant Table pays full time residential interns a stipend, provides housing via homestay, health insurance, and subsidizes some other expenses as needed (food, etc.).

Supervision and Evaluation

Residential interns are, technically speaking, employees of the Abundant Table and volunteers at the worksite -- not employees of the worksites. They are, however, treated as “full fledged” staff members and held accountable, accordingly. Site leaders assure clear position responsibilities and expectations from the outset of the year of service. At minimum, this includes a position description and regular supervision (explanation of tasks, training, observation, constructive feedback, and celebration). A mid-year and end-of-year performance review of each intern with their site-supervisor is required. Interns receive program-related supervision and support through the weekly formation/leadership development day and regular contact with the program facilitator.

TO APPLY
Send cover letter of 1-2 pages and resume to nge to have three letters of recommendationsent separately to the same email address (subject line of recommendation emails should include your full name). The letters of recommendation may come from a professor, work supervisor, faith leader and/or peer who knows you well and can speak to your work ethic, emotional maturity, values and suitability for a demanding and intense internship year. The cover letter should include the following information:
(1) background (personal, academic, volunteer, work, spiritual, other interests)
(2) explain why you are interested in participating in TAT’s intern program
(3) explain why you are also interested in the community organizing internship position and what strengths you would bring to that work

We will treat your cover letter as a writing sample and so care should be taken to present a document that is complete, engaging and free of grammatical errors.
No phone calls, please.

Please note:
-Candidates with Spanish language skills are especially encouraged to apply to this program.

-Because of the travel requirements of this position, the intern will be expected to provide his/her own reliable form of transportation throughout the year.
-Requirements for homestay: housing includes cat, must be non-smoker, background check.

-Completion of an online sexual misconduct prevention training required before start of program.