Veggielution Internships
What our program is all about...
Our Internship program has grown and evolved over the past 8 years to become one of our flagship offerings, helping us increase our capacity and complete work here at Veggielution while offering leadership and other job skills to participants. We consider interns to be an integral part of the our team, taking responsibility for exciting projects while working collaboratively with staff, volunteers and other interns.
Fall 2017-Spring 2018 Available Positions
Veggielution Corporate Engagement Intern
September 1, 2017-May 30, 2018
Working closely with the Veggielution Executive Director, the Corporate Engagement Intern is responsible for conducting outreach and recruitment in order to schedule corporate volunteer groups at Veggielution. The Corporate Engagement Intern serves a critical function by helping to connect local corporate employees to Veggielution’s mission through weekday service projects at the farm. She/He will lead a minimum of 1 volunteer group per week, ensuring both the efficiency and the quality of the work the volunteers do to support farm programs and operations. Veggielution’s corporate volunteer program is often a critical point of entry for donors and supporters, therefore this position also plays a significant role in supporting our organization’s donor outreach. This position reports directly to the Executive Director.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Corporate Engagement Intern Responsibilities Include:
- Conduct strategic outreach and recruitment for volunteer groups to ensure at least one corporate volunteer event is scheduled each week.
- Serve as the contact person for all corporate groups and individuals interested in volunteering at Veggielution. Schedule groups/individuals according to their availability and Veggielution’s needs
- Set up, lead/facilitate, and clean-up after volunteer groups. Have extensive knowledge of all possible volunteer tasks (i.e. planting, harvesting, weeding, mulching, and other activities as needed.)
- Cultivate and maintain relationships with key corporate partners. In collaboration with Veggielution’s Executive Director and Development Communications Manager, identify best practices for engaging corporate groups.
- Communicate with the Veggielution staff to determine weekly operational needs of Veggielution and set expectations of each volunteer group to ensure every volunteer opportunity reaches its full potential.
- Maintain volunteer database with all volunteer and group information.
- Prepare and present reports to Executive Director at weekly check-in meetings.
QUALIFICATIONS
- A skilled communicator: Strong written and verbal communication skills including an ability to speak publicly in a friendly and engaging voice. Experience facilitating volunteer groups and/or providing excellent customer service.
- A team player: Able to skillfully collaborate with a small team to achieve a common goal. Willingness to jump in whenever necessary
- Strategic and agile: Excellent organizational and long-range planning skills including the ability to manage many projects simultaneously and set priorities in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to be flexible and keep a sense of humor under pressure
- Passionate: Fueled by a passion for volunteer service and community engagement.
- Basic knowledge of social media platforms; willingness to learn more.
WORKING CONDITIONS
- 8 hours of work per week, ideally in two 4-hour shifts, Tuesday-Friday.
- Non-conventional mix of office and outdoor work environment requires affinity for interacting with visitors in a farm setting.
APPLICATION DEADLINE: August 15, 2017
TO APPLY, PLEASE SEND A COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO:
Cayce Hill, Executive Director, cayceh@veggielution.org
Veggielution Farming Intern
September 2017 - May 2018
Interns are an integral part of the Veggielution farm crew, providing essential support to staff throughout the year in almost every area of the farm operation. As a part of our team, you will have the unique opportunity to gain hands-on farming experience as well as a deeper understanding of urban agriculture, community engagement, and the non-profit sphere. We are looking for candidates with a strong work ethic, sense of self-motivation, and commitment to Veggielution’s mission.
Farm Interns report directly to the Farm Manager and work closely with her and the Assistant Farm Manager to complete a wide variety of farm tasks including bed preparation, seeding and transplanting, weeding, pruning, harvesting, greenhouse propagation, chicken care, and irrigation systems maintenance. You will work in a collaborative, team environment as part of the farm crew, working alongside staff and volunteers to strengthen daily farm operations.
DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Farming Intern Responsibilities Include:
- Work quickly and efficiently on a variety of farm tasks including bed preparation, composting, seeding, transplanting, weeding, fertilizing, pruning, trellising, harvesting, etc.
- Take on responsibilities within specific areas of the farm that interest you most
- Welcome new volunteers to the farm and serve as a role model
QUALIFICATIONS
- Strong verbal communication skills
- Comfort working with people from diverse backgrounds (age, race/ethnicity, class, gender, sexuality, and ability)
- Enthusiasm and passion for Veggielution's mission
- Some experience with gardening, farming, or landscaping
- Reliability and a strong sense of self-motivation
- Bilingual ability is a plus (Spanish, Vietnamese)
SCHEDULE
- Minimum 8 hours of work per week
- Attend at least 2 workdays per week (Tuesday-Friday 8:30-12:30, Saturday 8:30-11:30)
APPLICATION DEADLINE: September 15, 2017
TO APPLY, PLEASE SEND A COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO:
Colleen Hotchkiss, Farm Manager, colleenh@veggielution.org
Our Interns
Etheline Nguyen - Storytelling and Social Media Intern
Maria - Youth Education Intern
Doyna - Youth Education Intern
Phuong Tran - Accounting Intern
Courtney Leahey - Corporate Relations Intern
Solani Patel - Corporate Relations Intern
Mike Schneer - Eastside Grown Intern
My name is Mike and I am a Bay Area native. I find peace and solace in the natural refuges of the urban sprawl, which is why I enjoy Veggielution and Emma Prusch farm so much – looking at the freeway past the rows of locally grown veggies is a constant reminder that there are still natural sanctuaries left within the urban jungle. I am a graduating senior at San Jose State University majoring in environmental studies and minoring in water resource management. I plan to further my education post-grad and am heavily interested in resource management specifically regarding how it can be applied to sustainable agriculture. I want my involvement at Veggielution to reflect my passion for healthy, vibrant communities and to increase awareness about this locally-focused, sustainable, and community oriented program.
Kyra Fukawa - Eastside Grown Intern
My name is Kyra Fukawa, and I am apart of the Eastside Grown Internship here at Veggielution. I currently attend Cal Poly and am graduating next Fall 2017. As a food science major this internship has allowed me to take what I have learned and put it into action. I am able to take what I have learned in various food science classes and apply my knowledge to different aspects of Veggielution itself. One of my favorite things to do is cook and create. This internship is allowing me to take my ideas and bring them to life. Through the food truck program, I am able to create healthy recipes and feed them to people. I am very passionate and excited to see where this internship takes me and what new things I am to learn from this summer.
Meggie Collins - Farm Intern
Veronica Peterson - Farm Intern
Emma Eaton - Farm Intern and Veggie Voucher Intern
Emma is excited to be spending her last free summer as intern at Veggielution. As an incoming senior at Cornell, she's had the opportunity to explore her academic passions and watch them evolve over the course of her college career. Starting off pre-med, Emma ditched that plan in favor of a public health route -- one which has, over time, come to incorporate the value of community engagement and sustainable food systems. Her Human Development major, and global health, inequality studies, and education minors emphasize just how complicated and interdisciplinary the word around us is. Although she doesn't claim to understand everything about how people work, she's hoping that her time at Veggielution will make that picture at least a little bit clearer.
Ariana Abedifard - Program Liaison Intern
My name is Ariana Abedifard. I was born and raised in San Jose and am currently majoring in Environmental Policy Analysis and Planning at UC Davis. I am extremely interested in food justice and sustainable food systems, and plan on emphasizing in that within my major. My second year at UC Davis, I interned with the campus dining services and worked on the resident garden, where I did a lot of advocacy on food accessibility for students. I also interned with the UC Davis Student Farm, where I did farm work that included sowing the seeds to harvesting them when they were full grown, and all the in-betweens. I love gardening, being out in nature, cooking, and meeting new people.
Rachelle Esteban-Rodriguez - Neighborhood Harvest Intern
Hello! My name is Rachelle Esteban-Rodriguez and I am 18 years old. I was born and raised in San Jose and in the fall I will be attending UC Davis with an Animal Biology major. In my spare time, I like learning about film history and watching any kinds of film as well as writing, photography, and painting. Being a part of the Veggielution team has allowed me to see how important it is for the community to have access to locally grown organic food as well as learning how to grow in a professional environment. Having the opportunity to intern at Veggielution has allowed me to see the impact that we have in San Jose and how all of the programs offered allow the community to become involved. With this in mind, I hope that the experience will allow me to become more educated about urban agriculture and how to persuade others to help their communities!
Sonya Herrera - Neighborhood Harvest Intern
My name is Sonya Herrera. I work as a produce clerk at New Seasons Market and live in downtown San Jose. I was born in raised in Stockton and studied journalism and economics at San Jose State. Though I have read a few studies and articles on how community farms operate, I want learn about how the goals of a community farm can translate into a working business model with ecologically sustainable practices. Through this internship, I want to gain hands-on knowledge about what it takes to run an economically and ecologically sustainable community farm. My ultimate dream is to start my own farm in Stockton and produce organic fruits and vegetables, in an ecologically sustainable manner, to be harvested and consumed free of charge by the local community.