Community-Based Learning for Eco-Social Transformation
Along with our Facebook page where we often post opportunities (https://www.facebook.com/invst.communitystudies/ ) these are great places to look for meaningful work:
Annunciation House is our Community Partner in El Paso, Texas. INVST has been aligned with Annunciation House since the early 1990s. They ask that you make sure you are serious about serving in El Paso with the immigrant community, before sending in your application. If you accept an offer from Annunciation House for an internship, please follow through and honor your commitment to this organization. INVST staff would be happy to recommend our alumni for this meaningful opportunity; please contact invst@colorado.edu to learn more.
Another opportunity to volunteer along the Southern border of the United States is with No More Deaths where you can be a humanitarian aid volunteer.
Thistle Whistle Farm is our partner in Hotchkiss, CO seeking dedicated interns. Contact Mark Waltermire ( farmer_mark@tds.net ) if you would like to intern on the farm, especially in the summer.
Thistle Whistle Farm is nestled in the outskirts of Hotchkiss, Colorado. Owners Mark Waltermire and Katie Dean, along with their wonderful staff and volunteers are passionate about growing food. One of the farm’s unique aspects is its unusual species that are grown on the land. At Thistle Whistle you can find rare plants, such as the world’s hottest pepper. Hundreds of different heirloom tomatoes and unique peppers are among the farm’s specialties. The farm also hosts educational programs throughout the summer including English as a second language and nutrition classes, The Sauce Plot kids camp where young people learn to grow their own food for a pasta meal, and local school programs for elementary through high school.
PIIE Would you like to get paid for a summer internship? Public Interest Internship Experience (PIIE) applications are due every January.
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Mobilize Power Fund Accepting Proposals - Third Wave Fund thirdwavefund.org The Mobilize Power Fund accepts proposals year-round for urgent activism led by young women of color, queer, and trans youth!
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INVST offers the Downton Leadership Scholarship through the CU Boulder School of Education: http://www.colorado.edu/education/scholarships, for Colorado-born students with financial need who are in the INVST Community Leadership Program, due between Feb. 1 - Mar. 15 annually. Apply here.
- The New York City Urban Fellows Program
- Emerson National Hunger Fellows Program through the Congressional Hunger Center in Washington, D.C.
- Spiritual Ecology Youth Fellowship
- Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Fellows
- Yale World Fellows Program
- The Westpac Research Fellowship
- Grants for Artists
- Meridian Institute is pleased to announce position openings within the Meridian Fellowship Program – an opportunity for recent college graduates to work on varied and highly complex public policy issues, learn about the field of multi-party collaborative problem solving, and engage with leaders from a variety of sectors and interest groups. The Fellowship provides the next generation of public policy leaders with the skills they need to encourage collaboration on complex and controversial problems.
An announcement about the position and instructions for how to apply is attached and available here. The deadline to submit applications is usually in early February.
Meridian Institute is a non-profit organization that helps people solve complex and controversial problems, make informed decisions, and implement solutions that improve lives, the economy, and the environment. At Meridian, we design collaborative approaches that bring together people who understand the issues and have a stake in their resolution.
Meridian selects new Fellows for the program on an annual basis and offers significant personal and professional development opportunities. Meridian Fellows provide research, writing, and many other types of support for projects focusing on a wide variety of challenging issues. Past Fellows have been involved in work with global and domestic agriculture and food security, climate change, ocean policy, forest and land use management, freshwater resources, and community and global resilience, among other topics.
Questions about the Fellowship or application process can be sent to jbrassanini@merid.org. For more information about the Meridian Institute, please visit www.merid.org.
The following universities and programs have agreements in place with INVST Community Studies to encourage INVST alumni to attend their graduate programs. Special scholarships and application fee waivers may be available:
The Master of Environmental Management program at Western Colorado University in the Rocky Mountains in Gunnison, Colorado. The program is interdisciplinary and applied: in your second year you’ll complete a 600-hour project with an environmental organization of your choice. We have three tracks: Sustainable & Resilient Communities, Integrated Land Management, and Global Sustainability. And, while many students opt to complete the program from Gunnison, we also have students from around the country and around the world. These “distance” students bring incredible perspective from their own unique professional and geographical bases to our classes. We also have over a dozen fellowship opportunities for our students. You can find the full list here. As you’ll see, the “Community Farm Graduate Fellowship” offers $10,000 to a student to help in the development of a Gunnison Valley-wide farming enterprise with our partner, Mountain Roots. As another example, we provide a fellowship which matches the education award for AmeriCorps volunteers. Please visit us at western.edu/mem and email Kate Clark at kclark@western.edu with any questions.
Considering law school? The University of Denver offers this scholarship opportunity to community-engaged students:
Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (California)
The Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey is creating the next generation of global change makers. Their graduate degrees emphasize collaborative learning, immersing you in culture and language and giving you the opportunity to acquire and apply practical, professional skills. Our graduates go on to tackle some of the world's greatest challenges. We’re excited to offer INVST alumni a scholarship of $14,000 for each year of your graduate program at the Middlebury Institute. You may also receive additional merit and need-based scholarships, depending on your financial situation and the strength of your application.
How to Apply to the Middlebury Institute:
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Submit your application for one of our graduate programs by the next priority deadline.
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Once you’re admitted, you’ll receive the guaranteed $14,000 INVST scholarship. Please contact invst@colorado.edu if you have questions about this opportunity.
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You may also waive your application fee at go.miis.edu/partner
Other INVST Partnerships with Graduate School Programs:
CU Boulder MA in Media and Public Engagement
CU Boulder Master of Science in Information, Communication and Technology for Development
CU Denver School of Public Administration The SPA at CU Denver will waive your application fee if you are an INVST alum, and they may be able to offer scholarships for tuition as well.
Additional Learning Programs Vouched For by INVST Grads:
Turing School of Software & Design Located in Denver, with a unique social justice mission.
People's Organization of Community Acupunture (POCA Tech) They focus on social justice, community-led solutions to healthcare, and making acupuncture affordable and accesible.
- Americas Latino Festival on Sustainability and Social Justice
- This event will be held on campus and throughout Boulder and Denver each November: the Americas Latino Festival, which seeks to create a dialogue in the local Latino and non-Latino communities about environmental and social justice. Broadly, it aims to highlight connections across the Americas regarding these two themes.
- Front Range Bioneers Conference
- CU Diversity & Inclusion Summit: http://www.colorado.edu/odece/diversity-inclusion-summit
- National Conference for Race & Ethnicity in American Higher Education (NCORE)
- The Knapsak Institute
- Imagining America - At the Crossroads, Conference on Artists & Scholars in Public Life
- White Privilege Conference
- Also visit INVST's Facebook page, where we often post opportunities.
- Campus Compact
- International Association for Research on Service-learning and Community Engagement
- CU Engage
- CU Office of Outreach and Engagement
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The Immigration and Border Community – Research Experience for Undergraduates, is a unique opportunity to learn social science research methods while collaborating with local organizations to conduct in-depth research about the unique challenges faced by border communities in the Paso del Norte region of southern New Mexico, El Paso and Ciudad Juárez.
Requirements: At least sophomore standing in a social science discipline (Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, Geography) or related field, GPA of at least 3.0, statement of interest indicating preparation and motivation for participating in this project, two reference letters, one of which must be from a student’s professor. Spanish language skills are preferred but not required.Due to federal regulations, students must be U.S. citizens, U.S. nationals or Permanent Residents.
More info here.
- Shareable on the Sharing Economy
- NASCO on Cooperatives
- The Public Science Project
- Climate Ride Fundraise for sustainability while having the ride or hike of your life!
Meaningful and Reciprocal Travel Opportunities:
https://globalvolunteers.org/#countries
Spanish Learning Opportunities:
Travel to Chiapas, Mexico to learn Spanish and international solidarity principles with Mexico Solidarity Network, MSN: https://ausm.community
Spanish program for women committed to social justice, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Partial scholarships available for immigration justice advocates. Improve your Spanish language listening and speaking skills; homestay with welcoming, working-class Mexican family: www.spanisheducationforwomen.org