Volunteer and Internship
Opportunities Help
yourself - help others
Below is very important information on volunteering and what
you can gain here. Please read it completely before your info session,
including all the bullet points at the bottom of this web page. Thank
you!
Whatever your skill - there's a way to help from
anywhere on Earth (and elsewhere if you can manage a phone, fax or
e-mail connection).
Utilize your abilities, sharpen your skills and grow
in new areas. Learn from others' experience while helping millions of
people to make a difference.
Skills and experience Experience and/or specialized skills are useful but not
required. We may provide training. Many, though not all, of our
activities do require some computer experience with an Internet browser and
Microsoft Word.
Some of our activities, including accounting and computer tech, require
somewhat substantial previous education or experience. If those are your
interests, let's talk before you come in to make sure we can provide a
good opportunity for your interests.
Sapna, a Hearts & Minds
volunteer, enjoying gaining experience while helping us help millions of
people
Develop a wide range of
skills Get involved in your choice of hands-on work. Gain
some valuable experience in your choice of a wide range of activities
in our Working Groups.
When Volunteer three or more hours/week,
scheduled at flexible times that are convenient for you. You can start
any time. There's no minimum total hours for regular volunteers.
Where We are in an interesting, pleasant
neighborhood in New York City, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.
Many activities can also be done from
outside our office,
anywhere in the world,
including these projects.
Chizuko,
another Hearts & Minds volunteer,
doing valuable research for the End Poverty Campaign, She also participated in
strategic planning meetings and more. Here she writes to an elected
representative to help end global poverty. You, too, can choose from a
wide range of interesting activities.
Internships, Co-Ops and
more Internships total at least 250 hours. Extended internships
are at least 400 hours. Advanced internships of 700 hours and Co-ops of
1,000 hours are also available.
Students may also
fulfill community service or internship requirements and gain valuable
experience. Course credit and independent study are possible in
collaboration with your school.
Volunteers under age
18 can participate in most of
the same activities as our older volunteers. They do need a parent or legal
guardian to co-sign our
Volunteer policies. Hearts & Minds works with volunteers age 14 or
older.
Parent and guardians are welcome to attend our info session
and meet our
president .
Special
Needs For hearing impaired individuals, we usually communicate by
typing on a computer.This has worked well so far.
For physically challenged individuals, this may include regular
meetings in a fully accessible part of the building that houses our
offices. We may also set you up with a wireless connection to our
computer network there. Please note: Our main office is on a second floor
accessible only by steps. We regret that we cannot afford to install an
elevator. Mentally and psychologically challenged individuals: You can
speak directly with our president, Bill Blackman, at 212-280-0333. He
will help you find the volunteer experience that is best for you.
Required
community service:
We appreciate these volunteers, and they often make a valuable
contribution. We also welcome court-ordered volunteering, but not for
all alleged crimes. A few other conditions also apply:
more info.
What you need to know before attending an
info
session
Please carefully
read this important info:
You will meet with Bill
Blackman, the president of Hearts & Minds. He will talk with you about the
organization, how volunteering works, your areas of interest and skills you'd like to improve.
He is happy to answer your questions. The info session usually takes
about an hour.
We are an
all-volunteer organization. All positions are unpaid. We provide
other benefits. Some work
study programs require substantial money contributions, even from
nonprofits. We unfortunately do not have the budget for this,
though sometimes volunteers are able to raise their own matching
funds. You may want to confirm with your school how this works, and
you're also welcome to contact us
with your questions.
Special
conditions may apply to
accounting and tech (computer
hardware, software, networking, and programming) volunteers. It is
important for you to ask before
coming in.
Our regular office hours for
volunteers are 12 - 6 pm Tuesday and Friday, 9:30 am - 8 pm on
Wednesday and 12 - 8 on Thursday. Other times are added on an
occasional basis.
Volunteering outside our
office: Some types of volunteer work
can be done remotely. This includes starting local chapters of the End Poverty Campaign.
For this, we ask an
ongoing commitment of at least three hours a week and a willingness
actively to call and recruit people. Experienced website developers/programmers
also can work outside our office. If you are interested in
volunteering outside our office, please contact us.
Info sessions are held in
our office most Wednesdays at 4:30. If you can’t make
that, we
can arrange an alternative time.
Please bring the original and a
copy (black and white is fine) of your government-issued ID such
as your driver’s license or passport that includes your photo.
Please also bring your most recent phone, electric or similar bill,
original and a copy, as proof of your current address. We require these things
to be sure all our volunteers are who they say they are, for
everyone's safety. We keep the copies in a secure place, but we
still suggest you do not bring anything that includes your social
security number or credit card info.
If you are under 18, a student ID is acceptable. We will need to see a
copy of a parent or legal guardian’s ID and their most recent bill
as explained in the bullet point just above this one. We do not
accept volunteers under 14 years of age, unless accompanied by a
parent while volunteering.
Please bring a resume if available.
If you’re interested in art,
photography, writing, graphic design or website development, please
bring links to your web pages or samples of your work. We don’t need to keep these, just to
take a look. If you're not interested in these areas, none of this
is required.
You can dress casually. Jeans or
shorts and sneakers are fine. (Clothing required. : ) Please do not
visit our offices in sexually provocative clothing.
Even if you know the city
well, we recommend you print out and bring
directions
to our office. When you arrive at our office,
please use the white intercom phone on the front door, dial 13.
Please call us if you're unable to attend the session you scheduled.
We look forward to meeting
you!
Please note:
Everyone who volunteers at our office is required to
sign our Volunteer and Intern Introduction and
Agreement before working with us. This is usually done during the
info session, so you have a chance to ask questions, but you can
email or call and ask to speak to Bill
Blackman about it in advance, as well.
Here's a brief
Copyright Agreement we make with some
professional writers and artists who allow us to publish their work.
Some of our activities, including accounting and computer tech, require
somewhat substantial previous education or experience. If those are your
interests, let's talk before you come in to make sure we can provide a
good opportunity for your interests.
Chizuko,
another Hearts & Minds volunteer,
doing valuable research for the End Poverty Campaign, She also participated in
strategic planning meetings and more. Here she writes to an elected
representative to help end global poverty. You, too, can choose from a
wide range of interesting activities.
