Gardening the Community
Various Internships Summary, Fall
Gardening the Community (GTC) is a grassroots youth development and food justice program based in Springfield, MA. We work to build healthy and equitable communities by developing youth leadership, espousing agro-ecological methods and engaging in our local food system. (www.gtcspringfield.org) Our work is focused in the Mason Square neighborhood of Springfield which has been designated as a food desert and has suffered greatly from structural racism and disinvestment. All internships will entail work in Springfield as well as work remotely. Transportation to our Springfield office and sites will be needed. We are seeking interns to work with us for at least one full semester, but it would be amazing to find a student interested in working with us for over 2 semesters or longer. The internships are unpaid* and are generally 5 – 10 hours/week.
Development/Event Management Interns (2)
Interns will work with Development staff to organize GTC’s Fall Harvest Celebration (pancake breakfast) and fall appeal which is the organization’s big end of year fundraising drive. Responsibilities will include data entry and management, communications/visibility work, sponsorship solicitation, mailing coordination, and event management tasks.
Community Engagement Intern
Assist GTC staff and youth promotions team with community engagement efforts including organizing presentations, putting up flyers, tabling, etc. to get the word out about GTC’s markets and mission.
Farm Intern (s)
Help manage GTC’s urban farm sites with activities including bed preparation, harvesting, seeding, mulching, putting the gardens to bed for the winter, etc. Work will be outside and hands on in all weather conditions and may involve heavy lifting and manual labor.
Market and Wholesale Management Intern
Assist with tasks involving GTC’s community markets, Farm Share program and wholesale operation, including harvesting, sales, market set up and break down, data entry, and administrative tasks associated with the markets.
Research Intern: Value Added products and Sponsorship
Assist with research, plan development, and implementation of products that originate from produce grown on our sites. Assist with creating sponsors, seek samples, and attain donations for youth leadership program and markets.
Research Intern: Neighborhood History and Community Impact
Research former use of and the history of our 200 Walnut St farm site. Additionally we would like to see how property values and neighborhood perception have been impacted by GTC.
*Internships can run one or two (preferred) semesters long. Please check with your school for paid/credited opportunities. For more information, contact Karla Travieso at 413.930.0575. To apply, send your resume and a letter of interest to Karla at karlaforgtc@gmail.com
People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.