Co-op Hudson Valley
Poughkeepsie based, position is remote
Action Areas: Racial Justice, Economic justice
About: Co-op Hudson Valley supports workers and grassroots projects that want to start and grow cooperative businesses by pairing non-extractive loans with technical assistance and coaching, which helps projects thrive. We work with people who have been excluded from economic security to create opportunities in their own community for collective ownership and dignified work.
Position Description:
The student will be responsible for regular translation projects (from English to Spanish). Projects will focus on translating and/or reviewing things like Co-op Hudson Valley’s website, social media posts, internal documents, presentations, with the goal of providing accurate, important and helpful information and resources to the Spanish speaking members of our community.
Desired Skills: Bilingual Spanish-English, Copywriting, Previous experience in this field, Writing, We are looking for someone that is fluent in Spanish (written is a priority). We believe someone with good writing skills and that has previous experience translating written material will be most successful.
Hours: 4 hrs week
Are you interested in getting involved with Co Op HV? Visit here for your next steps.
Found and Fixed Hudson Valley
https://www.foundandfixedhv.com/about-us
Address: 10 Commercial Ave, Highland NY 12528
Action Areas: Environmental Justice and Food Security, Expression, Arts, and Culture, community wealth building, democratic work places, landfill reduction
About: Found & Fixed Hudson Valley diverts furniture from the landfill by repairing, refinishing, and repainting damaged wood pieces.
We launched our worker cooperative in 2022 to combat the 12 million pounds of furniture that goes into landfills each year in the United States. Through our work, we give new life to old pieces while also providing sustainable, cost-competitive alternatives to big box stores.
Where possible, we use sustainable and eco-friendly products on our pieces such as non-toxic paint, strippers and sealing agents.
Position description: Students can work on a number of different projects based on their skills, interests, and intended career path. Projects may include:
– Woodworking (for those who want hands on experience)
– Conducting outreach to artists that upcycle and planning a series of community-oriented workshops (ie., how to do kinsugi, how to deconstruct and reuse wool in a sweater, how to make a lamp out of anything, etc.)
– Marketing support (helping us stay on top of social media trends, developing a social media calendar, interviewing people for newsletters, writing short blog posts)
– Participation in the coop! We are a worker owned workplace and manage all aspects of the business democratically. Our org is governed by committees (or circles). Students will gain experience in democratically managed orgs by participating in team meetings and relevant circles.
Desired Skills: Communications – emails, phone calls, in person outreach, Research skills, Social media management, Web design, Writing, The most important things that we look for are responsiveness and a willingness to try anything!
Hours: 4 hrs week or 8 hrs/week
Are you interested in getting involved with Found and Fixed? Visit here for your next steps.
Town of Poughkeepsie
Municipality (local government), 30+ team members
Address: 1 Overocker Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
Action Areas: We provide resident services in the areas of public safety, parks, and senior and youth programs, among others.
About:We are the municipality within which Vassar College operates. We provide essential services (water, sewer, roads) as well as parks, youth and senior programs, and other resident services.
Position Description: Seeking a student to work directly with Rebecca Edwards, Town Supervisor, to build a spreadsheet with basic contact information for businesses in the town, focusing primarily on small, locally owned businesses. The town does not have any such list; the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce list is very partial and even for those businesses that are members, contact information is outdated. Some home-based businesses are licensed but others are not.
This is a big undertaking and the student will just get us started, but can survey and classify the types of businesses, begin to reach out and ascertain business owners’ needs and concerns, research how we might define “local,” and think about how we might create in an online directory. The work will then continue in the summer.
Desired Skills: Communications – emails, phone calls, in person outreach, Fact-checking, Research skills, Spanish-language skills would be valuable but are not required. Driver’s license helpful but not required.
Hours: 4hrs/week
Are you interested in getting involved with The Town of Poughkeepsie? Visit here for your next steps.
United Way of the Dutchess-Orange Region
Non-profit, 15-20 team members
Address: 75 Market Street, Poughkeepsie
Action Areas: Education Policy and Equity, Environmental Justice and Food Security, Housing Insecurity/Justice, Public Health
About: We fight for the health, education and financial stability for every person in our community.
Position Description: We have learning opportunities in our impact, fundraising and marketing departments.
Desired Skills: Bilingual Spanish-English, Communications – emails, phone calls, in person outreach, Graphic design, Previous experience working with young people, Previous experience in this field, Public speaking/presenting, Research skills, Social media management, Web design, Writing, Video editing/production, Data collection/analysis
Hours: 4hrs/week
Positions Available: 2
Are you interested in getting involved with UWDOR? Visit here for your next steps.