Voting Rights & Civics
New York State Democratic Committee
not for profit political party
Mill Street, Poughkeepsie, NY
5-10 team members
Issue Areas:
Education Policy and Equity, Environmental Justice and Food Security, Housing Insecurity/Justice, LGBTQAI+ Rights, Mental Health Access and Support, Prison Abolition, Racial Justice, Reproductive Rights, Voting Rights, Our work touches many of the above listed issues
About:
The New York State Democratic Party, the longest-enduring political Party in the world. The New York State Democratic Party is committed to ensuring that New Yorkers have progressive, fair, and dedicated leadership at every level of government. As we prepare to defend critical rights and freedoms for New Yorkers next November, we are building a grassroots team of young people working together to engage other youth voters in their local communities. This work can take many forms, but is centered around community engagement, voter outreach and youth voter registration
Position Description:
Students will have the opportunity to engage in politics outside of the Vassar Campus. The will be expected to run youth voting engagement events. Voter registration is a huge part of the position; Students will be able to track the number of students they register, along with any other data that we might deem important. Opportunities to interact with local schools in the area to further engage the youth. Students will also have the opportunity to flex their creative muscles; graphic design skills can be used to make posters and social media content that would be presented to a wide range of people. Along with this, students will have the chance to make and generate content for various different social media platforms. This is an opportunity for students to engage with the political space outside of their campus setting and connect with the political apparatus of the region surrounding their campus. One former OCEL student went on to be hired to a full-time position after graduating!
Skills:
- Communications – emails, phone calls, in person outreach, Previous experience working with young people, Previous experience in this field, Research skills, Social media management, Writing
Hours: 4hrs/week, 8hrs/week
Are you interested in getting involved with The NY Democratic Committee? Visit here for your next steps.
For the Many
Address: 302a Mill St, Poughkeepsie NY 12601
Issue Areas: Environmental Justice and Food Security, Housing Insecurity/Justice, Public Health, Affordability
About:
For the Many is building a grassroots movement of everyday people to transform New York so it works for all of us. We were founded by Vassar students in 2012! Our current local and statewide campaigns focus on housing, wages, and climate. In the last year, we passed historic local housing legislation, including a historic 15% rent reduction in Kingston for rent stabilized units, and won the Build Public Renewables Act, which is the biggest Green New Deal win in U.S. history. Students also helped build and launch the State Assembly campaign for Claire Cousin, a progressive democrat running to represent Columbia and Dutchess counties (AD 106).
Position Description
There are many roles students can take on at for the many. We offer a student organizing internship, voter engagement work, and more.
In the Spring of 2024, we will continue working on an exciting state assembly race for Claire Cousin! Students can be apart of our community organizing or student organizing program on campus. Depending on the role students will be canvassing in the Town of Poughkeepsie and Hyde Park, phone banking, doing voter registration on campus, and/or putting on events for students on campus!
Skills: Desire to get involved in direct action work around progressive issuesHours: 4hrs/week, 8hrs/week
Are you interested in getting involved with For the Many? Visit here for your next steps.
Senator Robert G. Rolison – NY 39 (fall semester)
https://www.nysenate.gov/senators/rob-rolison
Address: 3 Neptune Road, Poughkeepsie NY
About: District Office for 39TH Senate District.
Position description: Internship Action Plan
- Be punctual, diligent, proactive.
- Field all incoming calls and subsequently log all call details.
- Assist Director of District Operations with day-to-day tasks and meeting prep.
- Attend events and sit-in on meetings with Senator Rolison and Director of District Operations. Submit detailed meeting notes following each event/meeting.
- Attend Staff meetings.
- Maintain the district office’s databases and prepare reports as needed.
Projects for the duration of internship may include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Aid in coordinating DC SPCA Pet Drive, Dress for Success, Senior Citizen Golden Gathering, Office of the Aging Senior Picnics, Veteran’s Events, Back to School Supply Drives, Blood Bank Drives/ Red Cross, Women’s Networking Event, Trade and Career Fair, Community Volunteer Events as requested. Efforts will be in conjunction with the Senator’s Events Coordinator and Communications Director
- Shadow staff throughout the semester to allow a true insight into New York’s government mechanisms.
Desired Skills: Communications – emails, phone calls, in person outreach, Fact-checking, Public speaking/presenting, Research skills, Social media management, Writing, Data collection/analysis
Hours: 4hrs/week
Are you interested in getting involved with Senator Rolison? Visit here for your next steps.
Town of Poughkeepsie
Municipality (local government)
Address: 1 Overocker Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603
30+ team members
Issue 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.