The Mississippi River flows through the heart of America, nourishes our farms and families, is a home for wildlife and provides jobs that sustain our nation’s hardworking families. But today, our great River is in trouble. Pollution from farms, untreated sewage and factories along with weak enforcement of water laws has caused our once mighty Mississippi to decline. The 1 Mississippi campaign intern will work to protect the Mississippi River by assisting with the planning and implementation of the national 1 Mississippi campaign on a local level.
1 Mississippiis created by the Mississippi River Network: Headwaters to Gulf (MRN), a coalition of 42 nonprofit organizations and businesses working together from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico to protect the land, water and people of America’s greatest River. MRN seeks interns for three regions-Minnesota/Wisconsin; Illinois/Missouri; Tennessee/Kentucky. The campaign’s main recruitment method is to talk to people face-to-face at River festivals, events and workdays where Interns will encourage people to become River Citizens-people who pledge to help protect the River by taking simple actions; each region aims to recruit 1,000 River Citizens in 2013. In addition to attending recruitment events, interns will be required to track the River Citizens recruited, recruit and train volunteers, write 1 blog post per month and submit 2-4 press releases regarding the campaign in their region.
This program will include training opportunities and at least one in-person meeting with other campaign interns from around the country. Through this experience 1 Mississippi campaign interns will develop organizing skills, a unique understanding of values-based communications campaigns, public speaking and teaching experience and the ins and outs of a national environmental campaign.
MRN is hiring a paid campaign intern for one day a week, plus event days totaling an average of 20 hours a week for the duration of the summer, beginning with our training in mid-March until early October.
The campaign volunteer’s responsibilities include:
- Attend intern training in March (2 days plus travel) to attain knowledge of the campaign and skills for recruiting River Citizens
- Work with Regional Host and 1 Mississippi Outreach Coordinator to implement regional campaign strategy to recruit, educate and engage with River Citizens
- There are different types of 1 Mississippi campaign events that all interns are expected to plan and/or attend:
- Recruitment events
- Education events
- Engagement events
- For all 1 Mississippi campaign events-using events list provided by Outreach Coordinator and the additional events identified and/or planned by the intern, the intern will:
- Contact organizers, register/pay for the events when necessary
- Assist with outreach to advertise event (via Facebook and web-based outlets)
- Attend and staff 1 Mississippi campaign events, including setup and takedown of materials
- Recruit and train volunteers to work at events and collect volunteer evaluation forms
- Data entry upon completion of event
- Manage all campaign materials
- Create content for the website, with guidance from the Outreach Coordinator
- Draft one blog post per month
- Send out 2 – 4 press releases for events in your region where the 1 Mississippi campaign is present
- Track and record media hits on the 1 Mississippi campaign in your region
- Assist Regional Host with organizational responsibilities as needed
Qualifications
Applicants for the campaign intern position should meet the following qualifications:
- Must be at least 18 years old
- Believe in the power of regular Americans to impact national policy
- Able to work independently
- Available for one day a week plus event
- Extremely well-organized with ability to consistently update tracking systems
- Genuine interest in the Mississippi River, wetlands and environmental protection
- Able to set and meet deadlines within a complex team
- Comfortable communicating with a wide variety of people with an outgoing personality
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Experience with Microsoft Office (Excel)
- Valid driver’s license, clean driving record, personal vehicle
- Available for overnight training in River town in March
Preferred, but not required:
- Previous canvassing experience (Note: This position is NOT canvassing, but similar skills are used.)
- Second language
- Knowledge of issues facing the Mississippi River and the surrounding areas
- Community organizing experience
Physical Requirements:
- Must be able to lift 25 pounds
- Must be able to work weekends
Visit www.1mississippi.org for more information on the 1 Mississippi campaign.