Internship and Volunteer Opportunities

Be part of the movement that's ending sweatshop exploitation and winning victories from Portland, Oregon to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

SweatFree Communities is a national network of anti-sweatshop organizations that works to build a global economy based on justice. SweatFree Communities supports and coordinates local efforts to persuade public and religious purchasers to adopt anti-sweatshop purchasing policies that create market demand for products made in humane conditions by workers who earn living wages. We are seeking interns at our offices in Northampton, Massachusetts; Washington, DC; and Bangor, Maine. Possibilities may also exist for internships outside of these cities; please contact us for more details.

We have full-time and part-time internship opportunities available for the summer term, fall or spring semesters, or beginning immediately. Stipend, college credit, or work-study may be available. Please indicate interest when applying. Volunteer opportunities are always available.

Positions available

Grassroots Organizing Internship
The Grassroots Organizing Intern's goal is to help build a state- or city-wide campaign to motivate local officials to join the Sweatfree Purchasing Consortium to end tax dollar support for sweatshops. Responsibilities include:

Build a diverse coalition of faith-based organizations, unions, businesses, students, social justice groups, citizen activists and elected officials in support of the campaign
Give brief presentations and plan events
Work with the media, including creating and pitching press materials
Contribute writing for our newsletters, our blog, and our website

Communications Internship
The Communications Intern's goal is to broaden SweatFree Communities' outreach in key media markets in order to educate tens of thousands of people in support of our campaigns. Responsibilities include:

Write and pitch press materials
Develop and maintain press lists
Coordinate staff and intern contributions to our website and our blog
Write and design our new newsletter
Research and propose new story ideas
Maintain strong records of your work

Research & Organizing Internship
The Research & Organizing Intern's goals are two-fold: help manage our National office's connections with thousands of supporters and conduct select research projects in support of our campaigns. Responsibilities include:

Maintenance of our presence on social networking sites
Database management
Select research projects & writing reports
Assistance with event planning, as needed

Qualifications

Demonstrated commitment to social justice organizing and the mission of SweatFree Communities

Excellent verbal and written communication and time management skills
Ability to work independently and as part of a team
Sense of humor and sense of joy in working for social justice
Bilingual Spanish/English is a plus
For Communications Internship, graphic design skills are a plus

Hours and compensation

Full-time internship is 40 hours/week, part-time is a minimum of 15 hours/week, and work-study is a minimum of 10 hours/week. Internships (except for work-study) are unpaid but we are willing to work with the student to support any application for funding and/or credit for the work. Start and end dates are flexible, though the summer internship is a minimum of 10 weeks.

Equal opportunity

SweatFree Communities is an equal opportunity employer; women, people of color, and members of the GLBT community are strongly encouraged to apply.

To apply

Applications are accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis. To apply, please send your resume, cover letter, and a short writing sample to liana[at]sweatfree[dot]org.