Buenas! I’m Allie and I serve as your volunteer coordinator at Voz. There are various ways to get involved with us so if you want to learn more and see how your talents could be utilized, holler at me! Fill out the “Volunteer Interest Form” at the bottom of this page, or  email me at volunteercoordinator@portlandvoz.org.  You can also just stop by the Voz office (1131 SE Oak) when I am there- Mondays between 1 and 4 pm. I’m here to do some coordinating, so lay it on me! I look forward to meeting all volunteers, current and new, so welcome to the Voz community!

And remember:

“Once social change begins, it cannot be reversed. You cannot uneducate the person who has learned to read. You cannot humiliate the person who feels pride. You cannot oppress the people who are not afraid anymore. We have seen the future, and the future is ours.”

-Cesar Chavez

Current Internships with Voz:

Portland World Cup Intern

Primary Purpose of the Job: We’re currently looking for an intern to help us with planning for the 2012 Portland World Cup, an event sponsored by Voz which will take place during Labor Day weekend.  The World Cup encourages community building between Voz and other local organizations, and helps to raise awareness about Voz and our allies.  Last year thirteen teams competed over three days.  The Portland World Cup Intern will assist the Steering Committee with all aspects of planning this event.

Responsibilities:

- Attend Steering Committee meetings

- Recruit teams to compete

- Research event space

- Make follow-up/thank-you phone calls to attendees

Commitment: February thru September 2012, starting at 5hr/wk and increasing as event approaches. Most of the work can be done from home, but the intern should plan to come to the Voz office once per week, and to attend Steering Committee meetings.

To apply: Please send a resume, cover letter, and contact information to romeo@portlandvoz.org.

Event Planning Intern

Primary Purpose of the Job:  Voz seeks two event-planning interns to help prepare for our Annual Dinner this June.  The annual event is an important fundraiser for Voz; this year we hope to raise more than $10,000.  Voz will sell tickets in advance, both to individuals and groups, and there will be live music and a silent auction in addition to the dinner.  The Event Planning interns will assist our Fundraising Coordinator in all aspects of planning for the event.

Responsibilities:

-       Help obtain donations for the silent auction

-       Sell tickets to the event

-       Send invitation letters to organizations

-       Make follow-up/thank-you phone calls to attendees

Commitment:  February thru June 2012, starting at 5hr/wk and increasing as event approaches.  Most of the work can be done from home, but the intern should plan to come to the Voz office once per week.

To apply:  Please send a resume, cover letter, and contact information to volunteercoordinator@portlandvoz.org.

Thank you and we look forward to hearing from you!

Organizing Intern

We seek a passionate, committed, organized and energetic intern to support our Organizer in fulfilling his job duties. The Organizer promotes participation and leadership development of day laborers, organizing assemblies, workshops, events, and meetings, in pursuit of Voz’ mission: to be a worker-led organization that empowers immigrants and day laborers to gain control over their working conditions through organizing, leadership development and community education.

Our Organizer seeks an intern who could assist in organizing and carrying out assemblies, workshops, events, and meetings; maintaining files and schedules; and entering participation and leadership data into Voz’ database.

Such an intern would have a strong command of Spanish and a demonstrated interest in immigrants’ and workers’ rights.

The position is unpaid. The intern would gain experience in grassroots organizing and one-on-one time and training from our Organizer.

Applicants must be willing to commit to 10-20 hours a week for 3 months, and be available to work during the day.

If interested please send a resume and cover letter to Paul at paul@portlandvoz.org.

Current Critical Volunteer Needs:

Database Volunteer:

Voz seeks multiple people with experience in database management to help us keep up-to-date in tracking day laborer activities, event attendance, and volunteer hours.  Have experience using PowerBase?  We would love your help one or two days per week!

Landscaping Instructor:

Voz is seeking to begin a landscaping class that will occur once a week. In order to set this project in motion, we are seeking someone who has experience in landscaping and that would like to share their knowledge as they lead a class of workers in the basics, and eventually more advanced, techniques of landscaping. Interested applicants should contact Ruthie at volunteercoordinator@portlandvoz.org

Ongoing Volunteer Positions:

The following is a list of our current position openings.  Last updated October 17, 2011.

VOLUNTEER JOB DESCRIPTIONS: If you’re interested in volunteering for any of the following positions, please fill out the Volunteer Interest Form at the bottom of the page and we will contact you with information about how to get started!

CLASSES:

ESL – English classes are taught at the Worker Center Monday through Saturday. Each of the classes has a particular theme and learning objective, which are reviewed and changed every four weeks. The curriculum is flexible, designed to offer both learning progress for returning students and to meet the learning needs of one-time students. Teachers don’t need to have extensive ESL experience, but some is helpful. We also hire Teacher Assistants, who aren’t responsible for planning lessons and teaching, but provide integral support in the classroom. ESL volunteers are encouraged to have some Spanish skills, though this isn’t necessary, and must be able to commit the expected time and energy to English classes (about 2 – 4 hours per week). Classes usually take place in the morning or very early afternoon. We are currently accepting applications and hiring volunteers as needed. As part of the ESL program, we also have a Drop-In Writing Lab. The Drop-In Writing Lab is a response to requests from day laborers for more reading and writing within the classroom. The Lab provides a space for day laborers to stop by and have their reading and writing needs met, from filling out job applications to deciphering signs in store windows to writing articles for the Voz newsletter.  The Lab is open on a very regular basis two to three times a week for two hours in the afternoon.

Art – Art classes are held Fridays at 12pm at the MLK Jr. Worker Center. We are also hoping to expand class days to twice per week. We need volunteers to:

• help solicit donations of art supplies
• teach classes on different artistic techniques
• work with the day laborers to plan and implement art shows

Computer Skills – Computer skills are an essential aspect of integrating into our society. We would like to re-start our computer skills classes.  VOZ is interested in volunteers who will:

• help develop level-appropriate curriculum
• prepare daily lesson plans
• teach the classes
• help to recruit new students by advertising at the day labor center and the corners
• demonstrate good computer skills and moderate knowledge of Spanish

Music – Music classes are held every Thursday from 10am to 12pm at the Day Labor Center. Any an all musical volunteers are welcome to participate and teach different types of music during this class time.

CULTURAL AND MOBILIZING EVENTS VOZ sponsors many diverse cultural and mobilization events throughout the year and these could not happen without the great work done by volunteers. We typically need help with:

• creative planning for long term projects
• last minute arrangements or one-time event assistance
• mapping out the event schedule
• making and distributing fliers
• presenting educational or political information about VOZ and its mission
• buying snacks
• bringing a sound system (if necessary)
• asking the city or neighbors for permission (if necessary)
• contacting the press to attend the event (if necessary)

“EL JORNALERO” NEWSLETTER Published several times a year, El Jornalero is an important resource for both the day laborers themselves and members of the community who are interested in becoming involved with VOZ. We need volunteers who are bilingual, have skills with Illustrator or InDesign, and are interested in the media, to help us with:

• newspaper lay-out and design
• selecting and scanning photos
• collecting or writing articles
• compiling the newsletter
• getting it published and distributed

FUND RAISING COMMITTEE Join our fund raising committee to make a difference in our entire organization! As a volunteer in this group you’ll have the opportunity to:

• work closely with other volunteers
• plan and organize events to raise funds
• set up informational house parties
• help us contact foundations for donations
• aid us with the search for possible donors, make personal visits to current donors, and update donors on the current work VOZ is doing
• participate in phone banks

FUTBOL The day laborers have a soccer team! Practices are currently from 5:00pm to 7:00pm on Friday nights.Volunteers with this group would help:

• organize team trainings and games
• coordinate meetings with other teams
• look for more teams with whom the VOZ team can play against or practice with
• organize fields for all these activities
• make ready the uniforms, water, snacks and medicine for games
• make and distribute fliers for soccer events

GRAPHIC DESIGN

• Create fliers for events
• Design Newsletters and Posters
• Use skills in design computer programs such as Illustrator, Photoshop, and InDesign, etc.

GRANT WRITING Grant writing is essential to any non-profit organization. As a member of this group, volunteers will:

• help us look for possible foundations or organizations that would complement our goals
• explain our work to those groups and write Agreement Proposals for each foundation
• possibly writing reports, attend training workshops about grant writing, do follow-up work with the foundations

TRANSLATION and INTERPRETATION While most of this work centers on El Jornalero newspaper, we also translate educational material and community outreach information. If you are bilingual and interested in volunteering on your own schedule, from your own home or the VOZ office, please contact us.

WAGE CLAIMS and LEGAL ACTION COMMITTEE An important sector of VOZ’s work, volunteering with the Wage Claims group will bring visible benefits to the Day Labor community. Tasks may include

• collecting information from the employer and investigating (if necessary)
• calling the employer to ask him/her why they have not paid
• securing a time and place for them to pay the day laborer
• accompanying the day laborer and speaking with the employer
• writing letters to employers about wage losses
• filling out the VOZ and BOLI forms
• going with the day laborer to Court (if necessary)
• seeing the case through to the end
• teaching the day laborer how to use the booklet.

OFFICE SUPPORT General office help is always greatly needed. In fact, after one month of outstanding volunteer work with VOZ we require that all of our volunteers put in at least an hour of office work. These tasks can include: photocopying, data entry, and organizational tasks. This work is important both at the VOZ office and at the Day Labor Center, so chose your location and we will help you get started.

WORKER CENTER SUPPORT At our day labor hire site we host a number of class that need staffing, but we have other volunteer opportunities as well. If you are interested in improving your Spanish, work with day laborers to distribute fliers in the neighborhood or work one on one with laborers to develop resumes and fill out job applications. The day laborers are also developing a on-site store and are interested in starting a tool library. If you are interested in developing these projects or have connections with organizations that could help, volunteer here.

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If you have additional talents you can bring to VOZ, let us know! To set up a time to come in and help with any of the above, please fill out our online application form and we will contact you. You can also call us at 503-233-6787. Thank you. We appreciate your support!