The Future of Work, Community & Service

How long-term service encourages a freelance future

 

The Atlantic recently published an article titled the A World Without Work (read it here). In summary, as cashier, office clerk, and driver jobs are replaced with artificial intelligence (47% will be by 2050 according to the article) our society is predicted to veer off into a combination of two worlds. The first being massive unemployment and all the negative impacts of that: increased domestic violence, alcoholism and depression, a world where people sit in solitude on couches staring at screens that deliver movies and TV shows. The second is a world of self-employment, filled with communities of creatives, people who are civically engaged, build furniture, volunteer three days a week and trade crops for locally-sewn clothing.

 

I am left thinking about the role long-term service programs play in this new paradigm. I think of the journey my close friend Katie (also an AmeriCorps VISTA alum) and I have embarked upon.  We both launched our freelance careers after our AmeriCorps experience, and the work we produced at our service locations remain significant projects in our portfolios, the nonprofits we served were in some ways the first domino in a cascade of clients.

 

It was a day, early in my year-long term as an AmeriCorps VISTA at Shakti Rising when the business development director approached me about this Salesforce CRM they had signed up for months ago, but she had not had the bandwidth to implement (I would come to learn this is a common dilemma amongst the nonprofit sector).  I agreed to take a look having recently completed an entry to programing class. Implementing Salesforce became a nine month project and involved me clearing out the entire database 3 times and reimporting because I messed up the data architecture. Regardless after completing the project other NPOs in the area started asking me for help, and with a strong testimonial from Shakti Rising, I became a freelancer.  The money I bring in from consulting at times is my sustaining income and at others is additional “side hustle” but one thing is for sure- I would not have the flexibility to operate NGS (a volunteer-led organization) without the consulting life style.

 

Katie has a similar story with her design freelance work (Golden Grouper). It has allowed her the flexibility to travel and help her husband with the operation of  the Raptor Institute, an environmental education program. Katie and I are not the norm among AmeriCorps Alums, many work full-time jobs but I think we both recognize that the fast-paced, multi-facetted, creative problem solving roles we held during our service terms provided experience that made running our own business seem more manageable. And if, one day, there is a world without work those that have focused on service early in their career, I imagine will have the skills and wherewithal to choose the path of community and service.

Writen By Anna Lenhart

in Ideas  by 05 Sep 2015 0 comments

Hil Miller: Guide Profile

Name: Hil MillerHil

Profession: Senior Systems Administrator at the Texas Advanced Computing Center

University: University of Florida / University of Texas at Austin


Major: B.A. in Sociology / M.S.E. in Engineering Management

Service Type: AmeriCorps

Service Dates: 2005 – 2007

Service Location: The Dignity Project of Alachua County in Gainesville, Florida

 

I joined Americorps in 2005 as a computer repair technician at The Dignity Project of Alachua County. My year of service was spent fixing old and broken computers for donation to the local community. Today I am privileged to support some of the most advanced computing technologies in the world. From my perspective, doing a year of service doesn’t necessarily mean moving to a rural area halfway across the world or tagging sea turtles on the beach of a remote island. I consider my current position facilitating the science to solve the complex problems facing humanity to be a form of non-traditional service and a continuation of my Americorps service nearly a decade ago.

 

You might not know if you should register for classes next semester. You might have the next 10 years of your life planned-out in an elaborate multi-page color-coded spreadsheet. For either of those situations and everything in between there are many federal, state, academic, private, and nonprofit service opportunities for you to consider. My experience has been that professional and personal lives are rarely a straight line forward toward a pre-planned goal, even if it sometimes seems that way for other people. Contact me and let’s talk about your potential, I would be excited and honored to hear your story.

in Guides / Stories  by 31 Aug 2015 1 comments

Mindy Stevens, Guide

MindyGuideMy name is Mindy Stevens and I was born and raised in Garden Grove, Orange County, CA. After graduating from high school in 2013 I decided to take a nontraditional path and join AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), as oppose to going to college, military, or the workforce. I served two terms with NCCC from October 2013 – July 2014, and then again from October 2014 – July 2015. I was based out of Sacramento, CA for both of my terms. On July 23, 2015 I graduated from AmeriCorps NCCC and I am currently in the process of starting new chapters in my life.

I chose this path because community service has always been a strong passion of mine since 7th grade when I joined Junior National Honor Society and then eventually Key Club. I also was unsure of what I wanted to get out of college or what I would even major in. Through AmeriCorps NCCC I earned 2 Education Awards that will help make college more affordable for me, while I was gaining valuable professional, work, and life skills. Without my terms of service I don’t think I would have ever discovered my passion for the environment and conservation, and I want to use my newfound passions to earn a degree in Landscape Architecture and Botany. I plan on beginning college the spring of 2016 to pursue this career path.

While in the program I traveled to 6 states and worked with 9 different Sponsor Organizations that focused in a wide variety of backgrounds; all within 20 months. I did everything from trail building in the forest, working in an urban high school garden, preparing taxes for low to moderate income families, to building homes with a housing coalition and Habitat for Humanity.
To hear more about my life in AmeriCorps NCCC, here is a link to an article I recently wrote on LinkedIn as I started to reflect and look back on my terms of service. My story begins as a confused senior in high school without direction or purpose, and describes how AmeriCorps helped me grow and find that motivation and drive to succeed.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/story-graduating-from-americorps-nccc-mindy-stevens?trk=prof-post

in Guides / Stories  by 18 Aug 2015 0 comments

Failure as Success

When we were young, failure was practically embedded in everything we did. A visit to the grocery store with your mom was practically a tour of life’s hazard warnings.  From tripping on your shoelace, to dropping the carton of eggs, to distributing the correct amount of money to the cashier, we soaked in every experience like a sponge and your mother, too, encouraged it. Without the mistake, there was no opportunity for the lesson, no opportunity for growth.

 

Somewhere along the way, towards the path of adulthood, we became shameful of mistakes and as a result, held back. We took less chances. We stick strongly to what we know, to what seems familiar, and to what will predictably bring us success. Nowhere is this pattern seen more than in exploring new career choices or endeavours.

 

In a profit=success culture, volunteer work, as noble as it may seem, may be viewed as a ‘failure’ by those around us. Often times, we value the work that we do or our chosen career path by the salary attached. “What do you do?” is often not a question of “What are you passionate about?” but “How do you choose to make money?” This is the way many of our understandings around the work force goes. The very decision to be of service, to accept no monetary reward, can be seen as “time wasted.”

 

It is here, in this uncomfortable space

 

Of course, there are the few that embrace mistakes, thrive off of new experiences and view challenges as opportunities for growth. One of those individuals is Chris Guillebeau, an entrepreneur who found a way to use his seemingly selfish passion in service of his greater community. In 2012, Guillebeau’s desire to travel to every country in the world left him wondering how, and if it was even possible at all to create a bridge between his goal and the rest of the world. With a little creativity and a lot of experimenting, he did.

 

Guillebeau’s story is not of the rare kind, though we rarely hear about it. It is not common to hear about small scale heroes who choose people over profit

Written by Anja  Jerkovic

 

Cover Photo: World Domination Summit World Record Waffle Breakfast, beds donated to Portland families.  Photo by Armosa Studios

in Ideas  by 16 Aug 2015 0 comments

Dare To Innovate

Hilary Braseth is the Founder and Executive Vice President of Dare to Innovate, a program that empowers young West Africans to fight pressing social problems with market-based solutions using creativity. She is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer, she served as the community economic development agent in Guinea.

 

in Podcasts  by 06 Aug 2015 0 comments

From Peace Corps to Kuli Kuli Foods

Lisa Curtis moved to West Africa to serve as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger. The experience left her with a deeper understanding of malnutrition and agribusiness. Now she runs Kuli Kuli Foods, learn more about her journey and the role service played.

“You have to believe you have something worth pursuing…and I believe that”

Note: Make sure your volume is turned up

in Podcasts  by 06 Jul 2015 0 comments

Katia Gomez, Educate2Envision International

Name, Age: Katia Gomez, 24
University, Major: Boston University, Global Health
Region: Central America
Length of stay: N/A
Type of Work: Medical/Public Health, Education, Community Development

Tell us about the nonprofit/social business you work for:
Educate2Envision International in San Leandro, CA. Educate2Envision (E2E) International strives to offer children living in poverty the chance to attain the highest level of education that their individual efforts will allow them.
www.educate2envision.org

How did you find your position?
I decided to found a nonprofit!

What’s your typical day like?
It will vary day to day. Often times we are evaluating the quality of our programs and sitting on classes to observe student-teacher interactions, presentations, exams, etc. Then a majority of time is spent visiting households and speaking with parents about their thoughts on how things are unfolding with the programs, any progress they’ve observed, trying to measure our impact with surveys. We also run workshops for students such as girls leadership or first aid, so interaction with the children themselves is very important to get a sense of what the needs are and what still requires improvement from our end.

What kind of people do you work with?
Our volunteers in Honduras are typically in their early 30s, college grads and have worked with NGOs in the past so have a good command of English. Back in the US, our team is composed of recent college grads or current students with backgrounds that usually include International Studies, Spanish, and Political Science.

What are your living accommodations?
This depends, if we are unable to find cheaper accommodations then there is a town about an hour or so away with electricity, internet access, ATMs and all that. There are a few selections of safe hotels. We are a very budget-wise nonprofit considering we’re so small, so if possible the mayor of the closest town to our community will allow us to stay in a vacant house in which we bring sleeping bags and shower only when water is available. There are many outlets but no WiFi in this particular house, but it is free after all.

What do you do in your free time?
My free time is spent usually planning out the next day and evaluating what was accomplished that day, but other than that I wander the town with my Honduran buddies just enjoying each other’s companies, having a bite to eat, a drink, watching movies, playing soccer etc.

Share a favorite memory or story from your experience!
One of my favorite memories is the time I visited Pajarillos after bringing secondary school there for the first time; it was after I sat in on one of the first classes and afterwards each student went up to the front of the classroom to say thank you to me, many of them in tears. They spoke about how they never thought this would be possible in their lifetime and how much hope they now had for their children to follow in these footsteps. This moment made it clear in my mind that I wasn’t wasting my time and that I had the means to really make a generational difference.

What inspired you to do this kind of work? If you are taking a gap year, what motivated you to do that?

How are you financing your time?
The programs I’ve begun in Honduras are based entirely on individual donations and small grants, but this does not include logistic expenses once inside the country such as paying for a driver, renting a car etc. nor does it provide for flight expenses. These are all taken from own personal savings. I have been lucky to create friendships with local Hondurans who practically volunteer their services, transportation, for very low compensation.

What kind of special skills do you need to do your job?
Language, teaching, medical expertise, writing, social media.

How do you see this experience fitting into your long-term goals?
I think E2E has absolutely advanced my long-term plans. I view education as an invaluable piece of the puzzle in eliminating global poverty. I have been fortunate enough to see first hand how empowered a community becomes when education is available to families and their children. This is something that parents struggle immensely with to collect enough money for school fees and often times it’s not enough and more and more kids with huge potential have no choice but to accept their fate. No matter what I end up doing as a full-time career, I will always work to expand opportunities for youth to attend school and to connect them with children in our country, building friendships and understanding as much I can.

What’s next?
I’m currently in grad school for my Master’s in Public Health/Global Health and afterwards will depend on the job market of course! I plan to take on a fellowship or internship abroad working in program design/implementation to further sharpen my skills and formalize what I have learned by running E2E.

What is one thing you wish you knew before you came to your position?
Success can come in short spurts or waves, immediately visible or a blurry vision in the far distance. No matter which level of success you reach you should always have sustainability at the forefront of every decision. When you’re nuts enough to start your own nonprofit, you have extremely high expectations and you go in with the mindset that you will make a difference, there is no other option. It is this kind of passion that will carry the organization but one needs to remember to not let your heart leap to far out in front of your head. In the beginning I wanted to achieve the feat of helping every single child in a community of hundreds to make it through secondary school, not realizing that some children might just not want to go that route or academically they don’t have the drive so instead one must focus on those who DO have the passion. Don’t pay attention so much to numbers, but rather the quality of the impact, not the size.

Do you have any advice for prospective gap-givers?
The main advice I would give is to volunteer abroad for the right reasons. Although it’s a given that it will make your resume shine, remind yourself that you are working with real human beings and not just a week-long project. Be respectful and don’t assume that they are any less intelligent than we are when it comes to knowing what is best for their communities and families. Learn from THEM. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn from “the poor” about happiness, love, innovation, and perseverance.

Are you blogging about your work or travel? How can we stay in touch?
Updates can always be found on both our facebook and website : www.facebook.com/educate2envisioninternational and www.educate2envision.org

Would you be willing to take questions from potential Gappers?
Yes.

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in Featured Gappers / Give Your Gap  by 04 Jul 2015 0 comments

5 Tips for Getting into the Peace Corps

This year Peace Corps completely revamped their application process! What does this mean for you?  It means the notoriously cumbersome Peace Corps application can now be completed in about 1 hour,  making the legendary program as competitive as some of the top jobs in the country. Check out our tips as you embark on the application process.

1. Talk to a recruiter

You know how your high school counselor told you to visit university campuses and meet with their admissions office? Well, if you’re interested in Peace Corps programs, we suggest you meet with your local Peace Corps recruiter for the most up-to-date, official program information. You can find one here. If you identify as LBGT and want more info on what it is like to serve in the Peace Corps, check out lbgtrpcv.org.

 2. Time Your Program

The majority of Peace Corps programs commence in late spring/early summer (after most students graduate). Positions tend to be posted 7-9 months prior to departure and are updated about every 3 months. This means the majority of positions will be posted between September and November, so plan ahead.

3. Brows Positions

The Peace Corps admission team wants to see that you did your research (this is a good tip for all professional applications). Take the time to look through the database of positions and consider the locations, focus areas (education, health, etc.) and even specific titles (e.g., Primary Education English Teacher) that fit your goals and preferences. In the second stage of your application, you will indicate the programs you are interested in. DO NOT select a region with a focus area that does not have any open positions. For example, if you are interested in education and living in Colombia, but Colombia does not have any open teaching positions, do not mark “Location: Colombia, Focus: Education.” This oversight in matching open opportunities to your preferences will affect consideration of your application.

4. Be Open

The application will allow you to list 3 preferred locations/focus areas. Broadening your preferences (i.e., all of sub-Saharan Africa), the larger the pool of available positions available to you.  With this said, if you select “Anywhere needed,” be prepared to be sent ANYWHERE. Also, keep in mind there is an additional comments box; this is a great place to mention any exceptions in your preferences, and to demonstrate that you considered all of your options. You could say: “I am open to going anywhere as long as it never drops below negative 10 degrees Celsius. Thus, the teaching positions in East Asia are my top choices.”

5. Make Sure That You Can Handle It

Know that the Peace Corps is not for everyone. Be realistic in your preferences and your goals, and your commitment to the opportunity. The best candidates should possess a sense of adventure and a willingness to learn.  And you had better be up for your restroom being a hole in the ground, which may or may not be inhabited by snakes (speaking from experience here).  Every position in the Peace Corps database contains a “Living Conditions” section; read it, then imagine yourself in that environment. Do you look happy? If so, great! If not, the NGS guides are available to talk you through the decision process and the  alternatives to Peace Corps. Sign up for a one-on-one session with a NGS guide here.

 

Sign-up for a One-on-one Session

Stories of Service

 

To all the RPCVs out there feel free to add your tips bellow!

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in Ideas  by 04 Jul 2015 0 comments

Activist Playlist #WorldMusicDay

Happy World Music Day! Making the choice to venture down a career path as a change maker dedicated to service – and living it – is not always easy. Some days, we just need to jam out. And maybe dance a little… Here are some of our favorite songs that keep me inspired:

Aloe Blacc- Wake Me Up

I tried carrying the weight of the world
But I only have two hands
Hope I get the chance to travel the world
But I don’t have any plans

Hanson- World’s On Fire

(2009)- yes they started making good music when they became adults :-P

Do they know that the world’s on fire?
Do they know that the time is now?
Do they know that you gotta stand up, stand up
Let your voice speak out
Do they know that it’s time?

 

 

Tracy Chapman – “Talkin’ About A Revolution” 

While they’re standing in the welfare lines
Crying at the doorsteps of those armies of salvation

 

“You Get What You Give” – New Radicals

This whole damn world, could fall apart
You’ll be ok, follow your heart
You’re in harms way, I’m right behind
Now say you’re mine

You’ve got the music in you
Don’t let go
You’ve got the music in you
One dance left
This world is gonna pull through
Don’t give up
You’ve got a reason to live
Can’t forget
We only get what we give

“You Gotta Be” – Des’ree

Listen as your day unfolds, challenge what the future holds
Try and keep your head up to the sky
Lovers, they may cause you tears
Go ahead release your fears, stand up and be counted
Don’t be ashamed to cry

You gotta be
You gotta be bad, you gotta be bold, you gotta be wiser
You gotta be hard, you gotta be tough, you gotta be stronger
You gotta be cool, you gotta be calm, you gotta stay together
All I know, all I know, love will save the day

 

in Ideas  by 20 Jun 2015 0 comments

Canyons, Causes and Connections

Last week I spent 5 days and 4 nights trekking through 38 miles of meandering, rocky terrain in the Grand Canyon. I survived off the 25 pounds of food and gear in my beat-up pack. Each day consisted of trying to reach our next “destination” (a plot of land that could fit 2 small tents) with enough water to turn our dehydrated food into a meal.  I agreed to this adventure to prove to myself that I could live simply, off only what I can carry and most importantly away from all electronic devices (headlamp not included).

While walking, I could hardly comprehend the imagery flooding into my brain.  It felt unreal.  Shades of purple, brown and green streamed in infinite lines throughout the rocks above, below, behind, in front.  Unreal. In one 48-hour time span, the only Homo sapiens I encountered were my group mates.  Unreal.

I was overwhelmed with awe, and with fear.  It wasn’t the “I’m-sitting-on-the-top-of-a-rollercoaster” kind of fear, but a more unnerving, “I ‘m-at-the-mercy-of-this-planet” kind of fear. I was humbled and empowered in the same instance; teetering on the edge faith and worry, and having to choose between them in every moment.  It was by far one of the most profound experiences of my life.  Profound in a way that complements my work as an activist and civil servant.

On my drive home to San Diego the day after climbing out of the “big ditch,” I caught up on one of my favorite podcasts.  As I listened to “The Threshold Moment” episode of The Dirtbag Diaries, I began to cry.  The podcast is the story of Kevin Fedarko’s (activist and author of the Emerald Mile) decade-long relationship with the Grand Canyon, and his work to protect this place.

With my own experience of the Grand Canyon fresh in my mind, I learned that the town of Tusayan, located just outside the south entrance to the park, is considering the development of a shopping center near the South Rim. The infrastructure would demand so much water that the aquifers below the canyon would dry up, leaving the streams and springs dry – the same streams and springs that trickled into my water bottles and sustained me on my journey. It hit me that if this development goes through, future visitors would not be able to hike along the Tonto trail they way I had. They would either have to rush through the landscape, never stopping to rest or marvel, or carry 20+ pounds of water on their backs – no small feat.

I became enraged by this injustice.  Would I be one of the last people to do this hike…  Because of a mall? I started to wonder… what if I dropped everything and joined the fight? I could join the protests, host fundraisers…Then I looked at the road sign ahead: San Diego 286 Miles. And I remembered, I am going home. Home, where my life is full, and where my time is consumed by fighting for other causes I care for deeply.

Before feeling despair over my already packed schedule, I reflected on the fact that I am part of this movement, despite living 507 miles from the South Rim. For one, by applying for a permit and walking this trail I made a statement that this place matters.  And when the politicians see the numbers, they will see one more person on the roster of people who care about preserving it.

On a grander scale, every time a young person decides to add a year of service to their career path, they begin their career in a way that builds empathy. I don’t know the leaders that are pushing for development in Tusavan, but I wonder what song they would be singing if they had served as an AmeriCorps VISTA at an Indian Reservation like Pine Ridge?

We might not be able to work on every cause we care about.  Chances are high that there are too many, and not enough hours in the day. In my life, I am content to work for the few causes that intertwine most with my life, and then take some time to look at how my actions in every facet of my life ripple outward to affect change in other areas, indirectly. When I work for women’s empowerment and develop new national service positions I increase the chances that there will be more civically engaged adults and leaders who choose the environment and communities over profits.

 

in Ideas  by 01 Jun 2015 0 comments