AmeriCorps Volunteer

The AmeriCorps READY team is looking for paid volunteers to help us improve air quality and increase flooding resilience on the east side of Detroit! 

What you’ll do with us:

• Participate in environmental education centered around themes such as environmental impacts and resilience.
• Engage in community outreach by attending community meetings, contacting residents, visiting area businesses, distributing flyers, etc. to increase community awareness of urban environmental impacts.
• Participate in environmental stewardship opportunities such as tree/pollinator garden planting, park improvements, or other community efforts.
• Participate in outdoor recreation and experiential hands-on learning to strengthen your understanding and support of engagement of community residents.
• Engage with organizations and experts from diverse ecological, social, and governing backgrounds, and explore many different types of in-office and in-field opportunities in green jobs and non-profit community organizations.
• Assist with improving hazard awareness and demonstrate green infrastructure installations for residents of Detroit.

Qualifications:

• Volunteers must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident; at least 18 years old; have a high school diploma or equivalent; and be able to pass a comprehensive background check.
• Volunteers should have interest in one or more of the following areas: community organizing and outreach; community engagement; civic engagement, volunteerism, and public service; science; public health; data research; the outdoor environment, or related fields.
• Volunteers must display professional behavior at all times, including, but not limited to, appropriate dress and attire; maintaining adequate standards of hygiene; respectful and polite conduct with residents and other AmeriCorps volunteers; punctuality; and maintaining regular attendance.
• Volunteers must be comfortable working in the outdoor environment, performing such activities as leafletting, visual inspections, installations, and garden maintenance.
• Volunteers must be willing to learn the use of basic gardening implements, such as weed whackers and mowers, as well as some power tools, such as drills and a reciprocating saw.
• Volunteers must be comfortable communicating with diverse populations and in diverse settings; volunteers must also be able to communicate empathetically and respectfully around potentially sensitive topics, such as home health hazards and financial damages incurred as a result of flooding.
• Volunteers will also be required to submit bi-weekly timesheets and accurately maintain both paper and electronic records.