Internships at the Dekalb Opportunity Zone (OZ)
The DeKalb OZ’s mission is to empower Clarkston and Scottdale families through the areas of education, health, income, and civic engagement. It connects families to existing resources in a layered manner by supporting existent programs from its partners as well as connecting its partners to each other to enhance broader community opportunities. It primarily achieves this mission through a family coaching program and a community-driven mini-grant program.
The DeKalb OZ and its partners provides a wide variety of avenues through which college students of various academic backgrounds can be exposed to local underdeveloped communities and gain experience in public service, civic engagement, and real life applications of concepts taught in the classroom.
JOB DESCRIPTION
Location: Atlanta, GA (close to Decatur)
Time Commitment: 10-15 hours per week
Because of the community-based and human-centered nature of the work, students who are interested should preferably exhibit strong communication skills, considerable cultural intelligence, previous civic engagement experience, a desire to work in a non-profit environment, and great flexibility. Some duties and deliverables include:
Attending regular meetings of the OZ’s partner organizations and subscribing to their newsfeeds to continuously stay in touch with key members of the community and network with new organizations.
Attending regular meetings with OZ’s coordinator to discuss updates regarding interactions with the OZ’s partners, the community, and personal duties and goals.
Developing materials to attract potential partners and funders, such as organizing tours or meetings.
Attending weekly community events sponsored by partner organizations and the OZ to assess their effectiveness and impact on the community.
Assisting in developing culturally appropriate recruitment and marketing strategies and materials, such as flyers, website, and social media, for OZ and its partners’ services to the community.
Working with OZ staff (family coaches and mini-grant committee) to deliver the OZ’s main community empowerment strategies.
Designing and implementing research studies to continuously improve the existing community empowerment strategies of the OZ and its partners.
Collaborating with fellow interns on duties listed above.
The opportunity to develop a project not necessarily within the scope of specific itemized responsibilities provided that it delivers value to the OZ.
Note that this internship requires proposing a project to complete during the semester. Please email Dr. D'Unger right away if you are interested in this opportunity.
Interested applicants should submit their resume and cover letter to DeKalb Opportunity Zone (OZ) Coordinator Daniel Shorr at
djshorr@dekalbcountyga.gov by September 15.
In their cover letter, the applicant should indicate clearly his/her
desired project area within the OZ. This is the intern's opportunity to
develop a project not necessarily within the scope of specific itemized
responsibilities, provided that it delivers value to the OZ (the last
item on the job description attachment). It is essentially the
opportunity of the intern to contribute something unique and personal
towards the OZ's efforts in improving the community in the areas of
education, health, income, and propensity for civic engagement.
An example of a recent project is delivering a survey to Clarkston residents to explore how they interact
with their physical environment, particularly through littering. The
results of the project were meant to deliver value to the OZ by
providing potential recommendations of an environment-related mini-grant
proposal to the community.
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