LINKS
LINKS Members
LINKS provides part-time service opportunities in environment, education, public safety, and other human needs. Positions may be 300, 450, 675, 900, or 1700 hours in length, and typically take place within a year or less. LINKS members are at least 17 years of age (no upper age limit) and serve at least 25 hours per month with a LINKS partner school, non-profit, or government agency. Members earn an education award of $1,000 to $4,725 upon completion of their term of service. Positions are starting now!
LINKS Sponsors
Does your organization need an AmeriCorps member part-time, full-time - for just a few months, or up to a year? Want someone to take on that great back-burner project you've had to put off? Think LINKS! LINKS members can serve 300, 450, 675, 900, or 1700 hours on a project of your design. Proposals are accepted each summer (see Announcements below, for details) for positions starting anytime between September 1 and July 31. Start dates are flexible, depending on your time line. Projects must focus on the environment, education, public safety, or other human needs.
2009-2010 RFP Process
The RFP process for the 2009-2010 program year (positions starting Sept. 1, 2009 thru July 31, 2010) is over. The RFP for the 2010-2011 program year (positions starting Sept. 1, 2010 thru July 31, 2011) will be out in summer 2010. If you would like to be placed on our mailing list, please email Erika Johnson at erika.johnson@esd112.org.
Announcements
Ahoefa’s story
She’s a Rose Festival princess and captain of the basketball team. She’s on the Honor roll at her high school and is in student government, too. So what does Ahoefa Ananouko do in her spare time? Why, she’s an AmeriCorps member with the Northwest Service Academy. In her placement as Youth Intern with the Janus Youth Food Works program, she provides leadership for a 10 member urban farm crew. Her placement is part time – 300 hours, and she’ll receive a small education award of $1,000 upon completion of the program.
Food Works is a youth employment and empowerment program that engages 14-21 year olds in all aspects of planning, growing, selling and donating over 4,000 pounds of organic produce each year from their 1-acre organic farm on Sauvie Island. Crew members learn business, leadership, organic agriculture and other important work and life skills through working as team to market their food at farmers markets and local grocery stores, and donating a significant portion of the food they grow back to their community.
“Participating in Food Works has brought me a little closer to my community.” Ahoefa says. Originally from Togo, West Africa, Ahoefa actually got her start in farming there, before the family moved to Portland in 2000. “Farming was different there.” she says “We didn't really have any tools besides a short hoe. We didn't have a seeder so we either just used a stick to dig the holes or just threw the seeds out. We also weren't so specific about where each plant went. We grew corn, tomatoes, cassava, some other veggies that were kind of similar to cassava, and greens, okra, and peppers.” When asked what her favorite garden produce is, she answers “it changes, but right now it would have to be tomatoes.”
A crew leader last year, Ahoefa wanted to participate in the program again this year, but “on a different level”. She feels that participating in the program has made her a better leader – a better speaker, and better at facilitating group decisions. Like her mentors – her mother and President Obama, she values hard work and is ambitious and goal oriented. If she achieves her next goal, she’ll go on to attend the University of Oregon or Stanford University to pursue a career in social/human service, international service, or business entrepreneurship.