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Beyond U Local Service Internships are Back!
Applications for Spring 2023 are now closed. Please check back in January 2024 for application details regarding Spring 2024 placements.
Application
Thank you for your interest in the Beyond U program at St. Jerome's University! You are signing up for a true adventure that will challenge you both personally and professionally. Please take the time to thoughtfully answer all questions in the application form. To access the form, simply click the "Apply" button below, or use this link.
Deadlines
Applications for Spring 2023 internships are Due Monday February 6th, 2023.
Placement Descriptions
Supportive Housing of Waterloo
Students working at Supportive Housing of Waterloo (SHOW) will work closely with the Executive Director (ED) and other SHOW staff. Opportunities include:
- Identifying granting agencies and completing grant applications
- Creating social media posts
- Working with ED on newsletters and content
- Covering reception office/responding to tenants as needed
- Helping plan special events for tenants
- Helping organize fundraising events
- Work with ED to ensure ongoing facilitation of fundraising and strategic plans
- Attending meetings as needed
- Propose and coordinate special interest projects as they relate to SHOW's mandate
The placement is a mix of all of the above and an amazing opportunity to learn about housing, homelessness, mental health, addictions, non-profit management, funding, research and policy work. To learn more about SHOW please visit www.showaterloo.org/
Alpine Public School
This public elementary school is home to a highly diverse community. Students volunteering at Alpine will have the opportunity to collaborate with a dedicated staff team to develop and execute programming that represents both the Beyond U student's interests and the needs of the Alpine School community. Beyond U students will actively contribute to a positive and inclusive community environment for all staff, students, and community members. Opportunities include:
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Engaging in the mentor program: buddy up with a student who is struggling with social skills, and spend time playing a game, talking, and developing a positive relationship; assisting with the student intramural program.
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Engaging in the school's language and math programs: reading with students who a) require extra practice or b) do not have someone to read to at home for their daily reading; monitoring the home reading program books; assist with tutoring students who require extra academic support in language and/or math.
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Supporting the coordination of the school's food and clothing programs: stocking food bins; locating and purchasing sale food items from grocery stores; delivering food bins to classrooms; organizing and sorting donated clothing.
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Coordinating and running special interest clubs or workshops, including initiatives such as health promotion or leadership development.
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Developing and promoting fundraising events in support of student programs.
For more information about Alpine Public School, visit https://alp.wrdsb.ca/about/
The Working Centre: St. John's Kitchen
This is an invitation to join us in engaging in the overall tasks associated with hosting a dynamic community kitchen where the invitation to community inclusion is deep, and harm reduction and trauma informed care are active practices of each day. St. John’s Kitchen includes a drop-in centre, showers, laundry facilities, harm reduction supports, medical care, a breakfast and hot lunch and a food bank.
Responsibilities would include joining the people who work and volunteer there to welcome and support community members as they use shower and laundry facilities, access harm reduction supplies, access health care, and build relationships. In this role, the student would be collaborating with place based outreach workers and volunteers create an environment of hospitality grounded in the philosophy of The Working Centre. They will participate in regular staff meetings, daily check ins, and debrief conversations at the end of each day.
This position provides an opportunity to enhance theoretical knowledge with direct experience of providing supports to individuals who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness, and engaging social services within a strong local community environment. With the active mentorship and guidance of the kitchen co-ordinator and outreach workers, the student will have an opportunity to reflect on their experience, their areas of growth, and how this might impact their future career goals. The student will also have an opportunity to see the various ways in which people from a wide variety of fields (medical, therapeutic, music therapy, MSW) collaborate to support people who come to the kitchen.
Responsibilities would include joining the people who work and volunteer there to welcome and support community members as they use shower and laundry facilities, access harm reduction supplies, access health care, and build relationships. In this role, the student would be collaborating with place based outreach workers and volunteers create an environment of hospitality grounded in the philosophy of The Working Centre. They will participate in regular staff meetings, daily check ins, and debrief conversations at the end of each day.
This position provides an opportunity to enhance theoretical knowledge with direct experience of providing supports to individuals who are homeless or are at risk of homelessness, and engaging social services within a strong local community environment. With the active mentorship and guidance of the kitchen co-ordinator and outreach workers, the student will have an opportunity to reflect on their experience, their areas of growth, and how this might impact their future career goals. The student will also have an opportunity to see the various ways in which people from a wide variety of fields (medical, therapeutic, music therapy, MSW) collaborate to support people who come to the kitchen.
For more information, visit https://www.theworkingcentre.org/st-johns-kitchen/143
Wisahkotewinowak Urban Indigenous Garden Collective
This initiative describes themselves as "an urban Indigenous garden collective building Land-based relationships across the Grand River Territory. We are a group of Indigenous (First Nation and Métis) Peoples and settler-allies who also wear many hats as gardeners, researchers/academics, teachers/educators, students and life-long learners. We exist in relation with each other, the wider community and our non-human kin (the Land, plants, animals, and spirit) in the urban spaces we call home. Collectively, we are Wisahkotewinowak (wisahk-tew-win-o-wak). This is a Métis word that means the first green shoots that come up from Mother Earth after a fire has gone through the land."
For more information, visit https://www.wisahk.ca/
Contact
For any questions about the Beyond U experience, please contact the Service Learning Program Coordinator, Michelle Metzger.
