Month: October 2024

Author: Quincy Biddle, junior

This summer I had the opportunity to intern for Co-op Power, a multi-class, multi-race, intergenerational renewable energy cooperative working towards our just and sustainable transition. Co-op Power’s primary focus is on community-owned solar to create clean, continuous electricity, green jobs, consumer savings, and community wealth. 

Co-op Power’s Community Energy Cooperative (CEC) network has CECs in Massachusetts, Southern Vermont, and New York. With the support of Co-op Power, the CECs develop community-solar projects by applying for and receiving grants, carrying out green job trainings for hosting their own site installations, and hosting educational workshops and resources for furthering social justice and sustainability. Co-op Power also provides a solar subscription program through co-located solar panels, bringing the benefits of renewable electricity to any subscriber. Along with solar development, Co-op Power created a biodiesel plant and was in the process of transferring ownership to another cooperative in renewable energy production.

At Co-op Power, I was their Project Development Coordinator and took part in many different aspects of their ongoing operations. Through these, I learned a lot about the organization itself and different non-profit organizational processes. I conducted email campaigns for continued CEC outreach and hosted workshops on upcoming community-solar grants and CEC resource sessions. I attended board meetings and took meeting notes, and helped to facilitate specialized committee meetings on the subjects of Member Outreach and Engagement and the upcoming Annual Member Gathering. Each of these aspects introduced me to new types of work skills and new people. As an International and Environmental Studies double-major, conducting communication for a variety of audiences, learning more about renewable energy, and sharing educational sustainability resources all helped to enhance my studies. 

I really enjoyed working with Co-op Power this summer and appreciated the opportunity to engage in such impactful work in social justice and sustainability. Through this summer internship introduction, I will be continuing to work with Co-op Power on a remote basis this fall. I look forward to learning more about and participating in our just and sustainable transition.

Author: Natalie Loo, junior

With the support of the FCRH Honors Program, I had the privilege of working as the Institutional Giving Intern for Sanctuary for Families this past summer. Sanctuary is a major NYC-based nonprofit dedicated to serving survivors of domestic violence and other forms of gender-based violence. They work out of multiple shelter and office locations throughout the city to provide survivors with shelter, counseling, crisis intervention, legal representation and advice, and career training, with the ultimate goal of creating a world where freedom from gender violence is a basic human right. I was honored to be a part of that mission this summer.

I spent most of my time working with the Institutional Giving team on grant proposals and other aspects of government and foundation fundraising. As I worked to draft and edit proposals, reports, and acknowledgement letters, I honed my professional writing skills and grew in my ability to accept constructive criticism and work collaboratively. 

Many of the grants we applied for were for specific programs, so I also had the opportunity to meet people from across the organization in order to learn and write about their work. For instance, in drafting a report about Sanctuary’s Economic Empowerment Program (EEP), sitting in on an interview with the program’s director, and volunteering at the EEP graduation ceremony, I learned about the unique career-related challenges facing abuse survivors, especially those who have limited English skills or were financially dependent on their abusers. I got to write about the impact of Sanctuary’s career training services, which empowers survivors by preparing them for and placing them in living-wage jobs. Beyond the tangible impact of the program, it was inspiring to see how much more hopeful and less alone survivors reported feeling after completing the program. 

Another highlight of my internship was spending my Wednesdays at one of Sanctuary’s shelters in the Bronx, where I helped run a summer camp for the children living there. Amidst all the art projects, sidewalk-chalk obstacle courses, and fun space-themed activities, I listened as the kids shared pieces of their stories with me. It was a privilege to help create a fun, welcoming, and safe environment for them.

In my Honors classes, we often talk about justice issues facing our communities. This internship was an incredible opportunity to take that learning out of the classroom and witness an organization that is actively working to pursue justice for gender violence survivors. I am grateful to Dr. Meneses and Hannah for their support and to Sanctuary for Families and the Institutional Giving Team for welcoming me into their work and affirming my desire to pursue nonprofit work in the future. I am excited to continue working with them in the fall.