Professional Documents
Culture Documents
February 2007
Contents:
ABOUT THE ASHOKA VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES -- New Listings
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES -- Archives
ASHOKA FELLOWS IN THE NEWS
Profile Candidates for Fellowship and Help with Other Writing Projects
Virtual
Ashoka needs writers to help edit Ashoka Fellow profiles. An integral part of the Fellow
selection process, the profile summarizes all the interviews and panel discussions.
Ashokas global board of directors decides on candidacies based on these profiles, and
the profiles are also posted to Ashokas website highlighting each Fellows new idea,
their insights in identifying social problems, and their creative solutions.
Volunteers will help primarily with final revisions of profiles for the board and the website,
as well as with other writing projects on an on-going basis throughout the year.
Interested applicants should send resumes and writing samples to Stephanie Savell at
ssavell@ashoka.org
Young Venturer Connection/Development Specialist
Arlington, VA
Youth Venture, an Ashoka partner organization, invests in the ideas and capacity of
young people ages 12-20 so that they can create, launch, and lead their own social
ventures as sustainable community-benefiting organizations, clubs and businesses.
Become a part or full-time volunteer who will help with the Young Venturer Fellowship
Program and with development projects. The qualified volunteer should be enterprising,
and/or have fundraising and institution development experience. A minimum of six hours
a week is requested (two half days a week) for as long as the volunteer is available.
This position is located at the Global Office in Arlington, Virginia, easily accessed by the
Rosslyn Metro station.
If interested in this position, please contact Ms. Xing Hu, at xhu@ashoka.org, or 703600-8205.
Become a Member of a Youth Venture Selection Panel
Virtual and/or On-site in Select Cities
Youth Venture is also seeking judicious adults of any background to join the Youth
Venture Selection Panel, the panel to which two to four youth teams present their
Venture Action Plan for evaluation. Selection panels occur either live or virtually over the
phone, depending on where the venture teams are located. A panelist will receive the
venture applications in advance and will be able to question the teams before
participating in the final round of decision-making with their fellow panelists.
Participating in a panel is a great way to right to the heart of Youth Venture and play an
important role in a short amount of time. The time commitment is approximately 3 hours
per panel (one hour for reading the selection booklet and up to 2 hours for the panel
participation). Panels are launched throughout the year as teams in our pipeline
become ready to present. While some months are busier than others, at least one
virtual panel is offered every 2-3 weeks. Live panels occur most frequently in New York,
and occasionally in Concord, NH; Leominster, MA; Seattle, WA; and Washington, DC.
If you wish to help young people who want to create positive change in the world
contact Team Leader Sabeen Pirani at spirani@youthventure.org. For more information,
check the website www.youthventure.org.
Update Website or Profile Universities Teaching Social Entrepreneurship
Virtual
As part of the Global Academy, The University Network is a network of academics and
practitioners that are working to strengthen teaching and research in the field of social
entrepreneurship. They are seeking a volunteer well-versed in Drupal to help them
simplify their website. They anticipate this taking about 10-15 hours over the course of a
few weeks. An ongoing position is a possibility. Check out the site at
www.universitynetwork.org.
They are also looking for volunteers to research and profile universities actively engaged
in the field of social entrepreneurship. This can be done from the comfort of your own
home!
If interested in helping with either of these projects, please contact Marina Kim at
mkim@ashoka.org
Community Greens
Arlington, VA or virtual
Community Greens, an Ashoka initiative, works to improve social and environmental
conditions in cities and suburbs across the country by creating resplendent shared
gardens that are owned and managed by the residents whose homes enclose them (see
www.communitygreens.org for more details). Community Greens is looking for
volunteers in the following areas:
Marketing and Outreach:
Fundraising - Help create donor data base and tracking system; research
related to likely supporters; call on donors; write proposals.
Scientific/Professional:
Administrative:
Update, maintain and improve the web site (Drupal skills required).
important financial data. A volunteer intern can help develop partnerships with
technology providers and promote the program to donors and other funding sources that
might wish to underwrite the smart cards for the women enrolled.
5. Design and Implement Impact Assessment Tools: This will require crafting
assessment mechanisms and interacting with rural clients and four bank branches to
judge the effectiveness of the banking and business school programs.
6. Expand Girls Education Competition: Design and organize the district expansion of an
educational competition which has been implemented in local villages to encourage
100% enrollment of girls in school. This will involve meetings with local families,
government leaders and school officials, as well as providing regular progress updates.
7. Update Mann Deshis Website: Updating the 2003 website will involve gathering,
organizing, and writing information on new projects, programs and accomplishments of
the past few years. Relevant technical skill is required.
8. Create Electronic Newsletter: Mann Deshi would like to keep its international friends
and supporters updated on these and other projects by publishing a bi-yearly electronic
newsletter. The volunteer intern can help to design and write the first edition to be
published this summer.
Volunteer Interns should be enthusiastic and have a strong interest in rural development
and education, strong English skills, and while not necessary, a basic grasp of Hindi
and/or Maharahati will be helpful. Volunteers will travel with staff primarily in Mhaswad
and Satara Districts, with periodic travel to Mumbai for meetings. Housing will be
provided with staff and their families. Volunteers should plan to stay for at least four
months and up to one year.
If interested in any one or more of these important and exciting projects contact Chetna
Sinha at chetnavsinha@gmail.com. For more information, visit her website at
www.manndeshi.org .
Build and Expand Technological Access to Rural Indian Villages
Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
Satyan Mishra (Ashoka Fellow, India) offers ten opportunities to volunteers to spend
anywhere between 3 and 24 months at various locations in villages and cities in
Northern India. Satyan builds service kiosks in countryside villages in India, providing
internet connections and ready, affordable access to government, business, and health
information. His business, Drishtee Dot Com Limited, is one of Indias leading private
sector players in the Information and Communication Technology for Development
(ICTD) Domain. With 1000 kiosks in over 10 states across India, Drishtee has been
recognized by the President of India and has won several national and international
awards. Quiver Infoservices Limited is a subsidiary of Drishtee which aims to become
the leading service provider for ICTD initiatives in rural India. Quiver is working on six
critical service ventures including rural to urban e-commerce, rural BPO, agriculture,
microfinance and e-health. Volunteer opportunities include:
Human Resources Strategist harness and develop talent in sales force recruitment;
assess opportunities for outsourcing
Sales Force & Channel Management analyze inefficiencies, suggest modifications
such as multi-layering and appropriateness of each sales channel; assess pricing, return
on investment, and coordination of sales force
Supply Chain Management including transportation and warehousing strategies,
inventory management, relationship management with vendors (and buyers in case of
procurement from villages), and negotiation strategies.
Finance Management financing of kiosks, working capital, cash flow; relationmanagement with banks and financial institutions; understanding of subsidies and
alternate financing schemes as Drishtee sets up its accounting procedures on par with
global standards.
Power Supply Development a huge constraint and also opportunity for innovation:
battery powered low cost PCs, cost-economic solar generators, wind-powered systems,
bio-fuels, community generating sets, carbon trading, etc.
E-Commerce & Procurement Platform for small & marginal farmers and artisans
(mostly women) to get a better prices for their produce and improve their livelihood;
volunteer will address procurement strategy, quality control, logistics, and partner
management.
Rural Business Process Outsourcing develop a holistic and multi-sectoral framework
to harness IT and communication technology to enable development; quality-control
system for data entry and transcription.
Financial Services delivery of microfinance services; negotiation with banks and
financial institutions and monitoring and coordination
Affordable Health Access develop and manage an end-to-end health service;
negotiation and management with health service partners; should have experience in
health sector.
Marketing (Branding & Promotion) build a platform of direct and channel marketing of
various Quiver applications.
Volunteer applicants should be willing to spend 3 to 24 months at Drishtee and should
have:
6+ years relevant experience along with relevant qualification however younger
candidate are welcome.
Excellent communications skills
Knowledge of computers
Ready to travel to rural India, most importantly in Northern India, and prepared to
face rural challenges
Drishtee is offering housing for all participants throughout their stay.
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OpEPA is looking for volunteers who can stay in Bogota for three months or more and
who have one of the following interests and abilities:
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Spanish
Portuguese
French
German
Arabic
Thai
Indonesian
Other...
Ashokas Andean Region office requests multiple volunteers in December and January
to translate important documents from Spanish to English. Documents include Ashoka
Fellows progress reports as well as resumes, idea sheets, and proposals from potential
candidates for Fellowship which will be analyzed by our English speaking interviewer
during the selection process. Volunteers should commit to translating on a deadline at
least one entire document of approximately 10-15 pages.
Qualified volunteers should be native English speakers and extremely proficient in
Spanish.
If interested contact Natalie Zuniga, Fellowship Coordinator, at natalie@ashoka.org.pe
or +1 973-998-6429
Translation between Spanish and English
Virtual
Ashokas Southern Cone office, based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, is looking for a
volunteer to translate documents from Spanish to English, as well as from English to
Spanish. A qualified volunteer should be fluent in both languages and would be helpful
at any time for any duration.
If interested, please contact Victoria Emanuelli at victoria@ashoka.org.ar or
info@ashoka.org.ar
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Willingness to travel.
To Apply, please email resume and cover letter (explaining why your skills and
experience are suitable for this position) to: Helena Brykarz, Contract Recruiter Global
Recruitment Specialists
P.O. Box 7382 Berkeley, California (CA) 94707 Tel / Fax:
510-527-3316 E-mail: HBrykarz@GlobalRecruitment.net URL:
www.globalrecruitment.net
Teach Organic Agriculture to Young People
Pirque, Chile
Mary Anne Muller (Ashoka Fellow, Chile) is looking for a volunteer to work in the
Agricultural School of Pirque in the area of Organic Agriculture production for six months
to a year. The volunteer needs to have knowledge and experience in the production of
organic horticulture and a desire to teach young people what they know.
She can provide housing, some meals and will discuss a stipend.
If interested contact Mary Anne Muller at mamuller@fundacionorigen.cl
Initiate Financing Projects to Help Sustain Agrarian Work with Cognitively
Disabled Children and Adults
Popayan, Colombia
Ricardo Cobo Diaz (Ashoka Fellow, Colombia) is looking for volunteers interested in
helping those with cognitive disabilities through art and agriculture. Ricardo uses art and
the land as therapeutic elements towards the achievements of independence, happiness
and dignity. The organization, the Foundation Institute for Stimulating Development and
the Arts (FEDAR), operates a farm which husbands animals and grows coffee and
vegetables, all tended by 100 children and adults with cognitive disabilities. He is
looking for a volunteer who can help FEDAR find a way to generate programs to help
finance his projects on the farm.
A qualified volunteer should be interested in helping those with cognitive disabilities, and
enjoy working in the agrarian profession, particularly land and cattle administration. A
university degree is not necessary, but it would be helpful to be familiar with clean
agriculture and the operation of farm equipment, to enjoy working in rural communities
and with children. The volunteer should be able to spend at least six months in
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Popayan, 20 minutes from the central site in the Calibio, which is a small and calm city
of 250,000 in southern Colombia. Other arrangements can be discussed.
If interested, contact Mr. Diaz at fundafedarmtel.net.co or fliacobomtel.net.co or call
Fundacin FEDAR: 0928-232263 8202300 8202310
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Finally, they need someone on-site who can help Sekhar Raghavan with power point
presentations, Excel databases, charts and tables. He also needs help conducting
surveys on various aspects of water, groundwater, and rainwater harvesting installations.
Volunteer/s should know English, be well versed in computer software, and have an
engineering background. On-site volunteers should be able to spend at least three
months at the Centre. Inexpensive accommodations can be arranged and an allowance
of 4000 Rupees per month will be offered.
If interested contact Sekhar Raghavan at sekar1479@yahoo.co.in or call him at 009144-2461 6134 [Rain Center].
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