Become an Oxfam Action Corps Organizer!

Oxfam America now accepting applications for new Action Corps organizers for 2013-14. Apply now and, if chosen, get a FREE trip to Washington DC for training! Check out the message from Oxfam America below for more information.

 

Are you concerned that the people who grow the world’s food—many of whom are women—cannot afford to feed their own families? And that one in eight people goes to bed hungry every night even though the world produces enough food for everybody?

Do you want to take action in your city to achieve policies to sustainably feed a growing population and empower poor people to earn a living, feed their families and thrive?

Are you willing to reach out to others in your community to hold governments and businesses accountable for the impact of their policies and practices on the environment and global food security?

Oxfam invites you to join the Oxfam Action Corps, an exciting effort to cultivate grassroots leaders and political change.

Volunteers with the Oxfam Action Corps lead a coordinated charge to improve national legislation and business practices, and to deepen local community resources for fighting poverty and injustice.

When you volunteer with the Oxfam Action Corps, you take actions like: hold a house party or collect signatures at a concert. You can lead a delegation to a lawmaker's local office, organize a petition drive, or plan an Oxfam America Hunger Banquet. Anyone is welcome to volunteer, regardless of age or experience level—all you need is a willingness to make a difference.

Volunteers receive continuing support from Oxfam, including campaign materials, strategy tips, and advice on community organizing. Each city has two trained volunteer corps organizers who welcome and orient volunteers throughout the year.

Other responsibilities of a corps organizer:

Work with other lead organizers and volunteers on a local level

·         Help convene activities focused on Oxfam’s GROW campaign

·         Follow policy developments and messaging

·         Update blog, email announcements and social media sites with events and news

·         Create plans for local action  

·         Lead outreach at public events like concerts and conferences

·         Build relationships with like-minded organizations

·         Gather volunteers for regular planning sessions

·         Cultivate leadership in others

·         Work within budget to accomplish goals

·         Maintain strong, regular communication with Oxfam staff including tracking and reporting on activities

What volunteers have to say: “Oxfam Action Corps has really helped me professionally.  Before the training I was working as an administrative assistant and never got a chance to take charge of an event.  With Oxfam Action Corps I got to lead an event, reach out to allies.  It prepared me for a huge career change, directing a small non-profit.” - Jessica Lettween, from Minnesota.

“This is leadership in practice.  You can’t just read a book on leadership.  You have to put it into practice. You should see how I list this on my resume!” - Jill Mizell, NYC

Day of Action at Harvesters

The Action Corps had the opportunity to volunteer at Harvesters in December, and it was a wonderful experience!

Harvesters is a community food network that serves 26 counties in northeastern Kansas and northwestern Missouri. It is the only food bank/network that serves this area, and it works with 620 member agencies to acquire and distribute food to those in need. Check out this fact sheet to learn more.

While we were at Harvesters, we learned about the organization and were given a tour of their warehouse facility. Needless to say, they can and do house and move a TON of food and disaster supplies. It truly is an awe-inspiring operation, and we in Kansas City are incredibly fortunate to have such an organization in our city.

The Action Corps was put to work on assembling kits for the BackSnack program. For children that receive free and reduced-price lunches at school, getting enough to eat over the weekend can be incredibly tough. BackSnack was created to help bridge the meal gap from Friday to Monday. Each bag is packed with shelf-stable, no-cooking-required snacks and meals to get kids through Saturday and Sunday with the nourishment they need to come back to school on Monday ready to learn. Currently, BackSnack serves 19,000 children each week, and the number is anticipated to grow.

As volunteers, we worked an assembly line to put together as many kits as possible in 2 hours. We were paired up with a Girl Scout troop and their parents, and, together, we made hundreds of BackSnacks! Helping Harvesters with BackSnack was a lot of fun for us, and incredibly helpful for them. We hope to make it back soon to further help this great organization!

Hunger Banquet at Avila University

On November 19th, the Kansas City Action Corps had the privilege to attend a Hunger Banquet as the guest speakers. The Hunger Banquet was put on by the Student Social Work Association at Avila University in South Kansas City, MO.

For those who have never heard of or attended a Hunger Banquet, it can be a very powerful event. Hunger Banquets are an interactive tool that can demonstrate visually the food inequalities people live with daily around the world. As participants enter the event, they randomly draw a card assigning them to an income level. The majority of participants will be assigned to the lowest income level, and a smaller proportion to the middle income level. The smallest group of attendees will be assigned to the highest income level. Once everyone is seated, a meal is served to represent the participants' assigned incomes. Those at the highest level receive a full, balanced meal and "fancy" beverages (juice or soda), while seated at a nicely-set table. Those with the mid-level income are given rice, beans, and water while seated in chairs. Finally, those with the lowest income must sit on the floor while served only rice and a communal pitcher of water.

For our contribution, the Action Corps spoke a bit about Oxfam International and Oxfam America, as well as the GROW Method and Campaign. We also did our best to answer any questions the students and faculty had concerning Oxfam America and their work. The event hosted nearly 30 participants and, we feel, did a really great job exemplifying why Oxfam does the work they do around the world.

On a final note, we want to thank the Student Social Work Association and Avila University for hosting this event and using it as a food drive for Harvesters. We were able to contribute about 3 full boxes of food to the food bank thanks to the particpants of the Hunger Banquet. Nice work everyone!

Low Income Group

High Income Group

Middle Income Group (foreground, in chairs)

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Working the Farm with Cultivate Kansas City

The Kansas City Oxfam Action Corps had the pleasure of participating in a Work the Farm day at the Gibbs Road Community Farm in Kansas City, KS. Including Lauren and myself, we had 6 volunteers helping with a variety of tasks to get the farm ready for the winter.

Emma & Cody, along with two other community volunteers,
separate garlic cloves for planting.

We were able to help Gibbs Road Community Farm plant multiple rows of garlic, seed microgreens in their greenhouse, and even unload hay bales during a well-timed delivery.

Lauren & her sister, along with other community volunteers,
plant seeds that will become tasty microgreens!

Cultivate Kansas City is a wonderful non-profit organization that works to get local, organic food in the hands of Kansas Citians, either by promoting farmers markets or teaching people to be urban farmers.

Sarah Dehart, part of the field crew at the Gibbs Road Community Farm,
teaches volunteers how to measure and correctly space the beds they're planting.

For more information on Cultivate Kansas City or volunteering at the Gibbs Road Community Farm, check out their website. And for more photos from this volunteer day, and other Cultivate Kansas City events, take a look-see at their Flickr stream.

Thank you so much for having the Oxfam Action Corps at your farm, Cultivate Kansas City! We had a great time getting our hands dirty!