minkwon center's spring 2011 internships

The MinKwon Center for Community Action (formerly YKASEC) in New York was established in 1984 to meet the needs and concerns of the Korean American community through five program areas: Community Organizing and Advocacy, Social Services, Civic Participation, Youth, and Culture. They recently announced seven internship openings for spring 2011:

Advocacy & Community Organizing Intern
The MinKwon Center's community organizing work seeks to engage Korean Americans in the Queens area to work on issues around immigration, housing and labor. The internship responsibilities include assisting the community organizer in relationship-building with community members, participate in community outreach efforts and engage in advocacy efforts in coalition with other organization and groups.

Chinese Community Intern
Chinese Community Outreach Intern will work with the Chinese community in New York City in areas such as public benefits, labor rights, immigration law, housing, and financial independence. The intern will engage in direct contact with Chinese-speaking clients through initial intakes, assessment of client cases, and direct assistance; preparing and conducting educational workshops; and coordinating street and media outreach activities.

Civic Participation Intern
The Civic Participation Intern will work closely with the Civic Participation Outreach Coordinator to support the MinKwon Center's voter outreach efforts through planning and facilitating outreach to the community, helping to plan and coordinate voter campaigns, and conducting educational activities.

Development & Capacity-Building Intern
The Development & Capacity Building Intern will work with the Development Associate and Administrative Manager to support the MinKwon Center's development, fundraising, and capacity building efforts. The development work will consist of seeking funds and resources to support the work of the organization in all five program areas and administration, and the capacity-building work will involve strengthening our internal processes and procedures to strengthen our foundation. This is a great opportunity to gain valuable development, administrative, and non-profit experience.

Foreclosure Legal Intern
One branch of the MinKwon Center's Social Services Program is its Homelessness Prevention Services. Many Korean American homeowners have been struggling to maintain their home by making mortgage payments on time during this tough economy. The MinKwon Center has taken an active role in educating and helping these homeowners get through the foreclosure crisis. The Foreclosure Legal Intern will work closely with our Staff Attorney through engaging in direct contact with community members through intake and consultations, conducting research on foreclosure-related issues/policies, preparing and conducting educational workshops, and managing the client database.

Labor & Housing Legal Intern
The MinKwon Center's Immigrants Rights Legal Clinic seeks to protect the rights of these community members by providing free legal assistance in the areas of labor, immigration, housing, and civil rights law. The Immigrant Rights Legal Clinic Legal Intern will support the Staff Attorney through engaging in direct contact with community members to conduct client intakes, assist in active litigation, and help conduct educational activities for the community.

Public Benefits Intern
One branch of the MinKwon Center's Social Services Program focuses on empowering the low-income, immigrant community members to access various government public benefits. The Financial Empowerment Counselor specifically screens for eligibility and assists in the application of Food Stamps, Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), Lifeline/Safelink Phone Services, and Bank Accounts. Under the direct supervision of the Financial Empowerment Counselor, the Intern will advise and counsel Korean clients, prepare applications, conduct legal/or non-legal research on policy issues, and manage client database.

The application deadline is December 31. For more information and application instructions for all internship openings, go to idealist.org here. For more information about the MinKwon Center and their work in the community, go to the organization's website here.