Nickel City Housing Cooperative (NCHC) and No Labels Clothing Cooperative (NLCC) located in Buffalo, New York, are pleased to announce a joint internship position for the summer of 2017. Duties at NCHC and NLCC are varied but connected by the themes of outreach and community-building.
For NCHC, duties focus on efforts to record and preserve our cooperative’s history, bring the current membership and alumni communities together, and enhance outreach efforts to connect Nickel City to Buffalo’s broader community. For NLCC, duties include conducting a needs assessment and designing a curriculum which will empower trans and gender-nonconforming (TGNC) residents of Buffalo and inform them of their rights.
NCHC is able to provide the applicant a private room as well as board for the duration of the internship at NCHC's Ol'Wondermoth house. NCHC is working to identify funds to cover the intern’s travel costs, but we cannot guarantee a travel stipend at this time. Inquire for more information.
Duties for Nickel City Housing Cooperative (20 hours per week):
Alumni relations
- Utilize existing alumni databases and build upon them by working with current membership and known alumni to fill in gaps in historic membership lists
- Research the impact of NCHC within and beyond the Buffalo community
- Conduct oral history interviews with alumni about the history of NCHC
- Create a map of alumni businesses, projects, and other impacts on the wider community
- Compile the map, interviews, and other research and work with the NCHC Policy Committee to share on the NCHC Member Wiki
Event planning
- Work with NCHC members and alumni to plan a 15th anniversary event to take place in late summer 2017
Community outreach
- Work in tandem with the NCHC Membership Coordinators and NCHC Community Ambassadors to develop and conduct a survey of community based organizations from across the City of Buffalo to learn about NCHC’s current reputation and identify needs and opportunities for better collaboration or community-building activities
Duties for No Labels Clothing Cooperative (10 hours per week)
With assistance of Store Manager:
- Conduct a basic needs assessment survey of Western New York’s TGNC community or reference existing surveys to determine which resources and classes should be prioritized in a training curriculum
- Create a basic syllabus
- Survey and file existing resources in the WNY area that can be used in lieu of generating new resources
- Create a “rolodex” with list of contacts for trainings
- Generate new resources for trainings if necessary
The Alumni Relations and Outreach Coordinator (AROC) will work with NCHC members and alumni to understand the existing alumni resources (alumni listserv, lists of members, etc.) and build upon them. Alumni and NCHC members will help the AROC identify gaps in NCHC’s history, and work with them to build better contacts with the alumni community. The AROC will then interview members of the alumni in the community about their experiences living at NCHC, conducting oral history interviews, and building better community relations in the process. The AROC will be trained on oral history and interviewing techniques, the history of Buffalo, and how to pull together a killer party.
The No Labels Clothing Cooperative Education Coordinator will work with with Store Manager and other people involved in the No Labels community, the TGNC community of Buffalo, and Buffalo’s greater non-profit and organizing community to understand the existing community resources and build upon them. The Store Manager will help guide this process and introduce the Coordinator to these contacts and resources. Among other things, the Coordinator will be trained on digital media publication and needs assessment surveying.
The AROC will develop more robust interpersonal communication skills, oral history interview skills, event planning experience, and develop primary source research skills. The AROC will also develop an understanding of the role of segregation in Buffalo’s communities, and help NCHC develop key strategies for inclusion.