We apologize in advance to the fans of the New England Patriots and the Memphis Tigers (and any other team that has recently failed in a Championship game), because this is going to be a little bit painful for you. How can a post about a “Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice” be painful? Because World Vision is an organization that has worked out deals with major sports leagues (like the NFL, whose jobs we’ve featured) to administer the donation of Championship paraphernalia that was produced for teams that didn’t win a championship. The NFL had to take a gamble on producing Super Bowl Winner t-shirts for a team that was 19-0 going into the big game. That gamble didn’t pay off for them, but it certainly did for the people who World Vision helps.

More Than T-Shirts and Hats

We were heeding the advice of our own article, The Couch Potato’s Guide to Job Search, when we saw this on ESPN. We took a quick look at World Vision, and decided to feature them on an upcoming weekend (because that’s when we feature non-profit jobs). Although there’s a lot more to the organization than giving t-shirts to impoverished people (yes, there’s a village in Africa where everyone is wearing Patriots Super Bowl Championship 2008 t-shirts), World Vision certainly gets most of their press attention out of this one program. World Vision “extends assistance to all people, regardless of their religious beliefs, gender, race, or ethnic background.” They do this in over 100 countries through their Community Development and Disaster Relief efforts.

If the good work that World Vision does isn’t enough to convince you to consider working for them, then you should also know that one of their major donors is the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. That means that they’re spending money that would otherwise be Paris Hilton’s – you’ve got to love that.

You Won’t Be Folding T-Shirts

World Vision has done a really nice job with their Careers page and their website overall. We’re not going to go into too much detail, because they’ve made it really easy for you to do the research on your own. The links that we’ve provided below should be a great starting point. World Vision has quite a few Job Openings, although not too many of them are purely entry-level. We’ve picked out a few that look best suited for new college grads. They include: Project Manager I – Expand The Best (Federal Way, WA); East Region Marketing Administrator (Washington, DC); Volunteer Coordinator (Dallas, TX); and Program Manager/Community Specialist (Philippi, WV).

World Vision is a Christian organization, so it’s important that your beliefs are aligned with their organizational values if you’re going to apply. These jobs aren’t for everyone, but they present a wonderful opportunity to do great work with a non-profit that is being innovative with how they help people.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

• The World Vision Home Page
• Careers at World Vision
• Job Openings at World Vision
• About World Vision
• World Vision Overview
• World Vision in the Press

Just think, the next time that your team loses in the big game, you’ll know that it’s ok because all those t-shirts and hats are going to a good cause. Yeah right! Let the other team’s t-shirts and hats be the ones that are donated.