Pencils of Promise

Willy Franzen — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 14:09:05 +0000

What do you want most in the world? Maybe it’s changed since yesterday because of something left under the Christmas tree, but chances are that changing the answer to that question isn’t so easy. For a small boy begging on the streets of India, the answer was pretty simple. A pencil. Adam Braun is a guy who gave a kid a pencil, a smile, and a promise of a better future. Adam Braun continued backpacking across the world, and giving out pens and pencils—thousands of them. Eventually his idea turned into a non-profit organization called Pencils of Promise. They’re based in New York City, and they now build schools for the 75 million children in the world who don’t even have access to a pre-school education. As important as schools are, the pencils and backpacks still play a huge role in what Pencils of Promise does.

Show Some Promise

The best way to get a feel for Pencils of Promise is to watch this 99-second video. It will give you a quick rundown of who they are and what they’re doing (e-mail readers need to click through).

After the video you may want to read the Pencils of Promise story and look at their current, upcoming, and completed projects. They’re making a difference one village at a time, and the pace at which they’re doing it is impressive. If you’re move by Pencils of Promise’s success, then you should consider a job with them. They seem to post everything on Idealist, and right now they’re looking for a Creative Technologist. It looks like a really cool position for a tech savvy grad, so check it out. They also have a number of volunteer opportunities and a Nicaragua Coordinator Fellowship.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever given anyone a pencil?

Rainforest Alliance

Willy Franzen — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 13:14:05 +0000

Surprise, surprise. We’ve selected yet another one of the Wall Street Journal’s Best Small Workplaces to be featured on One Day, One Job. That’s three in a row for those of you who are counting. We can’t express enough how helpful lists like these can be to your job search. Almost as helpful as Rainforest Alliance is to saving the rainforest. They’re a non-profit organization that “works to conserve biodiversity and ensure sustainable livelihoods by transforming land-use practices, business practices and consumer behavior.” How do they do this? By working directly with farmers, workers, business leaders, NGO’s, governments, scientists and local communities to change the way that they do agriculture to make land use more socially and environmentally responsible while maintaining its economic viability.

You Know That You Always Wanted to Save the Rainforest

Were you one of those kids who had a “Save the Rainforest” sticker on you Trapper Keeper? Have you always loved tree frogs and jaguars? Have you always wanted to take a job that will make the world a better place? You know what we’re going to tell you if you answered yes to any of those question, but here’s what you may not have considered. There are a lot of environmental organizations that take an anti-business approach to conservation. There are also a lot of non-profits that won’t help you build the business skills that you’ll need if you want to transition into a for-profit career. Rainforest Alliance works directly with businesses to certify their practices in Agriculture, Forestry, and Tourism and to help them take a greener approach. This business mindedness isn’t just relevant to how Rainforest Alliance pursues their mission of sustainability, it’s also part of how they develop their people – they have a strong focus on career development according to the WSJ article.

So you had one of those stickers on your Trapper Keeper, huh? Well if you’re interested in Jobs with Rainforest Alliance, you’re in luck, because there are a lot of them. Most of their jobs require 3-5 years of experience, but we’ve picked out the ones that seem doable for new college grads. In New York City they’re looking for a Finance Assistant, an Associate, Office of the President, and a Web Associate, and a Marketing Coordinator (US and Canada), Sustainable Tourism Division (This last one requires 3-5 years of experience, but it sounds so cool that we had to include. Consider it something to look forward to.) In Bolivia, they’re looking for a Certification Administrative Assistant, SmartWood Program, Sustainable Forestry Division and a Forestry Technical Assistant, Initiative for Conservation in the Andean Amazon (ICAA) Project. In Costa Rica Rainforest Alliance is hiring a Technical Assistant, Sustainable Tourism Division, a Program Assistant, Sustainable Tourism Division, and an Evaluation and Research Associate. Finally, in Guatemala they need a Project Associate, Environmental Services Payment Project, TREES Program and in Nicaragua they’re looking for a Technical Associate, Sustainable Agriculture Division. Each job description goes into depth about what you will be doing in the job, and Rainforest Alliance’s Careers site is simple to navigate if you want to browse through all of their listings. To apply for any of the jobs, you can use the online application form found at the bottom of each job description or you can e-mail your cover letter and resume to personnel@ra.org.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Just think, by reading today’s post and sharing it with your rainforest loving friends you can help save the rainforest and win an iPod Touch.

One Day, One Job » Nicaragua

Pencils of Promise

Show Some Promise

Rainforest Alliance

You Know That You Always Wanted to Save the Rainforest