The League of Women Voters of Texas has a wonderful student volunteer and intern program.
To apply contact us here.
The League of Women Voters reached our 100 year anniversary, nationally and in Texas. The League is non-partisan -- we do not support or oppose any candidates or parties -- an organization that encourages civic engagement and participation by providing community education and legislative advocacy. We are well known for our voter guides where all candidates running for office may explain their positions on issues of concern to the community and the League. The League also develops white paper studies on critical community issues. The most recent issues studied by the Texas League were payday loans and human trafficking. We also monitor the Texas legislature for bills that impact issues of concern to women and their families. League members testify at committee hearings and educate legislators. Early each Texas legislative session LWVTX hosts a Lobby Day where members and supporters from across the state to come to Austin to talk with their legislators.
We also do all of the tasks and activities that a statewide non-profit organization must do to engage our constituencies and extend our impact. Types of tasks for interns in the next 6+ months might include:
- Develop and execute social media plans to Get Out The Vote for the midterm elections and to educate and activate members and supporters on League issues during the legislative session
- Researching and writing bio's on previous League leaders who have made an impact
- Write up short stories of League accomplishments for social media and fundraising
- Prepare for Lobby Days in Feb
- During Texas Legislative session interns have signed in Pro or Con on specific legislation, read testimony in committees
- Help local Leagues set up their online voter information service, Vote 411 (http://www.vote411.org/)
- Track down contact information for candidates to include them in our Voter Guide
- Write press releases, newsletters, grants, fundraising letters, thank you letters
We have a range of activities to suit the individual intern’s skills and interests. We want interns to have meaningful experiences that build on their academic skills. In addition to the tasks mentioned above, we will structure unique projects depending on the needs of the intern. By the end of the internship, we want students to have a “show & tell” product to add to their portfolio to be able to show future employers the quality of their work in a real-life setting. An internship with the League of Women Voters would also include the benefit of working with League members who are seasoned community advocates.
Unfortunately, this is not a paid internship, but our interns and volunteers do have a lot of fun doing meaningful work. Most have done this for class credit, but occasionally we have interns who are here just for the fun of it. We do require references if this is not for class credit. We give interns significant responsibility and access to our organization. We need to know they are going to be reliable and trustworthy.