Organizing Interns & Project Aides
The Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter is the Wisconsin branch of the Sierra Club, and we are led by grassroots leaders around the state. Our volunteers set our strategy, contribute to tactics and lead us to our victories on climate and conservation, and our Project Aides and interns play a vital role in making our victories happen!
PA positions are designed to be on-ramps for people interested in environmental nonprofit and/or organizing work. Many of our Project Aides have gone on to become members of our teams, and chapter leaders both within and outside of our organization.
Every PA project & position focus is different, dependent upon the goals and interests of the applicant and the PA position they hold. From planning events to project management, from managing digital tools to writing content for blogs and newsletters, from entering petition data to processing donations, each PA position offers a wide range of experiences. PAs also have the opportunity to work with volunteer teams, staff members, leaders, and more! Learn more about the Wisconsin Chapter and our work here.
Background Information:
- Project Aides are unpaid positions. We also offer internships for credit, please include this in your cover letter if you are interested in pursuing an internship for credit.
- The Sierra Club Wisconsin Chapter seeks PA’s every Summer, Fall, and Spring. PA’s are asked to commit to at least one semester/summer, with an option for PA’s to hold their positions for up to a year.
- PA’s work between 4 and 9 hours a week, depending upon their availability. We are happy to accommodate scheduling around classes, work and childcare needs.
- All Sierra Club staff, volunteers and PA’s will be working remotely until further notice. Our entire PA program is run virtually!
Organizing Interns & Project Aides:
Organizing PA’s get hands-on experience with grassroots organizing support and tactics. Each PA supports our issue campaigns and volunteers (pipelines, transportation, water, clean energy, coal, mining, forests and wildlife) by completing research, writing newsletter or blog content, project management, working with social media and design, supporting events, working with volunteer teams, and more! These positions are diverse and provide broad experience in the advocacy side of our non-profit and allow for some networking with other volunteers and partners. All PA positions are currently remote.
The ideal candidate:
- is skilled at written and interpersonal communication and time management
- desires to work with volunteers and be a part of team
- is open to a variety of tasks, self-motivated and flexible
- has some skill with social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
Testimonials from past Project Aides & Interns:
- There were so many fulfilling parts of my position and projects I got to work on. My favorite was probably the Wisconsin Conservation Congress because I put a lot of work into the preparation for that, and it was so amazing to see how successful it was!
- I thought before that this field would be something I'm interested in, but now I know for sure. Working directly on projects and campaigns and realizing the importance of the work that you do confirmed that this is something I want to do.
- I have definitely become more confident in my abilities and I have improved on many skills, especially writing and interpersonal, and learned new ones like graphic design. Overall, I feel that I have gained a lot of experience through my time with the Sierra Club, and I feel more ready to go out and build a career.
- I would say it's given me a much better idea of what activism is. Protests are obviously important, but that's only one faucet of activism. There is contacting your representatives, writing LTEs, making graphics or doing screenings to spread the word on an issue, writing blogs, etc. With COVID, I don't feel safe going to a protest, but I don't feel like I am doing nothing. I know I can take action remotely to really make a change, be it in changing public opinion or building relationships with my reps.
- I would say the most fulfilling thing was reaching out to people and having conversations about the environment. It felt good to not just be me talking to others, but to really engage with them and hear their views. I learned from what they would say and altered my approach accordingly.
- All of the Sierra Club staff members are super kind and welcoming! I never felt like my ideas would be shot down and they were all very supportive. A great team to work with!
- Working with Sierra Club has helped me grow personally with my values as well as professionally with time and project management, being more creative and working on a team