Job Title: Community Organizer/Director in faith based community
improvement organization
Job Descripton: Community Improvement Organizations in Massachusetts
--Brockton Interfaith Community (BIC) in Brockton, MA
--United Interfaith Action (UIA) in New Bedford & Fall River, MA
Dear Friends,
I wanted to let you know about openings for two directors in two of
our affiliated organizations in Massachusetts. These are faith based
community improvement organizations. The current director/lead
organizers are at these places still and will be continuing in
organizing but for personal reasons are moving to other areas of the
country this summer and fall.
Let me tell you about these two organizations and about our statewide
organization called Massachusetts Communities Action Network (MCAN).
I. Brockton Interfaith Community (BIC)
BIC was founded in 1990 and has 16 institutional members. It is
moving from a 1 person to 2 person staff.
Brockton is a city of about 90,000 people located about 20 miles
Southeast of Boston. It is a working class income city that is about 20%
Latino, 20% African-American, 15% Cape Verdian, and 45% white.
BIC currently is working on the issues of after-school programs,
youth summer jobs, community policing, and constructing affordable
housing.
At a December 17 leadership congress, after a listening/outreach
campaign held in their member congregations over the last 4 months, they
have chosen youth, crime prevention, and jobs as their 3 issue
priorities. A major citywide action will be held with the Mayor and
Police Chief on these issues in May. BIC has a Clergy Caucus that meets
regularly too.
BIC has many accomplishments over the years; construction affordable
homeownership units, funding for after-school programs and job training
programs and ESL programs, affordable homeownership programs,etc.
600 people attended its largest public action meeting during 2007.
The Mayor and Police Chief attended. At a candidate's forum BIC had in
October, both Mayoral finalists made many commitments to their issue
agenda and to meeting with BIC when they took office. BIC will have
another major public action meeting in May on the youth, jobs, and
public safety issues.
BIC has two newer organizers besides it's current director/lead
organizer.
II. United Interfaith Action of Southeast Massachusetts (UIA)
UIA was founded in 1996 and has 16 member congregations. It is
moving from a 1 person to a 2 person staff.
New Bedford is a working class income city of 90,000 people
located about 50 miles south of Boston and 20 miles east of Providence,
RI. It people are 15% Latino, 5% African-American, 5% Cape Verdian, 50%
Portuguese primarily from the Azores Islands and Madeira Island, and
about 20 % other whites. It is a textile city that has lost most of its
manufacturing based.
Fall River is a working class city of 90,000 people located 40
miles south of Boston, 15 miles east of Providence and 10 miles west of
New Bedford. It is about 65% Portuguese, 5% Cambodian, 3%
African-American, and 25% other whites. It is also a primarily textile
mill city that has lost most of its manufacturing base.
UIA is current working on the issues of funding for conflict
resolution education in the schools, getting street outreach worker
programs funded in New Bedford and Fall River, youth summer jobs. It is
developing new issue campaigns on school drop-out prevention, increasing
numbers of high school graduates who go on to community colleges and
training programs, on living wage jobs in New Bedford and on
transportation and jobs in Fall River.
UIA has many accomplishments on funding for ESL and GED programs,
for after-school programs, for community policing officers, for extended
library hours, and for conflict resolution education programs.
600 people attended its largest most recent public action. The
Mayor, Superintendent of Schools, and Police Chief attended and made
commitments on public safety and youth violence prevention issues.
Another major public action meeting will be held in May and focus on an
initiative to cut the school dropout rate.
III. Background on the statewide federation that these organizations
are part of, Massachusetts Communities Action Network (MCAN), affiliated
with PICO
MCAN is a statewide federation of six organizations including UIA
and BIC. It additionally includes affiliates named Essex County
Community Organization, Metropolitan Interfaith Congregations Acting for
Hope, Worcester Interfaith, and Pioneer Valley Project. MCAN was founded
in 1985, MCAN is also part of the PICO National Network of faith based
community improvement organizations
www.piconetwork.org
MCAN provides on-going support to each of the affiliated
organizations through regulate meetings with the Directors, organizers,
and leaders. We also provide support on fund raising, media, issue
research and strategy development.
MCAN helps coordinate statewide issues that the affiliates like UIA,
BIC, etc. want to work on together. These statewide issues have
produced some real results statewide and increased resources for the
local communities of these organizations in recent years;
1. Youth violence prevention--Campaigns have gotten $26 million in
new state funding to communities for teen prevention programs, summer
jobs for teens, and resources for law enforcement strategies on gangs.
2. Job Training--Campaigns have gotten $24 million in funding for job
training programs operating in cities around the state.
3. Health Care--We are part of the ACT Coalition that led the
organizing to pass Massachusetts's landmark health care law for the
uninsured and is working now on its implementation.
We have a website with some of our activities and accomplishments
at www.mcan-oltc.org
Key duties of organizers are:
1. Leadership development organizing work to enable low to moderate
income people to develop the leadership skills and experiences that
enable organizations to build power for the deeply felt concerns of
residents.
2. Carrying out effective organizing campaigns on specific community
and work issues like housing, jobs, crime prevention, education, health
care, etc.--this involves a cycle of outreach, strategy, action, and
evaluation.
3. Developing new participating congregations or organizations in the
organization.
Additional Qualifications:
1. Ability to work across a wide variety of religious denominations and
find common ground on deeply felt community and work concerns.
2. Ability to work across racial lines with a diverse, representative
membership.
3. Curiosity about politics in its broadest sense and its impact on the
lives of people
4. Ability to speak Spanish or Portuguese helpful, but not required.
Contact Information: How to Apply:
Please send a 1 page cover letter with your resume about why you are
interested in being a community organizer, why with us, and specific
experience you've had in social action work, and/or as an organizer or
leader in such organizations.
OLTC/MCAN 1773 Dorchester Avenue Boston, MA 02124
LewFinfer@aol.com (617) 822-1499
www.mcan-oltc.org
Job Link: www.mcan-oltc.org
