• Summer Farm Internship Available!

We are looking for a motivated, creative individual with a willingness and desire to learn more about sustainable farming with a non-profit. You would assist us in the work that comes with the magic that is bloom and harvest season.

This includes: Harvesting vegetables, fruits and flowers and assisting the Executive Director in farming duties:

  • Moving and spreading compost
  • Planting seeds and seedlings
  • Maintaining flower and garden beds
  • Creating beautiful organic flower bouquets
  • Manning our flower stand
  • Selling bouquets
  • Telling potential customers about our mission
  • Assisting Marketing Manageer in content and creation for social media

THIS IS NOT A PAID POSITION – AVAILABLE TO HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE STUDENTS,

NO PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE REQUIRED – APPLICATION DEADLINE IN MARCH 14, 2023

To apply please email the following to focusonyouth@gmail.com

  • Personal Statement: Provide a one page person statement that includes your interest in learning about organic gardening, sustainable agriculture and habitat restoration.  Please include any experience you have and your expectation from the internship.
  • Letter of recommendation (recommended, not required)

QUALIFICATIONS:

  • Ability to life and carry 40 lbs
  • Ability to work efficiently, while maintaining a high standard of excellence
  • A desire to work on a small, hardworking team with a dedication to maintaining professionalism at all times
  • Willingness to adapt and learn
  • Ability to follow instruction and work independently, and also willingness to ask for clarification when needed
  • Open to receiving feedback
  • Passion for providing food to alleviate hunger in our community
  • A desire to nurture wildlife and support biodiversity
  • Positive and fun attitude!

You can find us near Multnomah Village at 6001 SW Garden Home Road Portland Oregon 97219.

 

 

nike volunteers

 

Throughout the year we take homeless youth on photography field trips to experience the beauty of nature through the lens of a camera.  These photo shoots are educational and inspiring for teens who have never experienced many of the beautiful places in Portland.  The field trips include such places as The Forestry Center, The Audubon, Leach Botanical Gardens, the Rose Garden, Hoyt Arboretum, The Japanese Garden and Lan Su just to mention a few.

Our volunteer mentors encourage homeless youth to help them achieve academic and artistic success, and we provide these young people with the skills they need to establish goals and acquire confidence. We welcome anyone who has a desire to make a difference in our community by mentoring.   In addition to field trips we welcome volunteers to help us install student photography exhibits around the city.

Focus on Youth  partners with Photographers from  American Media Photographers of Oregon and The Portland Metropolitan Photographers Association as well as amateur photographers .


Your Role as a Focus on Youth Photography Mentor

Mentors work with Focus on Youth students on a variety of activities:
•    teach digital camera use
•    share photographic portfolios
•    accompany students on location shoots
•    teach portrait  techniques
•    assist with digital post-production and printing for exhibits
•    schedule and install public exhibitions

Interested in joining our Board of Directors?

If so, please contact Executive Director Donna Lee Holmes at 503 341-6878 for a job description.  We are currently interviewing candidates for a position on our board.

What Focus on Youth Mentors Are Saying…

“The greatest strength of Focus on Youth lies in the direct and total involvement of the student in the creative process.  In addition to receiving hands on instruction from professionals, the result for the students is a sense of belonging and self-worth.” Focus on Youth Mentor

“This project is where I can do something for someone else that actually makes a difference, and it serves my spiritual and emotional needs to do so.  I’m a better, happier person because I can help, so I look at this work as a privilege and an opportunity that you’ve given me. I think this project is a gift that you’ve given not just to the kids, but to all of the volunteers because everyone has a deep seated need as part of their humanity to serve others”. Focus on Youth Mentor and Board Member

“Focus on Youth is the brainchild of Donna Lee Holmes.  She sees kids who got left behind and are working hard to catch back up.  I joined several local photo professionals in becoming mentors.  It was fun to watch the kids as they go through their own process of discovery for the first time.  This is a great program and I encourage everyone in the photo community to support it in some way.” Focus on Youth Mentor


Other Volunteer Opportunities
– Board of Directors, Auction Volunteers

Diversity is the cornerstone of Focus on Youth and we are committed to creating an inclusive environment where all individuals are valued and respected.  Our organization seeks to serve a racially diverse spectrum of low-income families, and we strive for a board composition that is racially and ethnically diverse.Focus on Youth maintains a policy of recruiting students, volunteers and electing individuals to the Board of Directors on a basis of their merit without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, military status, marital status, political opinion, national origin, familial status, mental and physical disability, gender identity, and source of income or disability status. It is assured that this commitment to equal treatment applies to all aspects of our organization.

•    Board of Directors
•    PR and Marketing
•    Grant Writer
•    Focus on Youth Annual Auction
•    Volunteer recruitment
•    Exhibitions – plan, schedule, implement
•    Securing donations
•    Photographic Framers
•    and many more!

As a Focus on Youth volunteer, you can pick and choose activities that suit your interests and work schedule. For more information or to sign up to volunteer, search for Seeds of Hope on SOLVE of Oregon, contact Donna Lee Holmes at 503 341-6878, OR email us at focusonyouth@gmail.com.

Volunteering is a great way to meet other caring and passionate people who are making a difference in our community.

 

 

 

 

An American philanthropist once described philanthropy as “the day-to-day conscious giving of time, talent, encouragement, and dollars, the mix of which changes as the giver’s life situation changes. Giving is done in a way that enlivens both the giver and the receiver and has lasting positive impact on both.”
We love our volunteers and we invite you to join our dedicated team in creating a brighter future for our community.