INTERNSHIPS WITH KAY BLADA
About Kay Blada Recycling
Kay Blada Recycling is a 501(c)(3) certified non-profit, founded in 2015 and dedicated to alleviating poverty and cleaning up plastic waste in Haiti, while providing environmental education to the children of the community. Each day, people in the town of Hinche collect plastic off the streets and bring it to Kay Blada's facility. The collectors are paid by the pound, and Kay Blada then cleans, sorts, and transports the plastic to an organization in Port-au- Prince for recycling, simultaneously providing employment and cleaning up massive amounts of plastic waste. As part of KBRs mission, a team of local teachers has also begun an environmental education program within the existing school system focused on the impacts of plastic waste pollution and environmental stewardship. Since its founding, Kay Blada Recycling has collected 116,000 pounds of plastic waste.
Kay Blada Recycling Internship Program
Kay Blada Recycling is offering two types of Internships. These internships are designed to provide the intern with experience in their chosen area of expertise and foster skills development. KBR internships are unpaid; however, we expect the intern will benefit through receiving academic credit and building their resume and portfolio. Interns are free to work remotely, in consultation with Kay Blada Recycling mentors and academic advisors, as appropriate.
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Internships for University Credit: The University credit internships will follow the requirements of the university program. These generally consist of approval for a proposed work plan from a department professor. A minimum of 8 hours per week, totaling approximately 100 hours per semester. There are requirements for weekly journaling, progress reports and a final paper/product/presentation. KBR will provide on-going (weekly/bi-weekly/monthly) engagement, with a project mentor from the KBR board to help the intern with project design and ongoing feedback. The final product will be used to support KBR activities in achieving the program's goals.
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Voluntary internships: The voluntary internships provide more flexibility to the intern. The length of time of the internship and the number of hours are negotiable depending on the intern’s needs, interests, and the needs of KBR. These may be held by a university student or other interested community member.
Areas of Focus for the Internships
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Marketing and Social Media—Working with a KBR board member, the intern will develop a marketing campaign focused on two strategy areas:
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Serve as an On-Campus Ambassador for the program, partnering with existing student environmental programs and leveraging local community networks to promote the program and educate the community about KBR’s work via grassroots marketing, on- campus activities and social media.
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Develop a robust online fundraising strategy (via web and social media content), focusing on current donors while prospecting for new donors, ultimately driving members of the community to donate and support KBR.
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Grant writing — Working with a KBR board member mentor, the intern will research available grants that are consistent with the goals of KBR. Then, with the support of the mentor, the intern will identify a specific target granting agency and write a grant application for consideration by the KBR board.
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Curriculum development — Working with KBR board members, the intern will conduct an assessment of current existing environmental education material and help design further lesson plans and educational activities. Tasks interns will perform include the following:
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Survey existing curricula sources at UNC, EPA, United Nations Environmental Programs and other areas for age appropriate curriculum.
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Determine if there are existing resources in French/Creole in other countries.
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Work with the current environmental education teachers in Hinche to determine how to effectively integrate findings into the current curricula.
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Monitor and establish litter baselines (e.g.) counts of litter pieces within 1⁄2 km of each
school and set corresponding goals to reduce litter around each school.
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How to Apply
Send a current resume and cover letter to kaybladarecycling@gmail.com. In your cover letter, please include:
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Why you are excited about working with KBR
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What areas of focus you would like to work on
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If you are interested in a credit internship or voluntary internship
KBR will contact you to set up a short 15 minute “interview” (in person or phone/video call, as appropriate) to discuss your interest and determine the best fit for your internship. Please make sure if you are applying for the credit internship that you work with your school and professor, as well as the Kay Blada Recycling mentor to ensure you have met the requirements for your program.