[ASU] Fwd: Samuel Johnson - Please help to spread word among students at OU

[Samuel Wai Johnson, Jr.]

Dear Colleagues, 

This could be an excellent opportunity.

Sam  

----- Forwarded message from Melissa Pluss <melissa at thedartcenter.org> -----
From: Melissa Pluss <melissa at thedartcenter.org>
To: sj176006 at ohio.edu
Subject: Samuel Johnson - Please help to spread word among  students at OU
Date: Mon, 30 Mar 2009 13:14:05 -0500

Dear Samuel Johnson,

Hello again. I tried connecting with you last week, but I did not hear back.  I
know you may have missed my message inadvertently, so I thought I would try one
last time. I am working with the OU Career center to host an Information Session
to discuss jobs in community organizing that I believe students active with
AFRICAN STUDENT UNION would be interested in. 

As you may know, the DART Center has been conducting a paid training program for
those seeking a career in community organizing for the last several years, and
has enabled dozens of people to launch permanent salaried positions in the
field, including alumni from this school. 

It's an excellent opportunity for people interested in organizing at the local
level around common issues affecting low-moderate income communities like
affordable housing, immigrant rights, access to healthcare, quality public
education, youth services, crime, etc.  Let me know if you know of any direct
referrals to certain students involved with AFRICAN STUDENT UNION. I would be
happy to provide a personal invitation to our Info Session by phone or email
anyone that you know that will graduate this spring with an interest in this
area. Though I have learned over the years that the personal invite seems to
work the best, I was also wondering if you could make an announcement during an
upcoming meeting or pass along an announcement to any relevant list serves.   I
have provided a brief description below and a flyer attached for the DART
Center, and our efforts on campus. Please feel free to forward this announcement
to available list serves, fellow student groups leaders, interns, or to anyone
you know that might be interested in pursuing this line of work. 

Thank you for your help, and please let me know about certain students you could
recommend. 

Recently, Jeff Modzelewski, a 2006 Organizers Institute graduate, led a campaign
against predatory lending resulting in the reduction of the payday lending
interest rate from 391% to 28% in the state of Ohio.  Ohio now has the lowest
payday lending interest rate in all 50 states.

More information can be found here:
http://www.mott.org/recentnews/news/2009/organizersinstitute.aspx

Sincerely,

Melissa Pluss
DART Network
ph: (785) 841-2680
email: melissa at thedartcenter.org
www.thedartcenter.org

Message to forward to graduating OU students and alums:

**************************************************
Social Justice Jobs in Community Organizing Available to OU graduating students
and alums!

Direct Action & Research Training (DART) Center will be on the OU campus on
Monday April 6 @ 7:00 PM in the Baker University Center, Room 341 to discuss
careers in the field of community organizing, and to schedule interviews with
students interested in empowering their communities and working for social change. 

Please RSVP if you are interested by contacting Melissa Pluss at
melissa at thedartcenter.org or calling 785.841.2680 with your name, phone # and
email address.

DART is now accepting applications for the 2009 DART Organizers Institute, the
paid, four-month field school for people interested in launching a career in
community organizing. Participants will undergo a combined classroom and field
training covering such topics as:

• Entering a community
• Identifying and training local leaders
• Strategic planning and issue cutting
• Relationship and community building
• Direct Action on community issues
• Fundraising

The DART Center, has built coalitions throughout the country that have won
important victories on a broad set of justice issues including:

• Education reform in low-performing public schools
• Job Training
• Drugs and Violence
• Criminal Recidivism
• Living Wage
• Neighborhood Revitalization
• Predatory Lending
• Affordable Housing, etc.

Recently, Jeff Modzelewski, a 2006 Organizers Institute graduate, led a campaign
against predatory lending resulting in the reduction of the payday lending
interest rate from 391% to 28% in the state of Ohio.  Ohio now has the lowest
payday lending interest rate in all 50 states.

More information can be found here:
http://www.mott.org/recentnews/news/2009/organizersinstitute.aspx

The DART Organizers Institute combines a 7-day classroom orientation with 15
weeks of infield training at a DART host organization. This is a paid training
program that includes: a $7,000 living stipend, transportation to the classroom
orientation and host city, and mileage reimbursement during the infield
training. Room, board, and tuition will also be paid by DART during the 7-day
classroom training. After successful completion of the program, DART will work
to place graduates into permanent full time salaried positions ranging from
($30-33,000/year for Associate Organizers and $32-37,000 for Lead Organizers
starting salary + health & benefits).

Graduates from the four month DART Organizers Institute have gone onto accept
Executive Director and Associate Community Organizing positions throughout the
country.

The 7-day classroom orientation and 15 week infield training starts July 12,
2009 and runs through November 7, 2009. Training locations will include
placements in several states around the country.

Although it may be helpful, no direct experience is necessary. Organizer
Trainees (OTs) hired to participate in the DART Organizers Institute must
demonstrate a desire to pursue community organizing as a long-term professional
career. A master's degree or similar life experience is preferred though
unnecessary. Candidates must have a college degree or be graduating prior to
July 1, 2009. Also, candidates must display a workmanlike diligence, be driven
to produce sustained results, have proven capacity to build relationships of
trust, create and execute a plan, act professionally, feel comfortable working
with religious institutions, be accountable and willing to hold others
accountable, demonstrate disciplined thought and action, and work in a team
setting.  OTs must also have access to a car during their training and be
flexible regarding relocation. Fluency in Spanish/English is a plus and people
of color are encouraged to apply.

To find out more about DART or to apply, we encourage you to send your resume
to: Melissa Pluss, DART Network, 820 New York Street Lawrence, KS 66044 or by
email: melissa at thedartcenter.org. If you have any questions, please call: (785)
841-2680. Also, you can download applications or view profiles from previous OTs
at the DART website: www.thedartcenter.org.  

Melissa Pluss
DART Network
ph: (785) 841-2680
email: melissa at thedartcenter.org
www.thedartcenter.org

----- End forwarded message -----



Samuel Wai Johnson, Jr.
Global Leadership Center/International Development Studies 
Ohio University 
Athens, Ohio 45701
USA
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