Description

The Homeless Garden Project (HGP), founded in 1990 and based in Santa Cruz, California, provides job training, transitional employment and support services to individuals experiencing homelessness. HGP operates The Homeless Garden Project store, a social enterprise that supports its programming. The HGP store sells products that are made by program trainees from herbs, flowers and produce grown on our 3.5 acre farm. Products include bath & body, food & beverage, candles and more. The HGP store sells products at its two retail locations in Santa Cruz and Capitola, online (shop.homelessgardenproject.org), and through wholesale partners.

The HGP store does a significant portion of its business during the holiday season. Due to Covid-19, it will be more important than ever to engage our community online. As such, we are seeking an enthusiastic and hard-working intern who will support the HGP store's online social media presence, particularly in preparation for, and during the 2020 holiday season.

Responsibilities

• Manages the HGP store social media accounts
• Brainstorms, pitches and implements ideas for social media campaigns and posts
• Creates content for publication, including taking photos, sourcing photos from HGP staff, developing graphics, and writing engaging photo captions
• Conducts account research to 'like', 'follow' and engage with others on Facebook and Instagram to grow HGP's audience and engagement
• Conducts Instagram hashtag research
• Monitors social media conversations and responds to comments of Facebook and Instagram
• Reaches out to press, influencers and bloggers to promote the HGP store
• Analyzes data to gauge the success of campaigns and posts and assists in creating performance reports

Qualifications

• Experience and understanding of social media platforms, particularly Facebook and Instagram
• Passion for social media and storytelling
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Meticulous attention to detail
• Self-motivated multi-tasker with a strong work-ethic
• Highly organized in a fast-paced environment
• Enthusiasm and an eagerness to learn
• Ability to collaborate and be a team player
• Graphic design skills a plus

Work Schedule/Time Commitment 

• At least 10 hours commitment per week for at least 3 months
• Weekly schedule can be flexible
• Can be done primarily remotely, but will require some on-site work in Santa Cruz to capture photos at the HGP store, workshop and farm

Compensation

This is a volunteer, unpaid internship. We encourage you to use this internship to gain course credit or seek out grants with your college, if that is an option. Please include this information in your cover letter.

Application Procedure and Deadlines

Send your resume and cover letter to our Volunteer Manager, Atalanta Kyriazi, at atalantak@homelessgardenproject.org. Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

We are proud to be an equal opportunity workplace dedicated to cultivating a diverse and inclusive work environment. We strongly encourage people of all races, ethnicities, gender identities, sexualities, classes, and religious identities to apply.