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Year-Round Internships

Applicants

Project Transformation is a faith-based year-round service program for young adults who have completed at least their freshman year of college and are seeking a year of service internship in Dallas, Texas. The interns will develop and implement programming for children and youth. They will also grow in their faith journey and explore ministry opportunities. The service experience is hands-on with the young people working in teams and connecting children from diverse cultural, social, and economic backgrounds with many adult volunteers; therefore, strong interpersonal skills, flexibility, and motivation are important.

Year-round Service Experience

Project Transformation offers both part-time and full-time positions. Both will focus on:

  • After-school programming
    During the school year, Project Transformation interns lead after-school programs which serve children and youth. Daily activities include homework assistance, physical recreation activities, and rotational weekly lessons including nutrition, arts and crafts, Bible lesson, or computer.

Full-time service also includes the following components:

  • Community Development
    Full-time individuals will develop the resources needed to provide monthly “Family Fun Nights," which occur once per month. These evening events engage the participating children, their families, the site church congregation, and other members of the community. A Family Fun Night typically includes a healthy meal, games, a performance by the children, and a time for community fellowship. Outside of the after-school program hours, the interns meet with parents of participants, make visits to area schools, meet with community leaders, and develop relationships with neighborhood leaders.
  • Summer Day Camp
    During the summer program, Project Transformation interns work in teams of 6-9 team members, while serving in an eight-week summer day camp for 60-75 elementary children and youth. Sites are located in urban churches or at local community center. Components of the program include: Bible lessons, arts and crafts, music, recreational activities, and other activities in which the gifts and talents of the interns can be shared with the children.
  • Spiritual Development
    Project Transformation invests in the spiritual development of each intern, opening their eyes to the needs and opportunities for ministry. The program helps interns learn to build a community of support through worship, Bible study, and outside speakers. Interns participate in a weekly worship session as well as short morning devotions each day before heading to the program sites. Young adults are encouraged to examine their personal beliefs through intellectual and spiritual discussions.
  • Church Involvement
    During the summer, the interns will participate in worship and Sunday School at their site church with their team. This is an opportunity to connect the children that attend the day camp and their families with the church family. Through regular church attendance the interns will generate a volunteer core with the congregation members to bring continuity to programs and relationships established over the summer. Also the interns will create a link between the partner churches (often their home church) and the host churches (the church in which they are assigned) by recruiting volunteers to read with the children that attend the day camp, collecting supplies for the program, and sharing the stories of their experience.
  • Career Exploration
    The interns are exposed to various avenues of lay and ordained ministry through guest speakers, field trips, and interactions with church leaders. Guest speakers are from the various United Methodist institutions: Southern Methodist University, Methodist Health System, North Texas Conference of the United Methodist Church, Perkins School of Theology, Texas Methodist Foundation, UMR Communication, and more.

Requirements

  • The successful year-round applicant will be a highly motivated and engaging individual. An interest in ministry as well as children and youth is preferred.
  • The dates for the year-round service are September 1, 2008- August 15, 2009. This includes eight months of after-school programming, 8 weeks of summer day camp, and one week of overnight urban camp at Bridgeport Camp & Conference Center. School year-only part-time positions are also available with service dates of September 1, 2008 - May 15, 2009.
  • Project Transformation year-round participants typically do not hold commitments outside of this experience. Many part-time interns are also currently attending school.
  • Interns participate in a training week at the beginning of each semester followed by four months of after-school programming.
  • Regularly, interns can participate in a group Bible study & worship time.
  • During the summer program, the interns experience worship and explore different careers in service through a dialogue with lay and ordained leadership of various partnering non-profit organizations and United Methodist institutions.
  • Throughout the year, the intern speaks to his/her site church and other area partnering groups about the service experience - this could be to a Sunday school group, the congregation, youth group, business group or other.

The time expectations can be great, but the potential for personal rewards that come from this kind of commitment are even greater. While much is expected of each intern, much is given in return in the form of love from the kids, support and fun from living in a community, and the energy that comes from working with God foremost in mind. You never really know how much you can receive until you truly give.

Compensation

Full-time service

$11,400 living stipend- paycheck, $4,725 education voucher (issued by AmeriCorps after completed term of service and available to be used during/after the spring semester following the year-round position), and reduced-rate housing upon availability. Also included is health insurance.

Part-time service:

September - August: $5,771 living stipend- paycheck, $2,362.50 education voucher (issued by AmeriCorps after completed term of service and available to be used during/after the spring semester following the year-round position), and reduced-rate housing upon availability.

Quarter-time service:

September - May: $2,900 living stipend-paycheck, $1,250 education voucher (issued by AmeriCorps after completed term of service and available to be used during/after the spring semester following the year-round position), and reduced-rate housing upon availability.

Minimum-time service:

September - May:  $1,200 education voucher (issued by AmeriCorps after completing term of service and available to be used during/after the spring semester following the year-round position) plus any compensation paid through the Federal Work-study program.

Application Procedure

Each applicant proceeds by filling out the application for year-round position, including the reference letters. After the application has been turned in, the Project Transformation office will contact the applicant for an interview.