Mercy Housing Summer HungerCorps

Mercy Housing Northwest and United Way of King County are partnering together and seeking a team of full-time Summer HungerCorps Associates to end hunger in King County. This team will help families and youth access nutritious food during the summer months. 

Position Title: Summer Associate

Service Dates: June 17, 2024 – August 23, 2024

Mercy Housing Northwest Overview:  

Mercy Housing is redefining affordable, low-income housing. We’re a national nonprofit organization that is working to build a more humane world where communities are healthy, and all people can develop their full potential. 

Mercy Housing is one of the nation’s largest affordable housing organizations. We participate in the development, preservation, management and/or financing of affordable, program-enriched housing across the country. We acquire and renovate existing housing, as well as develop new affordable rental properties. 

United Way of King County:

United Way of King County is working side by side with communities to build an equitable future for everyone by ensuring that everyone has access to resources, quality education, enough to eat, and a safe place to call home. United Way concentrates on issues that affect the most vulnerable and on which it can have measurable influence. Under our priority of breaking the cycle of poverty, we are committed to ensuring that families, especially families of color, have access to nutritious food.

Program Overview:

Access to good food and supportive relationships shouldn't end when school is out. In King County, 100,000 low-income students have access to free meals during the school year, but less than 1 in 5 access free meals served during the summer.

The Free Summer Meals Program is a critical resource to ensure that children continue to have access to summer nutrition support, by serving meals in the places where kids live, learn, and play. National studies show that summer meals programs increase food security and mitigate summer learning loss – but less than 15% of low-income youth in our region access Summer Meals programs each year. This is due to preventable barriers – including too few sites, lack of awareness about the program, and a lack of activities and incentives to engage kids and teens.

Your Role:

This Summer HungerCorps Associate will be part of a passionate cohort of 100 total direct service AmeriCorps members working across King County in partnership with food banks and community-based organizations to connect families with the food they need. Here at Mercy Housing Northwest, you will join four other members in this work to support food security during the summer months in your local area. Our participating locations are in North Seattle: Mercy Magnuson Place and Cedar Crossing, South Seattle: Mercy Othello Plaza and Gardner House, and Kent: Appian Way Apartments. Our Summer Associates will target the barriers to Summer Meals through their service. They will work to implement creative solutions that increase access to the Free Summer Meals program by increasing the days, hours, and frequency of meal site operations, while also facilitating hands-on educational activities to engage youth. Additional duties include conducting grassroots community outreach to get the word out about available food resources, which is imperative in breaking down barriers. At Mercy Housing Northwest we also provide a robust summer programming experience for all school aged youth. You will be working with staff on-site to plan activities, recruit participants, and facilitate summer programming opportunities.  Your service will aid in protecting participation and access to the Summer Meals program and help ensure that our community is able to achieve a just and equitable economic recovery from the pandemic.  

As a part of this team, you will be supported with a robust orientation, ongoing training, and the tools and resources you need to be successful. Full training and certification provided.

Eligibility

• 18 years of age or older on first day of service
• US citizen, US national, or lawful permanent resident. Unfortunately other residency statuses and VISAS are not eligible.
• Available full time (40 hours/week) from June 17, 2024 to August 25, 2024. Hours are typically around Mon-Fri 8am-5pm but may vary by service site.
• Must complete and pass state and federal background checks.
• High school diploma/GED
• As part of the hiring process, all candidates will be asked to complete a screening survey. This survey will confirm eligibility and will ask a few started questions to learn a bit more about you. We will send you the link to the screening survey once we have your application, but you can also get a head start on it here: Summer HungerCorps Associate: Screening Form (google.com)

Desired Qualifications:

• Self-starters who are passionate about supporting their community and public service
• Experience working independently in high-energy environments
• Flexible, resourceful, and adaptable
• Ability to build relationships and effectively communicate information to a broad audience, including conducting outreach to parents, youth and other community members
• Experience working with diverse populations and an ability to apply a racial equity lens towards anti-hunger work
• Second language skill (especially Spanish, Somali, Amharic, Vietnamese, Tagalog, Russian, or Ukrainian) is highly desirable so that we can offer services to families in their preferred or native languages.

Members will frequently move or lift boxes weighing up to 30 pounds. This position may frequently involve service in outdoor weather conditions, and may involve standing, walking, or moving around the service location for the duration of a shift. This position frequently communicates with staff and community members, and must be able to exchange accurate information.

• Bi-weekly living allowance of $1,303.70 (pre-tax)
• Eligible to receive AmeriCorps Segal Education Award of $1,459.26 after successful completion of your Service Term.
• Unlimited ORCA Lift public transit pass
• Mileage reimbursement for travel between service sites (when applicable)
• Receive your Food Handler's permit and other professional development trainings
• Become part of the AmeriCorps Network and part of a high-impact team
• Receive special consideration for United Way's year-long AmeriCorps teams - positions beginning in Fall 2024.