Ride for the Future!

Ride for the Future!

Where: Louisiana and Texas

Program Dates: May 20th-July 29th

• Learn community organizing

• Become a stronger leader

• Spend your summer on a bicycle, traveling across the Gulf Coast

• Learn from and connect with community leaders

• Inspire others to take action to live their values more deeply

• Learn from Environmental Justice communities and grassroots organizations

• Highlight how communities are already building a better future and moving beyond fossil fuels through the press, blogging, and other social media

• Bike to ExxonMobil's Headquarters and ask them to join the movement for a better future!

To Apply: http://rideforthefuture.org/apply-2/

Program Description:

Ride for the Future is a leadership development program for young adults who learn by doing. Participants engage communities in Louisiana and Texas as educators, activists, and organizers as they travel exclusively by bicycle, calling for action on climate change and fossil fuels in communities across the region.

Ride for the Future riders work in small teams, connecting with, learning from, and supporting community leaders who are actively addressing society's addiction to fossil fuels by crafting local solutions that strengthen communities. Riders bring with them a movement-building perspective, empowering those they meet and helping to highlight the important work of partner organizations by attracting local media attention and generating social media content.

Who can apply?

The programs is open to all young adults (general age range of 18-25). You do not need to be attending/have attended college to apply. Older applicants who are currently full-time students will be considered. We encourage you to apply early, as the program will be filled as soon as we admit a sufficient number of diverse and qualified applicants.

Internship Credit and Funding

Housing and food are provided to all interns for the duration of our Summer Programs. Better Future Project Summer Programs do not offer a paid stipend, though limited funds are available to help qualified applicants who require financial assistance in order to participate. Many colleges and universities offer stipends to students participating in unpaid internships. We encourage you to research what funding options are available to you. Internship and course credits may be available, based upon individual college and university policies.

Training

Better Future Project Summer Programs begin with approximately ten days of intensive training. Interns will learn the nuts and bolts for a successful summer, as well as developing community organizing skills under the guidance of experienced climate movement leaders. Our organizing model emphasizes building relationships with diverse constituencies, training for leadership development, and practical application of movement building tools, such as working toward goals using a campaign structure and developing and sharing public narratives that motivate ourselves and others to take action.

The trainings will also include basic skills, such as working with media, running effective team meetings and, of course, bike safety and maintenance.

Responsibilities

Summer Programs interns work together in small teams. Ride for the Future participants work in groups of five or six with a trained team leader, biking from town to town across Louisiana and Texas, from New Orleans to Dallas. Each team visits approximately 7 communities, spending close to a week in each location. Interns commit to travel exclusively by bicycle and hauling their own gear. Past experience traveling long distances by bicycle is not a formal requirement though advance preparation is recommended. Teams form intensive communities, living and working together sustainably. Teams are housed by community partners, primarily in houses of worship. Teams grocery shop, cook and clean for themselves.

The Experience

No two days of our programs are exactly alike, just as no two communities are exactly alike. Once a team bikes into a community, riders might spend their time meeting with a diverse group of community members, attending public events (including farmers' markets, festivals, and city council meetings), co-sponsoring events and workshops with community, business, and municipal groups, and cataloging the important work is happening in each town through interviews with local leaders. Riders work with communities to connect the diverse constituencies within the emerging grassroots movement, as well as supporting and enhancing the local solutions already underway in those communities. Often, teams engage in direct service, skill sharing, and/or raising the profile of existing local solutions and policy advocacy projects through earned media, social networking, and public events.

Qualifications and Requirements

Successful applicants will:

• have a passion to make a difference in the world
• be eager to expand their skill sets and experience as organizers and movement leaders
• be interested in social justice, re-localization, climate stability, public health, public policy, and/or environmental justice
• bring existing skills and knowledge (for instance video editing, photography, music, art, cooking, navigation, public speaking, etc.)
• have experience or a desire to gain experience in community organizing
• be 18-25 years of age, and/or a full-time student (high school graduates who are not yet 18 will be considered)
• be willing to dedicate the full internship period to living, working, and socializing with their teammates (Better Future Project Summer Programs offer an immersion experience. It is not possible to hold another job or internship concurrently.)
• be comfortable sharing living space, sleeping on the floor and developing a community within the team
• be prepared to grocery shop, cook, clean, and take on the responsibilities that come with living independently with a group of peers

Participants need to bring:

• a bicycle, bicycle lock, and helmet for use during the internship (some assistance may be available if this is a barrier)
• a laptop computer and a cell phone (some assistance may be available if this is a barrier)
• basic gear, such as a backpack, sleeping bag, etc. (see the Draft Packing LIst and Gear Guide; some assistance may be available if any of these items are a barrier)

Questions? Contact us at summerprograms@betterfutureproject.org

FMI, visit: rideforthefuture.org