Get Involved

“If there is to be an ecologically sound society, it will have to come from the grass roots up, not from the top down."- Paul Hawken

Appalachian Voices needs your help fighting for clean air, promoting sustainable forestry and ending mountaintop removal in central and southern Appalachia. Volunteers are needed to help with a variety of tasks in the office. Volunteers are welcome during business hours, Monday through Friday. We also have a once a week volunteer night to coincide with the ASU academic calendar.

Interns are tasked with completion of a special project and participate in the day-to-day operations of a campaign. Although there is no stipend provided for internships, Appalachian Voices will reimburse prior-approved expenses. Oftentimes, students can earn academic credit while completing an internship with us. At the completion of the internship, the intern will receive a complimentary year’s membership to Appalachian Voices. A letter of recommendation is available upon request.

If you are interested in volunteering or interning with us, please fill out our online volunteer form.

During the fall and spring semesters, Appalachian Voices hosts occasional volunteer nights from 6 to 8:30pm. On volunteer nights, volunteers work on campaigns assisting campaign coordinators with various grassroots organizing tasks. Volunteer nights are a great way to experience the excitement of a campaign, learn valuable community organizing skills, and meet new people. Added bonus: FREE PIZZA!

During spring 2010, we will be hosting volunteer nights on a “as needed” basis and those who have signed up as a volunteer will receive email notifications when we schedule one.

To get email updates about volunteer nights, please fill out our online volunteer form.

Intern activities include:
• Write a grant proposal for one of our three area programs: mountaintop removal, clean air program, sustainable forestry.
• Assist Associate Director to develop a successful strategy to retain and acquire business members.
• Begin preliminary work for our Annual Pickin’ for the Mountains fundraiser; acquiring donated raffle and silent auction items.
• Expand Business League advertising in the Appalachian Voice through direct mail, phone calls, or canvassing.
• Assist in general membership development through renewal mailings, acquisition mailings, tabling at events and other tasks as assigned.


Skills/Qualifications:
• Commitment to environmental issues in Appalachian Region
• Excellent research, communication, organizational and leadership skills
• Detail oriented
• Ability to meet deadlines and work well in a fast-paced office
• Excellent leadership skills
• Perform duties with minimal supervision
• A well-developed sense of humor

The Program Assistant will help with all of our major campaigns, including but not limited to ending mountaintop removal coal mining, clean air and sustainable forestry.

Intern activities include, but are not limited to:

• Process Mountaintop Removal Action Kits
• Research community organizations in target congressional districts for mountaintop removal presentation tours
• Assist with the Appalachian Treasures Project by contacting potential hosts for mountaintop removal presentations
• Upkeep of social networking websites for iLoveMountains.org, such as MySpace.com and Facebook
• Process “Managing Your Woodlands” Handbook requests
• Assist in phone and email communications with activists in regards to our various campaigns.
• Answer phones
• Assist in answering general inquiries through email and the phone
• Assist in membership development
• Assist in upkeep of various databases, including volunteer, mtr & sustainable forestry
• Write and upload blog posts on various topics
• Help organize volunteer nights
• Help to recruit & manage volunteers.

Skills/Qualifications:
• Strong research skills
• Committed to environmental issues in Appalachian Region
• Detail orientated
• Strong communication skills
• Can meet deadlines and work well in a fast-paced office
• Sense of humor

Project Description: The online organizer will be responsible for maintaining and promoting the Appalachian Voices’ Front Porch Blog, developing, maintaining and activating our online social networks, and researching online other outlets to promote our work and organization, particularly for www.iLoveMountains.org, an action and resource center for our mountaintop removal campaign. 

With guidance from the staff, the intern will organize an exclusive online organizing event for social networks and other influential blogs. Examples include having a web-exclusive song about mountaintop removal to download, or a phone speech by a celebrity about mountaintop removal.


This internship position includes the following activities:

• Researching and posting events, articles, videos and other relevant items to the Front Porch Blog
• Accepting and inviting friends, posting blog items, posting bulletins, answering emails on our MySpace & Facebook pages
• Regularly adding books relevant to our work and to our region on our Shelfari page
• Creating “Thanks for the add” and other web stickers for MySpace.
• Blogging about our work on other influential websites
• Organize an “online event” to encourage online activists to take action on mountaintop removal.

Skills/Qualifications:

• Commitment to environmental issues in Appalachian Region
• Excellent research, communication, and organizational skills
• Strong writing skills
• Ability to meet deadlines and work well in a fast-paced office
• Knowledge and experience with blogs and social networks
• Savvy internet skills
• Perform duties with minimal supervision
• A well-developed sense of humor
• Computer and design knowledge highly preferred
• Knowledge of HTML code highly preferred

The Outreach Assistant will be responsible for assisting our Field Coordinator in educating the public about and promoting our organization and program work.  This includes finding and setting up information tables at different events, producing quality outreach materials, and communicating with our members, volunteers and activists.

The Outreach Assistant may also help with our Appalachian Treasures Project, our targeted outreach program to educate and activate citizens across the United States about mountaintop removal coal mining. This position may require travel, which will paid for by Appalachian Voices.

Intern activities may include, but are not limited to:

• Finding and signing up for booths at festivals in the region
• Recruiting volunteers to help run the table
• Updating our Appalachian Treasures Hosting Kit, Mountaintop Removal Action Kit, and our mountaintop removal press briefing book
• Possible creation of new outreach materials
• Assisting with our Appalachian Voice Paper Distribution
• Setting up and speaking out presentations on mountaintop removal in the area
• Communicating with members, volunteer and activists when need be


Skills/Qualifications:

• Commitment to environmental issues in Appalachian Region
• Excellent organizational and leadership skills
• Detail oriented
• Ability to meet deadlines and work well in a fast-paced office
• Strong communication skills
• Perform duties with minimal supervision
• A well-developed sense of humor
• Computer and design knowledge preferred

Project Description: The Mountaintop Removal Campaign Assistant will help with 2 major components of our Mountaintop Removal Campaign- our Annual Week in Washington (spring only) and our Appalachian Treasures Project.

Our Week in Washington bring citizens from all the United States to Washington, DC to advance the Clean Water Protection Act in Congress. Our Appalachian Treasures Project is our targeted outreach program to educate and activate citizens across the United States about mountaintop removal coal mining.

Intern activities include, but are not limited to:

• Research and contact community organizations in target congressional districts for Appalachian Treasures tours
• Keep in contact with Appalachian Treasures hosts as they organize Appalachian Treasures presentation
• Mailing out host kits to Appalachian Treasures hosts
• Update online calendar of Appalachian Treasures presentations on our website
• Work with Appalachian Voices’ staff to plan and implement a national lobby week in Washington, DC
• Recruit Appalachian Voices’ members and volunteers across the country and in the coalfield to participate in the lobby week
• Develop training schedule, materials, and speakers for our participants for Week in Washington

Skills/Qualifications:

• Committed to environmental issues in Appalachian Region
• Detail orientated
• Great communication skills- ability to make cold calls
• Organizational skills
• Can meet deadlines and work well in a fast-paced office
• Sense of humor
• Excitement to learn about the inner workings of non-profits
• Use of Microsoft Office Suite (word, Excel, etc)

Our able bodied editor can always use help in creating the publication we fondly refer to as “The Voice.” Writing articles, soliciting advertisements, editing, procuring photographs and artwork, and general office work are appreciated. Timeline: Bi-monthly.

We need your help to stop Mountaintop Removal. EVERYONE with the desire to create change can help. Volunteer opportunities include writing letters to the editor of your local newspaper and hosting a presentation of our “Appalachian Treasures” slideshow. Volunteer opportunities can be either in-office or at your home. They can be on a one-time, as available, or recurring basis.

Project Description: The Website Development Assistant will work closely with Appalachian Voices’ Conservation Director and IT Specialist to develop new web-based applications for our database of coal production and consumption across the US.  Specific projects will include updating and enhancing our existing Google Maps-based project, My Connection, and developing new map-based projects onwww.AppalachianVoices.org to show where new coal-fired power plants across the country, if built, are likely to source their coal.  This intern will also be responsible for updating and overhauling sections of the Appalachian Voices website.

This internship position includes the following activities:

• Produce a new Google Maps based project on the Appalachian Voices website showing the locations of proposed new coal-fired power plants and which mining regions they are likely to source their coal from.
• Update the look and functionality of the Air Pollution section of www.AppalachianVoices.org.
• Miscellaneous tasks to update and enhance the My Connection section of iLoveMountains.org


Skills/Qualifications:

• Commitment to environmental issues in Appalachian Region
• Excellent research, communication, and organizational skills
• Detail oriented
• Ability to meet deadlines and work well in a fast-paced office
• Knowledge in website development
• Basic competence with web programming languages such as HTML, PHP and MySQL
• Perform duties with minimal supervision
• A well-developed sense of humor

Volunteers are needed to distribute copies of the Appalachian Voice to regions in town and distant from Boone, our headquarters. Transportation is required. Timeline: Bi-monthly.