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Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens

BEETS Program Volunteer Description - CommunityGrows, a project of the TIDES Center

Title: BEETS Program Volunteer
Classifications: Volunteer
Compensation: None
Hours: Part-Time, as scheduled

Our summer session runs June 10 - August 7, 2014

Program Hours: School Year - Tues/Thurs 3:45pm - 5:45pm; 1-3 Saturdays/month
Summer Session - Tues/Thurs 12pm-3pm; 1-2 Saturdays/month
Additional hours and days, as scheduled
3 Sessions/Year - Fall, Spring, Summer

Location: Primary - Hayes Valley Youth Center; Koshland Garden
Additional Locations may include - Rosa Parks Elementary, John Muir Elementary,
Hayward Rec, Ella Hill Hutch, Cobb Elementary, Westside Community Services, Booker
T., AAACC, other locations throughout the Western Addition.
Field Trips throughout the San Francisco Bay Area

Reports To: BEETS Program Manager
____________________________________________________________________________________

ABOUT US
CommunityGrows cultivates healthy youth by growing gardens in low-income, diverse communities. We
are an environmental education non-profit, fiscally sponsored by the TIDES Center, serving high-needs youth,
especially those living in public housing in San Francisco. Youth acquire the necessary skills to live a healthy life
through garden education, nutritious cooking and eating, and green job training. We are based in the Western
Addition and partner with elementary schools and numerous youth serving organizations to meet our mission.

BEETS (Band of Environmentally Educated and Employable Teens) is a green job training program of
CommunityGrows. The BEETS is a stipend training program serving 30 at-risk teens each year, aged 15-19, and
is located in San Francisco, California. The program supports youth to: acquire a core set of job readiness skills
for the workforce, specifically the green economy; cultivate leadership and interpersonal skills; and develop a
commitment to environmental stewardship and food justice. During their internship, BEETS gain experience
working in community gardens and parks, designing and building gardens, learn basic garden maintenance, and
assist with CommunityGrows garden education classes for school aged youth. BEETS also attend job readiness
and environmental education workshops lead by agency staff and bay area experts; and attend field trips to gain
exposure to future career paths and opportunities.

VOLUNTEER DESCRIPTION
We are seeking Adult Volunteers for the BEETS Program, a positive youth development program that provides
opportunities for urban teenagers in San Francisco to build the professional skills necessary for successful future
employment and careers, using the environment and green jobs as context. The BEETS Program provides
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inner-city youth with positive supports and challenging opportunities to build the skills and motivations to become
confident, capable individuals prepared for the future. It is very important that you can relate to youth and families
from a diversity of backgrounds and can demonstrate your experience as such.

Responsibilities
! Assist with Garden, Environmental Education, and Green Job Readiness Curriculum
! Provide a safe, secure space for youth to share, learn, and grow
! Communicate with BEETS and CommunityGrows Staff on a consistent basis
! Assist with lessons, service projects, garden workdays, community events, workshops, field trips
! Assist with supervision of skills training, safety, and tool use.
! Model positive and proactive attitudes, behavior, dress code, and language use
! Other Tasks, as agreed upon

Qualifications
! Age 21+
! Full commitment to all agreed upon dates, showing up on time, and staying for entire duration of shift.
! Great passion for working with youth
! Strong skills or experience working with diverse youth from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds
! Experience and/or interest in gardening, environmental education, green job training, landscape/garden
design, horticulture, food justice, environmental literacy,
! Commitment to CommunityGrows organizational values - interdependence, stewardship, environmental
justice, kindness, excellence, and fun!
! Must be able to be fingerprinted, pass a live background check, and provide a TB skin Test
! Current CPR and First Aid Certification, or able to obtain
! Ability to lift up to 40 lbs and work in a variety of weather conditions

Desired
! Experience living and/or working in the Western Addition

Typical Working Conditions
Participation in this program requires frequent lifting and carrying, pushing and pulling, twisting and turning,
kneeling, squatting, standing, bending, and reaching; it also requires occasional walking on uneven or slippery
surfaces. Typical working conditions constantly involve working outdoors in all types of terrain and in all types of
weather conditions.

CommunityGrows actively seeks candidates who reflect the diversity of our Western Addition community and who
will be role models for our youth.

If you are interested in this Volunteer Opportunity, please contact:

Melissa Tang
BEETS Program Manager
melissa@communitygrows.org