Catalytic Communities is a Rio de Janeiro-based not-for-profit organization working to recognize, share, strengthen and project community solutions from Rio and around the world.
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Volunteer Opportunities & Internships

Volunteer


CatComm needs you! Whether working directly with community organizations in Rio de Janeiro to help build their local efforts, or with our staff providing translation, outreach, or blogging support… we need you either in person or through the Web!


Our volunteers and interns* have been fundamental in CatComm’s success.  Our small staff is focused on helping grassroots projects gain access to global networks that bring them visibility, diverse networks, media exposure and organizational capacity.  Our approach to action and growth emphasizes these networks, where the more effort is placed and more volunteers are involved, the greater the impact of our work for our community members.


Volunteering with us is easy!  You can be in front of your computer, anywhere, translating community solutions into your native language.  Or, if you’re visiting Rio, we’ll help you visit and develop a relationship with a local organization on-the-ground, that you can volunteer with while you’re here and continue supporting when you return home.  Finally, if you speak some Portuguese and plan to spend at least 3 months in Rio, we can use your help to develop CatComm’s on-the-ground work with communities across the city.


Here is what we need help with now:

  • Translators - We are in constant search of effective translators between English, Portuguese and Spanish.  If you are fluent in any two of these languages, please be in touch.  We can use your help.
  • Designers - Having a couple of designers we can call on to prepare a poster, event logo, or other outreach material is essential.  If you believe in what we do and have design expertise, please let us know.
  • Video Editing – After 10 years we find ourselves with a lot of unorganized video footage.  If you have experience with video, please consider helping us organize, store, edit and post this footage online.  In the process, whatever is learned can be published on our Portuguese Capacity-Building blog for community organizers to use in converting and sharing their own video footage.
  • Journalists - Help us develop our efforts to bring positive media attention to grassroots solutions from stigmatized communities in Rio de Janeiro and around the world.  We need support to develop an outreach strategy to journalists, a database of communications professionals, a growing pool of positive stories, and a system for recording it all.
  • Researchers - University students working on M.A. and Ph.D. research projects should get in touch with us to help them access communities of interest in Rio de Janeiro, who could benefit from such studies.  CatComm can also use direct support by university researchers in developing and conducting evaluation of our activities.
  • Solutions Bloggers – Our Solutions Blog is written by blogging volunteers who post solutions stories from communities in Rio de Janeiro and around the world.  Write stories for our Solutions Blog and help work to reverse the stigma associated with low-income communities across the world.
  • Capacity-Building Bloggers - Our Portuguese-language Capacity-Building Blog provides insight directed to community organizers in Rio de Janeiro, to support them in strengthening local efforts.  If you are an avid Internet user and would like to blog recommendations on tools that can be used by these communities to grow their networks and bring more visibility to their efforts, please contact us.
  • Online Group Facilitators – Facilitate and participate in our online community at WiserEarth.  This is a way to support and get engaged with a diverse group of local community leaders from Rio de Janeiro and around the world.
  • Spread the word! – Tweet us, blog about us, share our links with others.  Get involved in our WiserEarth Group.  We can also use the help of experienced techies in identifying ways to increase and improve our Web presence through SEO and other means.  Most importantly, share us with community organizers in your region who may have limited access to technology.
  • Community Support – Work directly to support and learn from the community initiatives listed in the Community Solutions Database! These projects need support in a variety of areas, from an extra set of hands for activities with children, to professional expertise from doctors and lawyers.  Fundraising support is always welcome, and we encourage volunteers with our community partners to continue supporting them when they leave, by hosting fundraisers back home.  Rio-based volunteers may be eligible for free room and board through our partner Alpha Hostel.



How do I become a volunteer?

Please send us an email entitled “Volunteer” or “Internship” to volunteer@catcomm.org, specifying:

  • What you’d like to do and where from – Take a look at the list above for ideas…
  • How much time you can offer – How many hours can you realistically offer each week over how long a period of time?
  • How you learned about us – Idealist? Google? A friend? At a conference? From a staffperson? From another volunteer?
  • What experience you have – Please attach your CV to your message

Note that all these pieces of information are necessary.

 

We look forward to welcoming you!

 

*Rio-based volunteers and interns may be eligible for a CatComm-sponsored volunteer visa and free room and board through our partner Alpha Hostel centrally located in Botafogo.  Internships are unpaid unless otherwise stated.