The Open Hands program is full for 2019. Check back with us in 2020!
If you’re an Orange County student between the ages of 15-19, you’re invited to apply annually for our summer high school internship program. The 2019 program includes the chance to:
- Learn farming, culinary, and community-building skills, while making good food accessible to your community.
- Receive competitive hourly pay ($9/hr) and enhance your resume, college application, or scholarship essays.
- Work and learn for seven weeks, June 26-August 9. You’ll work three days a week Wed-Fri, from 8 a.m.-4 p.m, committing to a total of 140 hours. Thursday and Friday afternoons are designated for extra time learning about farming, including cooking workshops and field trips to other farms.
- Get to be outdoors and work collaboratively with other students and adult farmers, including students from Sankofa Farms! We’re partnering with the Sankofa Farms Agricultural Academy this summer, so that Anathoth and Sankofa youth can work and learn together.
We may also contact you for a follow-up phone interview, if necessary.
MORE DETAILS ABOUT THE 2019 PROGRAM
WHAT: Paid educational internship program at Anathoth Community Farm & Garden. Interns, ages 15-19, learn gardening, culinary, and community building skills while making good food accessible to the community through a Community Supported Agriculture Program called HarvestShare.
WHEN: June 26-August 9, 2019. The work week runs Wednesday-Friday. Hours are 8 a.m. – 4 p.m. Afternoons are generally designated for educational time, including field trips and cooking workshops, with the Sankofa Farms crew.
WHY: Receive competitive hourly pay, for working up to 140 hours. You’ll enhance your resume, college application, or scholarship essays. You’ll have the opportunity to be outdoors and work collaboratively with other interns.
FAQs
1.) Can you explain more about the work schedule?
Here’s the general schedule you’ll commit to working:
Wednesday:
8 am – 12:30: Both Open Hands and Sankofa work together at Anathoth’s farm
12:30 – 1:30 pm: Lunch
1:30 – 4 pm: Both Open Hands and Sankofa youth work together at Sankofa farm (an Anathoth staff would join, to comply with our policy)
Thursday:
8 am – 12:30: Groups separate for the morning — Open Hands youth work at Anathoth, Sankofa youth at Sankofa (*OR Anathoth youth and an Anathoth adult staff could also join the Sankofa crew on Sankofa farm projects if there is work that Sankofa needs more hands on deck to do)
12:30 – 1:30 pm: Lunch together
1:30 – 3 pm: Curriculum time together
3 – 4 pm: Open Hands and Sankofa youth help pack CSA boxes at garden (if there’s time after the curriculum)
Friday:
8 am – 12:30: Both Open Hands and Sankofa work together at Anathoth’s farm
12:30 – 1:30 pm: Lunch together
1:30 – 4 pm: Educational time: Could include extra curriculum time, group discussion, cooking workshops, and/or field trips, depending on the week
2.) Why do I need to commit to 140 hours?
The commitment gives you flexibility! We want to make sure everyone on the crew commits to working consistently with us throughout the summer (your work is an important part of the whole), but we understand that you may need to miss some days. With over 168 hours available to work throughout the seven weeks, you’ll have ample opportunity to complete 140 and still leave room for time to take a day or even week off if you need to rest, go on vacation, etc.
3.) Do I need to let Anathoth coordinators if I’m going to miss a day?
Yes! Since the internship is geared to prepare you for future jobs, we ask you to communicate and stay accountable to your commitment. Unless you’re missing a day because of a sudden emergency, you will need to let us know 24 hours in advance if you have to miss a day.
4.) Who should I get to write a reference letter for me?
We ask that reference letters come from non-relatives only. This includes but is not limited to teachers, coaches, pastors, Scout leaders, employers, etc.
5.) Do I qualify if I turn 15 after the program starts?
Yes, but please understand that this program is designated for older teens this season. Therefore, only those who are 15 and older, or are turning 15 before the program ends July 30, will be considered.
6.) Can I still participate if I have an intellectual or physical disability?
Yes — we are here to provide a meaningful and purposeful experience to students who want to be part of the work and community. However, we will ask that you provide us with all of the information we need to accommodate your participation, in order to make this experience safe and affirming for everyone. Therefore, please be prepared to give us a detailed information about how we should take your disability into consideration this season (where applicable, i.e. prescriptions, allergies, particular people or situations that might trigger a reaction, and of course emergency contact information).
7.) Can I still participate if I’m graduating from high school this year?
Yes, absolutely, and congratulations. The only caveat is that if you have fall plans that are not local (i.e college orientation, summer sports training, out-of-town employment), then you will need to make sure you can complete 140 hours before you leave.
PROGRAM HISTORY
Engaging youth has been an integral part of Anathoth’s mission since day one. Originating as a partnership with Orange County’s Volunteers for Youth Juvenile Community Services and Restitution Program , which “works with young people who have been court ordered to complete community service hours,” we have worked to equip youth with the skills and knowledge to be leaders for health in their own community.
In 2008, a generous grant from Heifer International, enabled us to expand our effort to empower teenagers by granting us the money to start Open Hands (formerly Manos Abiertos).
Check out the story by clicking this link.
For the past five seasons Open Hands has hired teens and paid them fair compensation — while interns have learned how to grow and prepare food, business marketing skills through managing a Community Supported Agriculture program, personal finance management with bi-weekly paychecks, and how to work collaboratively with a diverse group of people. Additionally, Open Hands teens have attended a national conference called Rooted In Community for teens involved in food justice work, where they have hosted workshops including how to install a “food forest” and have co-drafted a Youth Food Bill of Rights demanding a more just food economy for their generation.
Since the beginning of the garden, we have worked with well over 100 teenagers from Volunteers for Youth. Since 2008, we have worked with over 55 youth in the Open Hands program.
We are excited to hire another crew of interns for the 2019 season!