Get involved in Asha Chicago
We are actively looking for volunteers to be a part of Asha Chicago. There are various ways in which you can get involved. Asha Chicago offers opportunities to get involved in the grassroots projects we support in India as well in the process of raising the funds to support these projects.
Do not worry if you feel that you might not be able to meet the time commitment that these tasks ask for. Anyone with a desire to help out with a coordination task can help out depending on your aptitude and time availability. Asha as an organization tries to promote a volunteer spirit based on participation and not fixed roles. Every new volunteer is free to take on, define and participate in his/her role within Asha. You can pick a task which you feel you can do justice to and well, let's rock!
Fill out the Join Asha Chicago form or email us at chicago@ashanet.org.
Being a new volunteer, you can appreciate how important it is to have a new volunteer team, especially having a buddy who can guide you through the initial stages of confusion. We at Asha Chicago understand this and therefore ensure that volunteers work as teams and share tasks. For this, you have to have an open mind, an awareness of what Asha stands for and a belief in Asha's ideologies. You have to interact with new (as well as old!) volunteers and gather their feed back, build an understanding with existing volunteers and be a buddy to new volunteers and make them feel welcome to Asha.
Volunteering positions open in projects
Projects Coordinator
Over the years, Asha Chicago has grown as a chapter and we have taken on more projects. Hence we feel the need for an additional Projects Coordinator to oversee these projects. You would be working closely with our current projects coordinator. The responsibilities include calling for and chairing projects meetings, having monthly conference calls with stewards, keeping track and ensuring all projects are running smoothly and communicating with project stewards to address any pending issues, approving release of funds and requesting treasury to send the funds to projects upon request from project stewards. It is a role that requires a minimum of 2 years commitment.
Project stewardship
The essence of the work that Asha does is stewarding projects. This involves communication with the project partner in India; mostly through telephone or email. It is the project steward's responsibility to ensure that the 'all is well' with the project, it is moving forward, documentation is up-to-date, funds are sent on a timely basis, make the chapter aware of developments in the project, in all be a critical link between the chapter and the project people. It is a continuous process that is spread out through the year.
In 2008, as volunteers transition out, Asha Chicago needs project stewards for a number of its projects. Since establishing a communication and rapport is an integral part of projects and it is very important that the projects people in India and the stewards establish trust and understanding, we require a minimum of 2 years commitment from a project steward.
If working with projects interests and motivates you and you have the time, then here are projects that need project stewards ASAP.
Jyotirgamaya (Katihar, Bihar, India)
The project is located in Katihar district in Bihar. As a result, it is important that the steward can speak [required] and/or read Hindi. We are looking for a co-steward for this project. You would be working with our existing steward.
Asmita (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India)
We are looking for a co-steward for this project. You would be working with our existing steward. Ability to speak Hindi would be helpful.).
Support-a-child program
Sponsor relation
Communicates with sponsors, replying to their general queries and keeping them updated about the status of their sponsored child and provide them with electronic reports and updates. Ability to create newsletters, HTML emails, required. Graphic skills would be useful.
New sponsor assignment
Communicates with new sponsor applicants and assigns children from project to new sponsors. Maintains status of new applications.
Open positions in Fundraising and Publicity
Team Asha Publicity Coordinator
Team Asha is Asha Chicago's marathon/half marathon fundraising program. In order to be able to recruit runners to run and fundraise for Team Asha, we need to publicize the program. This is where the Team Asha Publicity Coordinator steps in.
- This role involves overseeing the publicity efforts of Team Asha.
- It would involve ensuring publicity material is displayed in prominent locations in Chicago.
- You would be responsible for contacting the Asha Chicago volunteers, distributing material to them and ensuring that the material has been displayed in different parts of Chicago.
- You would work closely with Team Asha Coordinators and the Publicity Team.
Networking Committee:
You would be responsible for the following:- Increasing awareness about Asha for education by networking with other organizations in Chicago.
- Contacting various local Indian social and cultural groups in the Chicago land area and coordinating to set up an information booth about Asha at their events
Electronic Marketing group for Team Asha
Looking for 2-3 volunteers specifically focused on the following tasks for Team Asha:
- Spreading Team Asha message through emails to various group (Asha members, past runners, old and new list of Shamrock runners, other runner lists we can get from other sources)
- Contacting other local Indian social and cultural groups in Chicago area and spreading the Team Asha message to their networks.
- Web banner exchanges with other Indian websites in Chicago area.
- Explore the You tube option for web marketing
- Any other thing that we can do on email and websites....
Merchandise
- Strategize the selling of Asha merchandise including t-shirts, mugs, and bags.
- Organize merchandise booths at Chapter and outside events.
- Work with Web team to coordinate selling of merchandise online.
- Stock up Chapter's merchandise as items are depleted
Multimedia content creator
Got a flair for creative work on the computer? We need someone to create videos and interactive presentations for the Chicago Chapter.
Fundraising and Events coordination
Asha Chicago organizes several fund-raiser events which include Team Asha marathon program, musical concerts, Work An Hour, Asha Cup Cricket tournament, Diwali party, Year-end dinner, etc. We always encourage new ideas if somebody wants to propose a new fundraiser for Asha and help coordinate it. The basic duties include coordinating with the web designer and designing flyers/posters, updating information on the website, taking care of venue reservations, ticketing and related paper-work, interfacing with performers, coordinating with event volunteers on the day of the event, etc. Depending on the event in question, the volunteer time varies, but with ample of support from all other volunteers, is an enjoyable experience.
United Way Co-ordinator
A goal for Asha Chicago is to register itself as one of the charity partners of United way of metropolitan Chicago. The person will be responsible for collecting information from local United Ways about the application process and filling up the necessary application forms.
Fill out the Join Asha Chicago form or email us at chicago@ashanet.org.
