Miracle Messages - Student Opportunities
Hi, M23!
This post is one of a collection of opportunities for you to contribute and connect with Civic Partners in San Francisco.
A couple of things I'd like you to do with each opportunity that comes out:
1. Read the background information for each partner THOROUGHLY. This will help you get a feel for what the Civic Partner's mission and objectives are, details about the kind of opportunities they will be offering, and most importantly, how much time and effort you will have to commit if you choose to work together with them. We have important relationships with each of our partners and we want you all to conduct yourselves in a professional and considerate manner. Even if these are *just* volunteer opportunities, do take them seriously and give your best effort!
2. Once you've decided interest in an opportunity, sign up on the Google Sheet included in each post, providing your name and Minerva email, as well as indicating what kinds of opportunities you're interested in. This will help you stay in the loop with any updates the Civic Partner may have with upcoming opportunities. If you have any further concerns or questions, feel free to email me or send me a message. I'll collect any queries and forward them to the Civic Partner concerned.
That's it! Do take this as a really cool chance for you to make a mark in SF, or just try dipping your toes into new activities you may not have had the chance to before. With that, here's the info on Miracle Messages.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miracle Messages is a nonprofit reunion service for our neighbors experiencing homelessness to reconnect with their loved ones. Our approach is simple and effective: a person isolated by homelessness records a short video, audio, or text message to a family member or friend, often from a local referral partner or with the help of a trained volunteer. Then, our network of "Miracle Messengers" attempt to locate the loved one, deliver the Miracle Message, and reunite the family. We bridge the human interaction divide for those who need it most.
We offer a humane way to help end homelessness: reconnect families, shatter stigmas, and empower local residents and partners to get involved. To date, Miracle Messages' volunteers and referral partners have reunited 240 families, with an average time disconnected of 20 years, using our mobile app, online and paper-based forms, and 1-800-MISS-YOU hotline. 80% of delivered messages have been positively received, and dozens of reunions have resulted in getting a client off-the-streets, all at a fraction of the cost of other interventions.
We believe that everyone is someone's somebody. Our content has received over 100 million views. Our work has been featured in the New York Times, NPR, Brut, on a billboard in Times Square, NowThis, and 600 other publications. Founder Kevin F. Adler started Miracle Messages in honor of his uncle, who lived on-and-off the streets for 30 years – watch the TED talk here. Miracle Messages is on a mission to end relational poverty on the streets and, in the process, inspire people everywhere to embrace their homeless neighbors not as problems to be solved, but as people to be loved.
HOW TO GET INVOLVED IN MIRACLE MESSAGES:
- Fill out the get involved form on our website: miraclemessages.org/getinvolved
- Want to help locate long-lost loved ones and deliver messages? Join us on Wednesdays at 5:30pm PT or 6:30pm PT for our weekly Case Solving Community call. Sign up on the Minerva student sign up sheet, and fill out the above get involved form.
- Want to meet your homeless neighbors and record messages? Join us in SAN FRANCISCO at 6:30pm PT on the second Thursday of each month (Oct 10, Nov 14, Dec 12...) for our monthly service event at Dolores Street Community Services shelter (1050 S Van Ness Ave, San Francisco), and/or join us in OAKLAND at 5:30pm PT on the second Saturday of each month (Oct 12, Nov 16, Dec 14...) for our monthly service event at CityTeam Oakland (722 Washington St, Oakland). Both locations are BART accessible. Sign up on the Minerva student sign up sheet, and fill out the above get involved form.
Finally, our full event calendar is here: https://miraclemessages.org/events. Take a look, sign up to get involved on our website, and let us know what additional interests you may have on the Minerva student sign up sheet. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO SIGN UP ON BOTH THE GET INVOLVED FORM AND THE SPREADSHEET SO WE CAN BE AWARE ABOUT WHICH STUDENTS ARE INTERESTED WITH WORKING WITH MIRACLE MESSAGES.
Onwards,
Carlos