VOLUNTEERING
Put your gifts to good use and experience the joy of offering selfless service to the greater good in a supportive community.
Highlights:
Give your time to help bring an amazing school to life
Get a taste of the theory and practice of sustainability
Connect with our community of kindred spirits
Enjoy healthy food & lifestyle
Learn by doing meaningful work
SERVICE LEARNING: A WIN-WIN
All of us at Earthville are volunteers. We offer volunteer service because we care for others and the planet, and in doing so we care for ourselves.
The essence of volunteering is unselfish service toward a greater good, but the benefits for the volunteers themselves are profound. The opportunity to offer some small, humble service to something greater than ourselves deepens our learning and brings meaning and fulfillment to our lives.
“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”
— Rabindranath Tagore
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”
— M.K. Gandhi
Contemplative service learning
Wouldn’t it be ideal if we also were able to learn and grow while we serve?
This is the idea behind what we call “contemplative service learning,” which means learning by doing something beneficial to others, and reflecting on the experience so that we get the most of it for our own evolution. Earthville Institute provides several kinds of opportunities for volunteers to offer truly meaningful service, most of which include a service-learning component.
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Earthville Institute offers several ways to volunteer, including in-person and remote possibilities.
The “workshop-plus-practicum” service-learning option
One great way to volunteer is to attend one of our workshops or retreats and then stay on afterward to gain additional experience and deepen your learning as a volunteer.
Workshops/Retreats
Earthville’s workshops (and workshop-retreat hybrid programs) blend mindfulness and meditation with relaxed and joyful volunteer service work doing various activities related to sustainable living, such as natural building, organic gardening, permaculture landscaping, etc.
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Post-workshop practicums
Some of our workshops are followed by optional practicum periods in which workshop participants may opt to stay on for a deeper dive by volunteering alongside our team in our ongoing work. These practicums are typically open only to those who have completed a workshop.
Summer internships
The Summer of Sustainability is three-month immersive residential service-learning program providing an engaging in-depth exploration of sustainable and compassionate living, integrating hands-on experience with contemplative practice in a healthy and supportive environment in the lap of nature. Focal points of the program include:
Earth-friendly natural building
Organic foodgrowing and permaculture principles
Holistic personal and professional development
Healthy living: meditation, yoga, and more
Short-term or occasional volunteering
If you are unable to participate in either of the options above, or you just want to volunteer for a short time, there are certain times each year when we can accept residential volunteers for periods as short as a one-week minimum.
Also, if you live in the area and you’d like to drop by now and then to volunteer, we’d be happy to connect with you, learn about your interests, and discuss the possibilities.
Help wanted: Skill-specific volunteer positions
Organic Gardeners/Permaculturalists
Do you have experience with organic gardening or with permaculture projects? Does the idea of helping to develop the organic greenhouse, food forest, and garden beds of our eco-campus appeal to you? If so, this volunteer position might be a perfect match.
Location:
On site only
Minimum commitment:
1 month
Fundraising Volunteers
In this startup stage of the Institute, one of the greatest needs is for volunteers with experience fundraising for nonprofit organizations. Support is needed for grantwriting, research, fundraising strategy consultation, and training other volunteers to fundraise effectively.
Location:
In person or remote
Minimum commitment:
None
“One must learn by doing the thing. For, though you think you know it, you have no certainty until you try.”
— Aristotle
CORE VALUES OF CONTEMPLATIVE SERVICE LEARNING
Non-harming
Striving to recognize and reduce our harm footprint across all spheres of life
Compassion
Caring for all beings and working to relieve suffering in whatever ways we can
Loving-kindness
Working to bring joy, warmth, and support to beings in whatever ways we can.
Unselfish service as “meditation in action”
Giving ourselves joyfully into tasks that are helpful for the common good without egoic attachment to the process or the outcome.
The spirit of service says, “I’m here to help, so I’m happy to do whatever is needed.”
WE CAN HELP YOU FUNDRAISE TO COVER THE FEES FOR YOUR OWN PARTICIPATION
Earthville Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization and, as such, members of the public can make tax-deductible contributions toward our scholarship fund. If you have financial hardship that prevents you from being able to afford the tuition fees for a program that you’d like to attend, we can empower you with tools and a webpage where you can run your won crowdfunding campaign to raise funds to support your own scholarship. Contact us for details.
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