To Whom It May Concern:
I am applying for the Americorps position with Make a Difference. I discovered
your job opportunity through a search on www.idealist.org. I will be graduating this
December and would like to pursue a career in public service. I believe that my past
experience makes me a well qualified candidate for this position. As well as experience, I
feel that I have many personal qualities that will make me the best fit for this position.
As a student at Virginia Tech, I have strived to become deeply involved in
organizations that promote the greater good of the student body and local community. I
have worked with the Virginia Tech YMCA in many different capacities during my
collegiate career. I have served as a Program Leader for one of their afterschool programs
at a public housing site. As an after school program leader I coordinated a group of 20
volunteers and planned and lead a bi-weekly program. I took program leading to a new
level by creating and implementing a curriculum that focused on literacy. For the past
two years I have served on the YMCA council which acts as the governing body. As a
council member I have acted as a leader to 30 fellow program leaders and helped to build
the community of the YMCA. I helped plan monthly staff meetings, bi-annual retreats
and various leadership workshops. I provided support and encouragement in my close
relationship as a mentor to 6 student staff members. This past semester I have been
working with two Somalia-Bantu refugee families that arrived in Blacksburg in August.
This opportunity has challenged me to grow as a leader through language and cultural
barriers. I have worked with various community volunteers, agencies and businesses to
generate support and resources for the families. I feel that this experience is a crucial
asset in a multi-cultural, multi-lingual center like Phoenix.
Outside of the YMCA, I have also become deeply involved in Alpha Chi Omega.
I have been a member of Alpha Chi since the spring on my freshmen year. I served as the
Vice President of Chapter Relations and Standards in the Fall of 2003 and the President
in 2004. As a leader in Alpha Chi, I helped to plan and run chapter events for over 100
sisters. I gained a broad understanding of the multiple levels of human interaction and
motivation. I feel that I have become an affective communicator as well as leader through
these experiences. The YMCA and Alpha Chi Omega have become large squares in the
patchwork quilt I call myself.
I have also gained experience over the past two summers that make me further apt
for this position. During the summer of 2003, I served as an Everett Public Service Intern
for New York Cares. I helped to plan their annual New York Cares Day by interviewing
and assessing the needs of over 50 public schools. I also created the mural artist manual
and began artist recruitment. As an intern I gained a valuable knowledge of a non-profit
organization’s role in a large city as well as the Hands On Network model. I also
volunteered in many of their programs and gained an understanding of large scale
programming. During the summer of 2004 I participated in the Habitat for Humanity
Bicycle Challenge. I raised $4000 for New Haven, Connecticut’s Habitat chapter. I spent
nine weeks traveling across the USA on bike- spreading awareness about poverty and
Habitat’s mission. I also spent many hours volunteering in the communities where we
stopped. This experience taught me how to work on a team that I also lived with. I
learned how to best encourage others, take individual responsibility and cherish the
adventure of this sweet life.
Outside of my experience, I feel that I have many character traits that would make
me an asset to Make a Difference. I am extremely dedicated to making this world a good
place for all of its people and challenging all of the forces of opposition. I am enthusiastic
and inventive. I am able to take constructive criticism and increase the effectiveness of
my “jobs” by using the criticism. I enjoy working with a multitude of people in various
group settings. Most of all I am compassionate and want to help others “experience the
power of service.”
My principle interest is working to build stronger community organizations and
programs. I am willing to work in any capacity to build community and I realize that each
city, each neighborhood has its individual needs. Over the past years, I have become most
interested in building resources for children and young adults through positive
relationships with volunteers and a broader education. I am interested in learning and
working with health education, refugee services and poverty. I have researched the Make
a Difference website and feel that I would be a good asset to many of your departments.
My experience at New York Cares would help me in the Annual Events department and
my experience at the Y would help in a community programming department. I like to
work with people in any capacity and would be more than willing to take on any job that
Make a Difference would like to give. I am ready for a challenge, whether it is in a new
field or one where I already have experience.
As I mentioned earlier, I will be graduating a semester early this December. I
would be able to begin in January 2005 and would commit to one year of service in
Phoenix. Thank you for your time in looking over this letter. I hope that you have found
my experience and interests are what you are looking for. I would be happy to answer
any further questions or send more information. Please contact me via email at
sasmith4@vt.edu or phone 571-334-5822. Thank you again and I hope to talk with you in
the future.
Sincerely,
Sarah Smith