Service Sites

Professional experience as a SJW is a transformative part of the program. Each SJW is matched to serve in an area of a nonprofit organization that is related to the mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Brentwood. Current service opportunities are described below. Service site options are not limited to listed sites and are subject to change. For additional information, follow the links.

Service Sites for 2021-22

Direct Service

New Hour

New Hour for Women and Children LI, is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting justice-impacted women and to empowering parents, children, and families in our community. New Hour offers a series of educational workshops in all three Long Island jails as well as wrap-around support services for women returning home to the community upon their release.

Volunteers will engage with vulnerable populations and make lifelong connections with women impacted by incarceration. Volunteers will have the opportunity to forge connections with members of the community often overlooked, including children who have tremendous potential and seek support due to the impact of having an incarcerated parent. Due to the current pandemic, visiting and in-person jail programming is closed temporarily. If jail programming resumes, some volunteers will be trained to attend workshops in the local jails with our staff.

In addition to direct relationships with women and families, New Hour provides hands-on experience at the macro level; speaking directly with lawmakers, rallying and legislative advocacy throughout Long Island and in Albany throughout the year, the opportunity to attend monthly criminal justice reform meetings as a representative of New Hour, plan and attend events and fundraisers is required. While working with individuals and their families is paramount for New Hour, addressing state policies, procedures, and legislation that directly impact the women we serve is critical. Due to the advocacy work New Hour coordinates on a statewide scale with fellow organizations and coalitions, opportunities include networking, creating and fostering relationships with multiple nonprofits, for-profits, lawmakers, county officials, survivors and more.

Garden Ministry

The St Joseph Worker Volunteer will work to create and maintain a space where all life is reverenced, the whole community of life can flourish, relationships are nurtured and all people are welcome.  This includes daily care of domestic animals and gardens, upkeep of the barn, and outreach, development and implementation of programs for the wider community.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: Provide routine daily care for the domestic animals – goats, chickens and rabbits; Assist with maintaining animal habitats; Tend the perennial and vegetable gardens by weeding, watering, harvesting, planting, etc.; Help with the upkeep and cleaning of the barn; Participate and assist in garden programs and events; Reach out to community organizations to offer programs; and Schedule, develop and implement those programs virtually and/or in person.

Land Ecology

Volunteers will work as part of the Sustainability Department with a majority of the position dedicated to habitat management and restoration. Volunteers can expect to learn about all of the sustainability projects on campus. A key motivation for providing this volunteer opportunity is to provide a skill-set, education and inspiration so that participants are empowered to continue this work. Volunteers will become immersed in the ecology on the Brentwood campus. They will have the opportunity to learn about the local flora and fauna and how those species interact to form a complex ecosystem. This means spending long but rewarding days outside, in all types of weather, exploring the natural world. Volunteers will also read about ecological restoration practices and theory. As restrictions on gatherings are lifted, we will continue community outreach work. Helping lead nature walks for the Sisters, public, school groups and clubs will become part of the volunteer’s time. Many groups express interest in learning about the sustainability projects on campus and we hope to be a model for others in their own journey to live in sustainable harmony with the earth.

Overview of Volunteer Activities: Manage woodland and meadow habitat; Care for native gardens; Conduct and analyze botanical and wildlife surveys; Survey for new invasive species and eradicate or control them; Maintain trails; Propagate native plants for use on campus; Organize community volunteer days; Create outreach materials.

Relevant Skills: Horticulture/gardening; Local flora and fauna identification; Invasive plant removal; Science methodology; Field research; Excel and statistics; Organizing events/volunteers.

Community Outreach and Advocacy

Justice Peace and Integrity of Creation Office

Faith-Based Structural Justice OrganizerThe Sisters of St. Joseph, Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) is looking for a frontline community member who has had some previous experience with activism and organizing. The organizer will choose their main area of activism and collaborate on other areas. Non-violent direct action may be discerned. The chosen area of focus must be in line with the Mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph and Catholic Social Teaching, such as immigration, climate justice, food justice, police accountability, racism, women’s empowerment, economic inequality, etc. 

Duties and Responsibilities: Regular meetings with JPIC Coordinator; Maintain online calendar of work events and meetings; Collaborate on goals; Communicate justice issues in writing or through educational presentations; Assist with Brentwood Day of Service; Assist with 5 day JPIC National Event in the fall; Serve as a resource person for the Sisters of St. Joseph

Preferred: Frontline community member (Someone who is part of an identified group living at the front lines of injustice), Identified personal spirituality or religious faith; Bachelor’s Degree; Minimum of 1 year experience as a student activist or organizer; Ability to work independently; Communication and Relational skills; Proficient use of basic technology and social media; Ability to navigate NYC public transportation system.

Legislative Assistant – The Sisters of St. Joseph, Office of Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation (JPIC) is looking for an assistant to work with our legislative agenda primarily in tandem at the national level with Network Lobby and at the state level with the NY Council of Churches and NY Renews which is environmental advocacy group. The position is designed to provide the SJW with an intensive experiential learning experience of the aspects of political ministry within the realm of non-profit, faith-based advocacy as well as provide assistance to the JPIC Office and its legislative agenda. The legislative focus is in line with the Mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph and Catholic Social Teaching, such as immigration, climate justice, food justice, police accountability, racism, women’s empowerment, economic inequality, etc.

Duties and Responsibilities: Regular meetings with JPIC Coordinator; Maintain online calendar of work events and meetings; Collaborate on goals; Communicate justice issues in writing or through educational presentations; Make appointments for visits to Capitol Hill or Albany, prepare materials for such visits, and record key information; Participate in Hill visits, briefings, hearings, press conferences, and public actions when relevant; Assist in writing and sending letters/email to policymakers and staff and ensure that all letters sent by the Sisters of St. Joseph to Capitol Hill or Albany are saved in files; Serve as a resource person for the Sisters of St. Joseph; Assist with maintaining the WordPress blog and social media; Assist in the JPIC Office as needed.

Requirements: Identified personal spirituality or religious faith; Bachelor’s Degree; Ability to work independently; Writing skills; Communication and Relational skills; Proficient use of basic technology and social media; Ability to navigate public transportation in NYC, Albany and DC.

Alliance for Fair Food

The Alliance for Fair Food (AFF) is a grassroots ally organization to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), a farmworker-led human rights organization focused on eliminating human rights abuses and sub-poverty wages through the expansion of their Fair Food Program (FFP). For two decades, the AFF has worked alongside the CIW to use public pressure and strategic organizing to bring 14 of the biggest food corporations including Taco Bell, McDonald’s, and Walmart to sign legally-binding contracts with CIW, agreeing to only purchase from farms that respect farmworker human rights. Towards this end, the AFF brings together people of faith, students, community groups, and other consumers as they use their voices, platforms, and institutions to push forward the work of farmworker justice.  

Candidates that apply for the St. Joseph Worker Program position should expect to be another member of our AFF team and not an intern who is given menial tasks because of their temporary position. We believe that “todos somos lideres” – “we are all leaders.” Some of the responsibilities included in this position are: 

  • Provide on-the-ground support to CIW via tasks such as translation, interpretation, and technical assistance.
  • Learn first-hand about the Campaign for Fair Food; the uniquely successful Fair Food Program, sweatshop conditions, and modern-day slavery in the fields.
  • Create campaign strategy with a team of farmworkers, student and faith-based organizers.
  • Develop a wide range of organizing skills such as coalition building, campaigning, media work, materials production, mobilization planning, and fundraising.

Education

Sisters of St. Joseph

Campus Ministry Outreach Assistant – This position includes working alongside the Director of Young Adult Ministry and Vocational Discernment to raise awareness of the mission of the Sisters of St. Joseph among youth and young adults in their sponsored CSJ high schools and college, as well as the youth and young adults in the Brooklyn and Rockville Centre Dioceses.

The St. Joseph Worker will be responsible for creating promotional materials for events for youth, including: retreats, days of reflection, service weeks, National Catholic Sisters Week and many additional events throughout the year for high school and college students. The St Joseph Worker will attend and assist at these events.

The St. Joseph Worker must be creative, self-motivated, get along well with others, and exhibit a willingness to work on a team planning and executing new initiatives to support the vision of the Sisters of St. Joseph in word and action.

Responsibilities include: Write and edit articles for CSJ Focusing, All is One and Mission Moments as well as local Catholic and secular media outlets; Blogging to keep others engaged on what is happening in Young Adult Ministry and Vocations; Attend NRVC meetings/training in Chicago and New York Member Area meetings twice a year; Photography at events; Maintain contact through text and email with thousands of youth and young adults; Update Social Media including FB, Instagram, Twitter; Event planning, organizing, and executing.

Health Care

Stella Maris Convent

Stella Maris Convent located in Far Rockaway, provides the opportunity to serve the needs of Sisters who have served in various ministries for many years.