We welcome and value interns. We want to ensure that each internship is mutually beneficial to the intern and to the League.
The following is some general information applicable to most interns.
Intern Partnerships
The primary goal of our fledgling intern program is to involve young people, your perspectives and your connections to diverse communities with our organization. Therefore, we try to tailor each internship to meet your needs in a way that is relevant to and consistent with the League's values, projects and policies. To accomplish this goal we do the following:
- Request and review your resume
- Schedule a personal interview to determine your requirements for this internship
- Help you to select an appropriate League focus area for your internship
- Identify the League member with whom you will partner
- Revise or create a job description tailored to meet your needs and ours
You will be working in collaboration with a League member who will provide guidance and mentoring during your internship. Your creative research and independent thinking are greatly valued. However, your general plans, including proposed contacts or requests made on behalf of the League, should be reviewed with your study chair or mentor prior to taking action. Also the League's status as a nonpartisan political organization has major implications for your communication and correspondence. Ensure that your actions, discussions and writings on behalf of the League are always nonpartisan. Your League mentor may also provide additional guidelines specific to the focus of your collaboration.
Background Research
It will be beneficial for you to have some general knowledge about the League, the issues it has studied and the positions that it has taken on these issues. On this site are links to web sites and positions at each level of the League of Women Voters: local, county, state and national.
Observer Corps
Some of your responsibilities/opportunities as an intern may involve attending, as an observer, meetings of government entities, boards, commissions, etc., in which our League has a particular interest. Interns and study chairs will be interested in reviewing the LWV Observer Corps Guide, an excellent resource with background, guidelines, procedures and forms for recording observations for those participating in Observer Corps visits. The publication, Observing Your Government in Action, is available online at www.lwv.org. (Click on Library, Store; find Observing Your Government in Action, click on the title, find Observer Corps Guide pdf at the bottom of the entry.) Note: Typically, an intern will accompany a League member when participating in Observer Corps activities.
Record Keeping/Management
The Workplace: Location of the League of Women Voters Pasadena Area office is:
Pasadena, CA 91104
626-798-0965
Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Log: Interns should keep a log of time, type of activity, sources of information, comments, questions and expenses related to your work. Please email the log to your study chair with a copy to Shirley Spencer about once a week at address below. Also prepare a paper copy of the log for reimbursement. See this sample log.
Expenses: Expenses connected with your internship, e.g. parking, registration fees, will be reimbursed by the League from the Membership budget. Please save parking and other receipts, attach them to a paper copy of your log and turn this document in to Shirley Spencer, Membership Director. Any expense exceeding $10.00 must be pre-approved for reimbursement.
Note: These guidelines are part of a document-in-progress which we are developing as our intern program grows. Input and feedback from interns and study chairs will help us to enhance the management of our internship program for the benefit of all. Thanks for your input.
Please send questions, comments and suggestions to:
Shirley Spencer or call 626-798-0965.