Pre-Law Student Public Interest Volunteer & Internship Opportunities

International Human Rights & Immigration Law/Immigrant Advocacy

Refugee Youth Project (RYP). The RYP is a joint program of Baltimore City Community College and the International Rescue Committee. The project currently serves more than 300 refugees between the ages of 4 and 21 from over 17 countries. Two hours a day, four days a week, refugees receive academic tutoring and acculturation support from trained volunteer tutors. Volunteers are recruited from many walks of life but the majority are students at local colleges and universities, including Johns Hopkins!*

Refugee Action Project (RAP) seeks to improve the lives of Baltimore’s youngest refugees by supporting their academic needs, and making their acculturation simple and meaningful through volunteer tutoring and on-campus fundraising and awareness initiatives. volunteer tutoring with elementary-aged refugees at after school program (off-campus) and (on-campus) fundraising and awareness initiatives.*

International Rescue Committee (IRC). IRC teams provide health care, infrastructure, learning and economic support to people in more than 40 countries, with special programs designed for women and children. We resettle thousands of refugees each year in 26 U.S. cities. IRC volunteers play an integral role in the IRC’s efforts to restore safety, dignity, and hope to people whose lives have been uprooted by war and disaster.*

Esperanza Center. The Esperanza Center is a comprehensive immigrant resource center that offers hope and essential services to people who are new to the United States. Immigrants from all over the world have received important resources and compassionate guidance at the Esperanza Center since 1963. In addition to volunteering, the Esperanza Center has internships available in every program, based on the needs and desires of the intern and supervisor.*

* adapted from the organization’s website

Low-Income Worker & Women’s Advocacy

CASA de Maryland, Services Department, inc. Legal Program. CASA are a group of passionate, community-conscious people working to organize, advocate for, and expand opportunities for Latino and immigrant people in the state of Maryland. They do this by providing employment placement; workforce development and training; health education; citizenship and legal services; and financial, language, and literacy training to Latino and immigrant communities throughout the state.*

* adapted from the organization’s website

Child Advocacy, Mentoring & Leadership Development

Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) for Children. Any mature, responsible, caring and sensitive adult, at least 21 years of age can become a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA). The Mental Health Association welcomes Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers from all cultural, professional, ethnic, and educational backgrounds.*

Urban Debate League. As the national leader of the urban debate movement, the National Association of Urban Debate Leagues (NAUDL) works with its partner leagues to provide debate programming to urban middle and high school students. NAUDL works to close the achievement gap in urban public schools by organizing competitive debate teams. NAUDL volunteers help urban debate programs thrive in a variety of ways, including attending and promoting the NAUDL Annual Dinner; organizing and sponsoring local fundraising events; and helping NAUDL and local leagues connect with corporate leaders.*

Thread. At the core of its mission, “Thread engages underperforming high school students confronting significant barriers outside of the classroom by providing each one with a family of committed volunteers and increased access to community resources. We foster students’ academic advancement and personal growth into self-motivated, resilient, and responsible citizens.” Thread is a volunteer-driven mentoring program, creating a family support structure to help high school students through graduation and six years beyond.*

Johns Hopkins Tutorial Project. The Johns Hopkins Tutorial Project is an after-school tutoring program that provides academic support for elementary school students. Through this program, children are paired with Johns Hopkins University students to receive one-on-one help in reading and math. The application process is held in Fall and positions are filled by the end of September.*

LEAD. LEAD is a project-based after-school program for middle school students, which started as an offshoot of Tutorial Project. We emphasize research-based learning that encourages mentors to not teach, but to guide their students hone their skills of project planning, research and public speaking that they may not otherwise have access to. Volunteers work one on one with a middle-schooler.*

Environmental Advocacy

ACWa (Alliance for Clean Water). The Alliance for Clean Water (ACWa) is a Baltimore based organization dedicated to the promotion of domestic and international clean water access. Partnered with the Johns Hopkins Center for Social Concern, ACWa serves as a bridge by which Hopkins affiliates can make a meaningful difference in the natural and urban areas adjacent to them and raise awareness of issues facing the world’s access to clean water.*

Real Food Hopkins. Real Food Hopkins is a student-run chapter of the national Real Food Challenge movement committed to bringing local, sustainable, humane, and fair food to the Johns Hopkins campus and the surrounding Baltimore area through organizing food advocacy and awareness events, cooperating with the larger food movement, maintaining a sustainable campus garden, sponsoring a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program, promoting community-based learning about food and where it comes from, and donating fresh produce to organizations that feed the local hungry. RFH is the local chapter of National Food Advocacy and Awareness org.*

* adapted from the organization’s website

Health/Public Health Advocacy

From their mission statement, “Creating Responsibility for Adolescent Sexual Health (CRASH) is dedicated to educating Baltimore adolescents on various aspects of sexual education and health. We discuss such topics as Sexual Health and Hygiene, Sexually Transmitted Infections, Pregnancy and Contraception, and Relationships and Sexuality. Each semester, we have 8 weekly sessions at the William Donald Schaefer House (under the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services). Our volunteers find the work engaging, rewarding, and an excellent way to form connections with at-risk teens. The group consists of students from the undergraduate, medical, nursing, and public health schools.”*

* adapted from the organization’s website

Criminal Law

Baltimore City Public Defender (Intern). The Maryland Office of the Public Defender’s Baltimore City office provides a wide variety of volunteer experiences for current students, law school graduates, paralegals, and attorneys. According to the website, “Our program provides an unmatched exposure to the criminal justice system in one of the country’s busiest urban jurisdictions. Internships and clerkships are available in the spring, summer, and fall and are awarded on a rolling basis. The process is competitive and applicants are encouraged to apply early. All positions are unpaid…We seek applicants with a commitment to serving disadvantaged and marginalized individuals and communities through the delivery of comprehensive, innovative, and aggressive criminal defense services. We value effective written and oral advocacy and a creative approach to problem-solving on behalf of our clients.”*

State’s Attorney’s Office (Intern). The State’s Attorney’s Office for Baltimore City seeks candidates for an Intern with the Relocation Division of the Victim Witness Services Unit. There is an Undergraduate Internship Program designed to cultivate the interest of undergraduate students in the role of a prosecutor in Baltimore City and for the SAO to create a pipeline for prospective employees.*

The Johns Hopkins Jail Tutorial Project provides tutoring in GED, science, writing, and other subjects to incarcerated men, women, and juveniles at the Baltimore City Detention Center. Tutors have the opportunity to build unique relationships with inmates and develop a personalized curriculum for tutees. The tutees in BCDC are not generally given many opportunities to improve their level of education and Jail Tutorial Program seeks to fill this gap.*

* adapted from the organization’s website.

Last But Not Least…

The Community Intern Impact Program (CIIP) is the Center for Social Concern’s Paid Summer Internship Program. It is a competitive, paid summer internship program that pairs JHU undergraduate students with nonprofit organizations and government agencies to work on community-identified projects. Participating interns attend an extensive orientation and work 35 hours a week for 8 weeks while participating in weekly reflection sessions with their fellow interns. Each participating student receives a salary of $4000.

The goal of this program is two-fold: to give JHU undergraduates an opportunity to be directly involved in a community in Baltimore City and to support the important work being done by nonprofits and government agencies. The CIIP is housed within the Center for Social Concern at the Johns Hopkins University. This program is made possible by a generous anonymous $1.25 million gift.

CIIP interns can apply to return to the program to serve as a CIIP Peer Mentor. This is an opportunity to work in the community as an intern for 35 hours a week while working an additional 5 hours a week supporting other interns and serving as a resource for the students in each placement area. This program combines the components of being a CIIP intern with a community agency while giving you an opportunity to develop your leadership skills and knowledge of Baltimore current affairs. CIIP Peer Mentors will receive a salary of $5000.