Volunteer & Internship Opportunities

Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership 
 

The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership is currently seeking volunteers and interns that are interested in working on projects that will help revitalize the downtown district in Chapel Hill. Projects may be catered to a variety of interests including but not limited to: economic development, design, journalism, marketing, special events coordination, and governmental affairs.  Volunteer and internship opportunities are open to high school and college students; as well as the entire community. For more information on the agency, visit www.downtownchapelhill.com.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
Downtown Vols Clean Up 
 CLEAN & GREEN TEAMS - Groups are needed to help clean up throughout the downtown. Duties may include picking up litter, recyclables, cleaning graffiti, trash receptacles, benches, removing flyers from light posts/bus stops, etc. Groups will be supplied with gloves and garbage bags and given specific areas of the downtown to target. Groups will be self-directed and may determine the best day and time of day to do the clean up.  
--Clean-ups are needed on home football game weekends and after community events or celebrations: Nov 1; Nov 6, 7 & 8; Nov 13, 14 & 15.

PHOTOGRAPHERS- Volunteers needed to take pictures of the downtown before & after home football games, during community & special events, and generally on beautiful days! The People on Bench photographs will be used on the agency website, in brochures, in media ads and other venues. Pictures in this email are examples of what we need-  Click here for details!  
 
EVENT MARKETING- Friendly, enthusiastic volunteers needed to help with marketing and advertising for special events and other programming. Volunteers will hand deliver printed materials door-to-door to businesses downtown on an as-needed basis.
 
HOLIDAY TREE LIGHTING CEREMONY- Friendly, enthusiastic volunteers needed to help with the annual tree lighting ceremony held on Sunday, November 29. The Partnership puts up a 22' tree on the corner of Columbia Street and Franklin Street (in the University Baptist Church Memorial Garden). Volunteers will assist with handing out candy, flyers, helping Santa Claus & Mrs. Claus take pictures with children, assist with other event details as they arise. Also, we need a MRS. CLAUS - someone to dress up in full costume and greet children, give them candy, take pictures with them, etc!
 
To volunteer:  please contact Meg McGurk at meg@downtownchapelhill.com.  In your email, please include the specific volunteer duty or project that you are interested in doing.
Volunteer hours can count towards service learning requirements as well as court-ordered community service in Orange and Chatham Counties.
 
INTERNSHIP OPPORTUNITIES
Walking on Sidewalk w/ stone wall 
Interns with the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership may be undergraduate or graduate students and represent a variety of majors and areas of interests because the Downtown Partnership is a broad-based organization that is involved in a variety of initiatives that affect downtown Chapel Hill.
 
Internship opportunities are flexible but typically semester based. Since most of the internships are research based, there is often no requirement to come to the Downtown Partnership's office or dedicate a set amount of time each week to the internship. Therefore, interns must be motivated, self-directed and have a strong work ethic and sense of following through on a commitment.
 
Current Agency Needs:
--Create marketing materials for downtown initiatives and projects. Materials may include the standard items -posters, post cards, flyers. But we are also looking for innovative and creative ideas.
--Create marketing plan specifically for Real Change from Spare Change.
--Research issues and challenges of creating & maintaining public spaces in downtown areas.
--Research best practices and models regarding a variety of topics related to panhandling and homelessness- primarily models in NC or similar municipalities.Top of the Hill patio
--Create fun, interactive activities for visitors to the downtown to appeal to different demographics, such as walking tours, scavenger hunts, activities by day of the week, etc.
--Create marketing materials for Holiday Promotions.
--Design print ads for agency for magazines and newspapers.
--Create radio PSA's for agency and initiatives.
--Create and maintain comprehensive databases on downtown businesses. Must have Excel skills.  
--Create and implement surveys for downtown community on a variety of topics.
 
To apply for an internship: please send a resume and cover letter to Meg McGurk at meg@downtownchapelhill.com. In your email please include the specific internship opportunity that you are interested in.
 
 
 The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership is charged with leading and managing downtown. We buildAmazing Mile - logo small human and financial resources through partnership efforts; we market and promote the assets of downtown; we improve the visual appeal of downtown; and we rebuild downtown as a mixed use center of retail, service, professional, governmental, institutional, and residential uses.  We invite you to come LearnPlayLive! Please contact us at 919-967-9440 or partnership@downtownchapelhill.com.