Join Our Team

To enhance community engagement and organizational capacity, Uptown Stories aims to revitalize its volunteer program through the support of an Americorps member serving as a dedicated volunteer coordinator. We are a nonprofit that provides affordable creative writing workshops for children aged 8-18 in Washington Heights and Inwood, and with this comes a variety of responsibilities, such as grant writing and database management, which volunteers have helped us with in the past. As we’ve lacked in volunteer support in past years due to budget constraints, the support of an Americorps member to act as a volunteer coordinator will be critical to rebuilding our volunteer program. The NYC Civil Corps member will facilitate the recruitment and training of new volunteers, serving as their primary supervisor and support contact during the initial onboarding process and beyond.

Additionally, this member will play a pivotal role in fostering communication between Uptown Stories and its alumni, as we aim to build a network with our past workshop students. This effort aims to create an opportunity for them to potentially return as volunteer teaching assistants, and will also enable us to stay informed about their post-Uptown Stories endeavors and accomplishments. By empowering volunteers and alumni to contribute to our mission, we aim to expand opportunities for involvement with our organization, as well as continuing to spread the word about Uptown Stories and maintain the deep connections we’ve made with our community.

Education/Experience/Knowledge/Skills Required:
• Demonstrated interest in community-focused organizations and youth development.
• Experience working with Google Suite tools, including Docs, Sheets, and Forms.
• Ability to multitask and prioritize as part of a small team while wearing “many hats.”
• Experience working with middle and high-school-aged youth in a diverse community.
• Exceptional organizational skills, with the ability to adapt to new productivity systems, software, and deadlines.
• Bilingual in Spanish and English
• Strong written and verbal communication skills

Preferred/helpful:
• Broad understanding of social networking with examples of current and successful uses of Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and other sites
• Ability to work with a diverse group of people
• Strong research skills
• Detail oriented and highly organized
• Experience working as a member of a team
• Public speaking experience
• Knowledge of New York City is a plus

General Americorps Member Requirements:
• Must be a U.S. Citizen, U.S. National, or Lawful Permanent Resident of the United States
• Have successfully obtained a High School diploma or its equivalent prior to the start of the program
• Agree to and pass a criminal background check
• Ability to serve full time for the program term (generally M-F 9AM - 5PM)
• A strong motivation for making a positive difference in New York City
• Willingness to learn new skills and improve upon existing ones
• Be 18 years old prior to the program start date

Uptown Stories, a federally approved non-profit creative writing program in Washington Heights, is hiring rock-star writing teachers to develop and lead new after school workshops. We are looking for teachers who write terrific curriculum, who are dynamic and engaging in the classroom, who are self-reliant and responsible, who can differentiate instruction for different ages and different abilities, who enjoy teaching kids within the age range of 8-18 years, and who, most of all, feel passionate about the craft and the art of writing.

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We want our teachers to follow their passions, and we’re open to any genre or form — if you have a great idea, tell us about it. All classes should be structured primarily as workshops, where the students read and discuss each other’s writing, creating a community of young authors. Workshops meet on a ten-week cycle, with nine two-hour-long classes followed by a celebratory reading for friends and family. To ensure our workshops are accessible to all children, families pay tuition at a self-determined rate.

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Teachers are expected to help set up and break down the classroom space, to email weekly writing assignments to families and post them on the website, and to be available by email during the week for questions from students. Uptown Stories will handle enrollment, billing, space rental, and provide materials and snacks.

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During the Fall, Winter, and Spring semester, workshops meet (in person or via Zoom) for two hours, once a week, for ten weeks (20 hours). For the Summer semester, workshops meet Monday-Friday for 2 weeks, at 10:00AM-12:00PM or 1:00PM-3:00PM (20 hours).

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Applicants must have professional experience teaching children within the age range of 8-18, and be practicing writers or artists in their field.