Museum of Reclaimed
Urban Space

Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space volunteers have the opportunity to learn about the workings of a history museum and contribute valuable services to a nonprofit organization. We accept applications at all times, and keep those applicants we don’t contact immediately on a waiting list, to be reconsidered when more volunteer positions become available in the future.

Your application should include your contact information, availability, previous volunteer and professional experience, and a personal statement addressing why you wish to volunteer at the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space, and what interests, skills and experiences you would bring to the position.

Below are the descriptions of available volunteer opportunities at this time:

COMMUNITY GARDEN COORDINATOR 

• MoRUS works with community gardeners in the East Village to start new community gardens, clean up existing community gardens, and work on community garden legislation. We are looking for someone to help advertise our work days, and maintain our garden committee e-mail list. Let’s plant some seeds and make New York green. MoRUS partners with Time’s Up on all our garden projects, from clean-ups to advocacy to starting new gardens.

INTERN for college credit

• The mission of the Museum of Reclaimed Urban Space (MoRUS) is to preserve history and promote scholarship of grassroots urban space activism by researching and archiving efforts to create community spaces. We will also exhibit materials that document these actions, to educate people on the political implications of reclaimed space. All interns must submit a resume and cover letter. This is an unpaid position and you must be willing to contribute at least 15 hours a week for 3 months. Almost all interns operate from the front desk of the museum so you must have good greeting skills and some organizing ability.

ASSISTANT TO THE DIRECTOR INTERN

• We are currently seeking an Assistant to the Director. This position involves assisting with a variety of different activities including but not limited to: setting up events, managing spaces, organizing committees and meetings, and networking with other organizations and volunteers. Please note that a significant amount of time will be spent assisting the Director with drafting, emailing, and computer work, also includes transcription of dictation. Applicants must be flexible, computer savvy, and must be proficient in written/ spoken English with good grammatical skills. Commitment is approximately 10-20 hours per week. There is a 3 month minimum commitment.

VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR(S)

• Are you a “people person”? MoRUS is looking for outgoing and friendly volunteers who would like to become Volunteer Coordinators. This position involves:
  Contacting people who would like to become MoRUS volunteers (via email, phone, meetings, parties, and events)
  Finding out their talents and interests
  Helping them get “plugged-in” to MoRUS by steering them to the appropriate meetings, events or coordinators

FUNDRAISING COORDINATOR

• We are currently seeking a Fundraising Coordinator to oversee fundraising activities for the museum. A major component of this position is grant writing. The museum is funded largely through grants and donations. Any type of fund-raising, including grant-writing, is vital to our survival. This position includes identifying funding sources and writing grants. Ideally, we are looking for an enthusiastic individual who is able to meet deadlines and is a self-starter. Experience in non-profit and/or corporate fundraising is strongly preferred.

MUSEUM ARCHIVIST AND STORE ORGANIZER

• The museum always needs help with archiving and organizing. The job would include:  working with and organizing art, photographs, etc., dealing with customers, working with tour guides, and answering emails.The concentration of the museum is to have an accurate portrayal of the history around the grass roots activism scene, including the music, culture, art, and more that occurred in the lower east side, which was the beat of the east coast of America at the time. Focusing on a period around 1980s until the present, we want to highlight grass roots and community change, the history of the NYC squat scene, and how community members including squatters, gardeners, artists, environmentalists, and non-corporate thinkers organized in their communities. This may include actions such as starting community centers, cleaning up abandoned lots and making them community gardens, fighting gentrification, using parks and open spaces to organize the area to retain community values and fight corporations and gentrification. Many of the Lower East Side communities, ideas, campaigns, music, art, and culture may have started in the east village, but this change pulsed out to the rest of the city and even has influenced areas all across the country.The concentration of the museum is to have an accurate portrayal of the history around the grass roots activism scene, including the music, culture, art, and more that occurred in the lower east side, which was the beat of the east coast of America at the time. Focusing on a period around 1980s until the present, we want to highlight grass roots and community change, the history of the NYC squat scene, and how community members including squatters, gardeners, artists, environmentalists, and non-corporate thinkers organized in their communities.

VIDEO EDITOR

• MoRUS is a living archive and we are constantly receiving new photographs and videos to archive. The volunteer video editor will work on small video editing projects to put on the website and social media outlets and make small documentaries and movies, etc. The hours/days are flexible and this is a great opportunity to use your skills to take part in preserving the history of the activism, community gardens and squats in the Lower East Side. (Editing skills required) Contact us for more details!

Short-Term Volunteering

Many of our events (see our online calendar) require extensive yet simple volunteer support in order to be successful. Here are some ways you can help out:

• Community Garden Green-up Day
• Helping organize and participatingMuseum’s Movie Nights: Help with organizing and promoting
• Museum’s Film Festival: Help with execution and promotion of our outdoor festival
• Museum Archiving Films and Videos
• Museum Shifts (open and staff Museum of Reclaimed Space during regular hours of operation)

Fill out the form below to volunteer: