Summer/Fall Internship at the Franciscan Center of Baltimore

Track the Impact of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Shares on Economically Disadvantaged Populations at the Franciscan Center

The Franciscan Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing emergency assistance and supportive outreach to persons who are economically disadvantaged in an effort to assist them in realizing their self-worth and dignity as people of God.

The Franciscan Center is looking for a volunteer intern to assist with a CSA project in collaboration with the United Way of Central Maryland, University of Maryland Extension, and JHU’s Center for a Livable Future that focuses on the correlation between economically disadvantaged people and their desire for a healthier lifestyle. The intern will interview, track, and instruct participants who receive weekly CSA “shares” of fresh produce throughout the duration of the growing season (May through November 2013). The intern will provide administrative assistance to the Project Coordinator. Through weekly questionnaires, the student will collect data and measure the progress of every participant.

This internship requires a commitment of six to ten hours per week beginning in May and continuing through the summer semester with the possibility of extending through the fall semester. Interest in social services and/or healthy food initiatives required.

When applying, include a copy of your resume, cover letter and available times to discuss the project. Contact Christian Metzger at info@franciscancenterbaltimore.org  to apply with “Fresh Harvest Internship” and your name in the subject line.

Have you ever worked for the minimum wage? Welcome to the club…

When you are slaving away at the bottom of the economic ladder, you are no doubt in favor of increasing the minimum wage.

But what if you were a CEO? 

Last week, Costco CEO Craig Jelinek made waves in the financial sector when he spoke out in support of increasing the minimum wage.

His statement was made in response to the President’s State of the Union address, in which he outlined his plan to raise the minimum wage to $9/hour and index it to inflation. Jelinek agreed with the President’s position, and actually proposed an even larger increase to $10.10/hour.  

At the current minimum hourly wage of $7.25, a family of four with one parent working full-time lies considerably below the poverty line. By comparison, the minimum wage in 1968 was $10.57/hr, equating out to about $5,000 more yearly than the current standard.

Let’s face it, an extra five thousand dollars is a nice chunk of change.

So… why would a CEO want to increase the minimum wage? Wouldn’t that cost his company money?

Sure… at first. But in time it helps the company. There would be an increase in economic activity in the area as employees spend their new cash.

As more money is spent in local stores and restaurants, the employees of those businesses will have more money to spend locally other services. And it gets better…

As the local economic activity expands, all sorts of good things happen. Increased sales taxes help state education budgets and there will be more money around for folks to buy goods from the company that upped its minimum wage for workers.

Its an economic concept known as circular flow.

One of the most outspoken advocates for increased wages for workers was capitalist hero Henry Ford, of Ford Automotive fame. Ford paid his workers $5 a day, more than double the standard wage of the time. The increased wage resulted in a much lower turnover rate of employees, leading to less time wasted with on-the-job training and more productivity in general. Ford is reputed to have asserted that any man who was good enough to produce a Ford automobile deserved to own one.

Craig Jelinek, then, can be called the Henry Ford of the 21st century.

“We pay a starting hourly wage of $11.50 in all states where we do business, and we are still able to keep our overhead costs low,Instead of minimizing wages, we know it’s a lot more profitable in the long term to minimize employee turnover and maximize employee productivity, commitment and loyalty.”

And, based on the Wall Street Journal-reported $537 million in profit for Costco in Q2 of 2013, it looks like Jelinek’s attitude is a winning one.

Have you ever wondered what goes through the mind of a murderer? 

When Tony Barrett of Seattle committed a mortal crime on Wednesday night, his fist move was to call the local TV station:

“I just killed my wife … I want you to put it on your Facebook.”

According to the station, Barrett said he didn’t have a Facebook page and wanted someone to post the message for him. But instead of granting Barrett’s strange request for a social media confession, the station naturally decided to call the police instead.

After a high-speed chase, state troopers were able to stop Barrett’s car with spike strips. They also had to resort to using a police dog to take Barrett down after he got of his car swinging a crowbar.

Barrett was treated at a hospital for dog bites before being taken to jail for investigation of the murder.

Have any other stories about dumb actions by criminals? Let us know in the comments below.

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About the Author

Jacob Gube is the Founder and Chief Editor of Six Revisions. He’s also a web developer/designer who specializes in front-end development (JavaScript, HTML, CSS) and also a book author. If you’d like to connect with him, head on over to the contact page and follow him on Twitter: @sixrevisions.