We recognize that many people want to help but cannot manage to make it to the regions
where grassroots groups and campaigns are happening. Mountain Justice is committed to
providing information and resources for organizing from your hometown -
we cannot overemphasize the importance of raising awareness, fundraising,
plugging into national campaigns, and generally engaging your campus and/or
community in the fight to end mountaintop removal.
There is a lot of important work being done outside of the coal fields to elevate
the issue of Mountaintop Removal and Appalachian environmental justice into
a national issue.
Please contact us or email volunteer {at} mountainjustice.org to discuss how you can help from your hometown or see the cuurent oppotunities and contacts below.
Contact Matt at umdvolunteerhouse [at] yahoo.com
- Website and technical help: including training volunteers and adding updated content. We need to create an online store to help market goods and services provided by coalfield residents. We need to increase our hits on Google. We need a program that allows us to send one email to all the IndyMedia websites in the world at once. We need a simple database and training to help keep track of incoming volunteers.
- Media creation: We would like to create videos about Appalachian stereotypes and how they compare to other historical inaccuracies. We would like to document our group’s actions and post them to online sites including YouTube. We want to create and show what life in Appalachia is like today. We need help creating fresh 2D and 3D artworks/ public outreach for our newspaper and education pamphlets about mountains, mountain top removal coal mining, or the TVA Coal Ash Disaster. We would like to co-sponsor a Mountain themed art show at a local gallery where pieces would be auctioned. We need help creating original stories about mountain top removal coal mining and converting them into shadow theatre productions.
- Portrait Story Project: collaborative project with a famous artist named Francesco di Santis who created the Post Katrina Portrait Project. We would like to digitally record the drawing of the people and speed up the drawing, condense a bunch of these together and put them online as outreach about the project. We would also like to record the folks holding their portraits and reading them and adding some other info for an oral history project that we will be submitting to the Library of Congress.
- Getting the word out: We could also use help writing letters to the editor of various newspapers and posting your updated content onto websites including IndyMedia, local media outlets, and other independent media sources. We would also like to create, document, and film scripted/ unscripted guerilla theatre as protest to be performed at various locations in Knoxville.
- Research: We need help researching the history of coal mining in TN and Appalachia and writing articles for our newspapers the Tennessee Mountain Defender and the Pan Appalachian Defender. We want people to remember the battles of Coal Creek TN where the miners won by turning back the National Guard twice and helping end the convict mining labor system.
- Regulatory: You will work with UTK Law School grad, Chris Irwin and other nationally recognized lawyers to help stop surface coal mining in TN and Appalachia. We need help monitoring mining regulators for any new coal mining permit requests or changes. We need help requesting public hearings on these permits. We need to visit mine sites and generate site specific written statements to submit to mining regulators at public hearings and for our newspapers. We need you to learn the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act, Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and CERCLA forward and backward as we will be using these laws many times over the next few years. We also want to create a "Citizen's Guide to Administrative Hearings" so that we can start challenging every mining permit in front of an administrative judge once they are granted.
- Music/Songs: We need help creating songs about the mountains and coalfield communities to be sung around our campfires. We would like to post your songs on our website and create a CD as a fundraiser. We would like help setting up concert benefits at local music venues. We would also like to offer music classes in coalfield communities. You could set up a concert benefit in your town!!!
Contact lorax [at] riseup.net if you are interested in being an intern for SSP from home!
- Events Coordination – Throughout the summer SSP hopes to participate in speaking and tabling events. The events coordinator would help to find such events, sign up for them and coordinate volunteers to participate. This is a part time volunteer position that can be done remotely.
- Research and Technical Writing – SSP is constantly digging through DEP and other records, FOIAing for information, and doing in-depth technical and academic research to support organizing. We need volunteers to take on this research and/or help edit and digest research materials that have already been gathered. We are looking for folks how can synthesize research and create accessible materials for community members and SSP volunteers. We are looking for folks that are involved for a minimum of two months. Volunteers can be remote, however, on site folks are preferred to allow for physical follow up with DEP and other agencies.
- Grant Writing – We need grants to Support work of SSP and increase our capacity. We are looking for grants for water testing, volunteer stipends, material creation, ect. Volunteers can help research grant opportunities and apply for grants. There is no minimum commitment desired for involvement and volunteers can work remotely.
- Legal Research- As part of the legislative strategy of SSP we are trying to get a bill passed in WV that would ban wet slurry and research is needed to assist with bill language. If anyone is interested please contact for more info
Collective of volunteers based out of Appalachia, Southwest Virginia- contact at rrenew.collective [at] gmail.com
- Grant writing: help us write grants for the RReNEW Collective!
- Fundraising: need we say more?
Contact Vernon at vernoncrmw [at] gmail.com
- Website maintenance
- Transcribe audio interviews with timestamps, 2 hours minimum time commitment
Contact Sage at oldtimemountain [at] gmail.com
Contact Charles at csuggs4 [at] gmail.com
- Transcribe audio interviews with timestamps, 2 hours minimum time commitment
- Write college-level lesson plans based upon the content on the Coal River Map/CD/geography/cultural project. 5-8 hrs minimum commitment
- Write grants for re-ups on what we already have and for new stuff. You can write yourself into the grant so you can get paid. 1 month minimum time commitment
