Gap Year: Community Health Fellowship
Do you believe in making positive change in our healthcare system? Are you interested in gaining valuable hands-on experience in healthcare prior to medical or graduate school?
Project Horseshoe Farm (PHF) is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization with sites in Greensboro and Marion, Alabama and a coming site in Pomona, California (Summer 2020). Through our paid “gap year” fellowship, PHSF offers unique roles for top recent graduates and undergraduates interested in leadership, service, and community-based healthcare. All those who work with Project Horseshoe Farm get the chance to uphold our mission: strengthening communities, improving the health and quality of life of our vulnerable neighbors, and preparing citizen service leaders for tomorrow's communities.
Fellows take on high levels of responsibility working with patients and physicians in a “health partners” program, working with children and schools during in-school and after school programs, and working with seniors and other vulnerable adults in community center programs and housing programs, all while learning to engage and work effectively with the community. This unique opportunity to work with a wide range of people and settings is intended to help Fellows learn about and make a contribution to a comprehensive approach to community health. There are also ample opportunities to shadow and learn about psychiatry, nursing, social work, and family medicine, and to get hands-on experience in the running of a community-oriented non-profit.
Fellows receive an educational grant of $600/month, free housing, and valuable experience through:
- Front line service in and leadership of Project HSF's innovative community based programs for children and adults.
- Administrative, management, and operations responsibilities in a grassroots non-profit organization.
- Working closely with a team of talented Fellows.
- "Community Engagement" work with other civic, business, non-profit, and governmental organizations throughout our community.
- Weekly readings and discussions designed to promote contextual understanding and reflection on experiences.
There are very few other opportunities that give recent college graduates such high levels of responsibility in management and leadership of a health-based organization. Through direct work with patients, management and leadership responsibilities within the organization, community involvement and engagement, first hand experience learning about the broader healthcare system, and mentorship and weekly readings and discussions, we develop skills to become tomorrow's community health leaders. Past fellows have gone on to pursue medicine and other graduate studies at top institutions across the US, as well as education and nonprofit work.
We believe that our proven model for working with communities today while preparing needed service leaders for tomorrow is creating an important new path to help improve community health and strengthen communities across our nation. Come join us in this mission at Project Horseshoe Farm!
For more information about the Fellowship and Project HSF's programs, visit projecthsf.org.
Application Deadlines
Fall Deadline: Sunday November 10th at 11:59pm (CST)
Winter Deadline: Sunday February 23rd at 11:59pm (CST)
You can submit your application for either deadline, but we recommend applying for the first round if you are ready to do so. We will accept and notify exemplary candidates in the first round (usually by mid-December). The applications of any promising candidates who are not accepted in the first round will be re-read for the second deadline, along with any newly submitted applications. Then, all of these candidates will be notified of our final decision in the second round (by early April). If you have any questions about the application process, please reach out to our Recruitment Team at fellows@projecthsf.org.