Join Us
Membership in Border Community Alliance signals your support for our mission to “bridge the border and foster community” in the borderlands region as well as advocacy for international respect and understanding. Membership has certain benefits including discounts on tours, events and classes; special membership gatherings; and a tax-deduction. See details below.
types of membership for your consideration:
Borderlands Individual membership: $75 per year
Members receive discounts on BCA tours, events and classes. Must be renewed annually.
Borderlands Family membership: $100 per year
Two members of the same household receive the same benefit as individual members described above. Must be renewed annually.
Borderlands Student membership: $25 per year
Receives student discounts on BCA tours, events and classes. Must be renewed annually.
Borderlands Sustainer: Become a monthly donor to BCA
Recommended giving levels - $20/$50/ or $100month).
Automatically includes membership.
Join us today and help us shape a wonderful future for the borderlands!
For questions about your membership or to get help with becoming a member, email info@bordercommunityalliance.org or call (520) 398-3229.
Volunteering
Volunteer with Us!
The board of non profit Border Community Alliance is entirely composed of volunteers. Indeed, the reason why BCA exists as a NGO organization is directly due to the positive work volunteers accomplish everyday in this world. We truly could not continue to exist without the efforts imparted by volunteers in this 501 (c)(3). Their accomplishments reflect kinship and community beyond borders and we actively encourage the community of the borderlands to join the non profit team as a volunteer to participate in the pursuit of our mission statement.
The Experience
Volunteering for BCA is a very rewarding experience! Volunteer positions are carefully managed so that no one is left with more than they can handle and what you do makes a difference. Volunteers are asked to fill out an application and meet for an interview with one of BCA’s directors.
If you are interested in volunteering with BCA please contact us at info@bordercommunityalliance.org with application, details on your interest and/or CV or please give us a call at 520-398-3229.
Here are some ways to get involved:
-Assisting at BCA events
– Set up for our Borderlands Forums, Breakfast & the Border, and other events – Greet folks at our events and pass out BCA information; staff BCA table Office help
– Organize our Borderlands Literature office library
– Write thank you letters to supporters
– Keep track of inventory of BCA merchandise and handouts
– Enter names and contact information into our BCA database
Publicity
– Put up flyers for BCA events & forums at set locations in Green Valley, Tubac, Tucson, Nogales, and other areas
– Place information for BCA events in local newspaper calendars (Green Valley, Tubac, Tucson, Nogales) and online sites
Be our BCA representative on BCA tours/ field trips
– Greet and check in trip attendees at trip meeting location with trip roster provided; greet trip leader
– Hand out nametags
– Collect waiver forms from trip participants
Join one of our BCA Committees to get more involved in BCA’s work
– BCA Working Committees include: Internship; Borderlands Forums; Tours; Fundraising; Borderland Literature & Film Circle; Finance; Planned Giving; Special Events; & Magdalena Film Committee
Internship Program
Blog Posts: 2024 Borderlands Ambassadors Describe their Experiences
Introduction to the Borderlands (click to read)
by Jamie Aciukewicz
University of Massachusetts/Lowell, 2023
by Callie Stolar
Northwestern University, 2025
Week 2 - Collaboration and Community (click to read)
By Isabel Pan
Pitzer College, 2026
Week 3 - Expanding Perspectives/ Midpoint Musings
Mira Zaslow
Wesleyan University, 2026
Week 5 - Economic and Legal Issues (click to read)
by Kai Carse
Pomona College, 2024
Week 6 -
Now What (click to read)
by Juan Girón
University of Arizona, 2027
Interview with a Borderlands Ambassador
One of our interns, Kai Carse, from New York City and a recent graduate of Pomona College, sat down for an interview with our Communications Intern, Rafael Guerrero, before he left the borderlands last week, to discuss his BCA internship experience.
Kai will be heading to Guadalajara, Mexico in the fall to teach English for a year. He intends to pursue a career in immigration law and policy. Kai loves the outdoors - specifically hiking and camping - as well as mentoring, film, and sports. Kai has experience working with two legal aid organizations where he took or transcribed interviews of asylum applicants: Al Otro Lado in California and Safe Passage Project in New York.
BCA Final Presentations 2024
VIDEO: US Ambassador to Mexico Ken Salazar congratulates BCA on our internship program during our 10th anniversary year in 2023:
The application process for our Summer 2024 Borderlands Ambassador Internship program is now CLOSED.
INTERNSHIP DATES: JUNE 11-JULY 27, 2024
BCA's internship program is open to rising college sophomores through those in graduate school (minimum age is 18).
Internship Information
Internship Application
Deadline to Apply: January 31, 2024
CONTACT INFORMATION
BCA Internship Coordination
interns@bordercommunityalliance.org
Mailing Address:
Border Community Alliance
PO Box 1863
Tubac, AZ 85646
BCA Offices:
520.398.3229
BCA Internship Program
The BCA Internship Program seeks to give participants broad exposure and provide hands-on experience to the realities of border life. Interns will experience perspectives from both sides of the border—politically, culturally, socially, and environmentally. Living close to the border is more than textbook theory. It is like having one foot in Mexico, and the other in the United States. BCA interns will have unique opportunities to dialogue with borderland writers, teachers, politicians, artists, migrants, social activists, environmentalists, and attorneys. And friendships are often forged for life.
BCA/FESAC Partnership
Border Community Alliance, (BCA) partners with FESAC (Fundación del Empresariado Sonorense, A.C.), a non-governmental organization (NGO) on the Mexico side that functions like a community foundation in offering this internship program. FESAC operates throughout the state of Sonora and we connect with them through their Nogales chapter. The BCA/FESAC partnership is an important and unique aspect of this internship program.
Participants will have an experience they will never forget. This immersion program changes lives with the opportunity to experience the traditions and generosity of the people of the borderlands.
“My internship with the BCA was one of the most memorable and influential times of my life.“
– Marty Ethington, Muskingum University Graduate, Ohio, Peace Corp Volunteer
Contact Information
BCA Internship Coordination
interns@bordercommunityalliance.org
Mailing Address:
Border Community Alliance
PO Box 1863
Tubac, AZ 85646
BCA Offices:
520.398.3229
BCA Internship Alumni
Andrew Hirsch
2017 BCA Intern, Wesleyan University
My experience as an intern for Border Community Alliance in the summer of 2017 was entirely transformative. I received the opportunity to meet with, learn about and volunteer for many different non-profits, NGOs, religious organizations, businesses, anthropologists, journalists and government agencies operating on both sides of the border. We were empowered with the freedom and connections to explore the professional world as it related to both the borderlands and our own personal interests.
Angela Gervasi
2017 BCA Intern, Temple University
Through Border Community Alliance, I had the incredible opportunity to live for six weeks in Nogales, Arizona– a border town that sits adjacent to Nogales, Mexico. The experience was eye-opening, filled with daily conversations in Spanish and English and constant lessons about the border. I’ll never forget those conversations– with an artist, a taxi driver, a musician– and I’ll always be grateful to the friendliness and openness present in the Nogales community.
While separated by a fence, the two towns share such a strong bond that they’re often referred to as Ambos– “both”– Nogales. Each day, hundreds of people push through creaky, metal turnstiles that separate Mexico from the United States. They cross to visit family and friends, to shop for clothes and groceries, or simply to visit and explore. Meanwhile, migrants from Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras lack visas, passports, documents. Many of them would– and do– risk their lives to set foot in Arizona, Texas or California. The borderlands are complex: a concoction of cultures, a hub of contradiction and confusion, a focal point of the beautiful humanity and unspeakable pain that ensues when two countries are divided by a fence.
Since I returned to my hometown of Philadelphia, Nogales has crossed my mind at least daily. I hope and plan to return soon, and I’m grateful for my summer with BCA.
Natalie Leach
2016 BCA Intern, Kent State University
My studies in International Relations and Spanish have led me to become very interested in and passionate about development in Central America and Mexico, especially certain aspects of development like poverty, access to education, and the gang violence that compounds these issues within the region. This led me to become interested in how these factors drive some people to migrate to the United States, how others seek asylum there – and so it became important to me to pursue an internship that dealt, in some way, with these issues. I also wanted to learn more about the border from many different aspects, in order to experience firsthand how the U.S. and Mexico are critically linked, and how border policy affects life for people living on both sides as well as those who migrate. Most significantly for me, interning with Border Community Alliance allowed me to learn more about the astounding community initiatives on the Mexican side; about migrants and their experiences; about immigration within the United States’ legal system; and about the importance of changing the narrative of the border. And equally as impactful was that in doing this, I had the privilege of meeting and volunteering with some of the most dedicated and incredible organizations and individuals I came to know during my experience.
Natalie Somerson
2016 BCA Intern, University of Minnesota
BCA’s internship was a refreshing 6 weeks of well-rounded views — whether economic, political, humanitarian, or social justice stances. It allowed me to learn first hand about border issues and draw my own conclusion after being presented with all the facts, which is incredibly unique. Ambos Nogales invited us interns to hear as much as we could and learn from those affected by the issues on both sides of the wall.
Daniel McDermott
2016 BCA Intern, University of Arizona
A summer in Nogales opened my eyes to the incredible activist presence on the U.S.-Mexico border. The BCA consists of, and will introduce you to, a collection of passionate and creative community members on both sides of the wall working in conjunction to promote regional self-determination and basic human rights.
Charlie Cutler
2015 BCA Intern, University of San Francisco
Charlie’s experience as a BCA intern so greatly impacted his life that he developed a cross border youth project, with Border Community Alliance as the fiscal agent and sponsor. Charlie implements and oversees the program as the project Executive Director. His program, called Border Youth Tennis Exchange, BYTE, provides athletic training and a specialized learning (NJTL) educational curriculum to youth on both sides of the US/Mexico Border. By empowering Children and young adults as international cultural ambassadors, BYTE strengthens border communities and bridges social, economic, and political gaps.
Alexandria Arriaga
2015 BCA Intern, University of Wisconsin
“BCA’s internship gave me insight into the reality of the border. As I continue to study the political and historical relations between the U.S. and Mexico, I had the privilege of witnessing first-hand how the border impacts lives.” –Alex Arriaga