NORTHWEST SEASONAL WORKERS ASSOCIATION

203 N. Oakdale Avenue | Medford, Oregon 97501

NSWA is 100% volunteer run and completely independent of government funding.

With NSWA You Can:

Two volunteers do medical intakes for a preventive medical session.
A health care professional provides education to a group of people at an office
A volunteer signs up a room full of farm workers as members as they are sitting in a dining room
Two people work together to bag of non-perishable food for distribution
A young woman and young man with clipboards speak with a farm worker at a farm labor camp.
A total of six people, three teams of two, review forms in preparation for a membership canvass.
A group of eight people gather around in a circle to listen to a briefing from an organizer about the day's activity

Learn

Learn organizing skills and advocacy methods that will help change history!

Produce

Produce NSWA’s independent newspaper, the Northwest Seasonal Worker.

Unite

Unite low-income workers through door-to-door membership canvassing.

Organize

Organize collections of food and clothing.

Expand

Expand preventive medical care, legal advice and other benefits built by and for NSWA's low-income membership.

Mobilize

Mobilize campaigns to end government policies that undermine the survival of working families.

Four people sit at a long table and each are making phone calls
Two volunteers discuss the plan of a spring event at the location of the event
Two volunteers are talking to each other as they prepare to go door-to-door in a West Medford neighborhood

Volunteer Activities

A young woman provides training to a young man on an advocacy session in an office setting

Benefit Advocacy Training Sessions

NSWA benefit advocates provide on-the-job training to volunteers to do intake interviews, as well as provide advocacy for legal and medical requests, and for utility bill payment plans to avert shutoffs. Volunteers also work on follow-up to the monthly medical session, and prepare for the next medical session. Volunteer advocates and NSWA members requesting legal advice work with a volunteer attorney to develop a plan of action for the member and advocate to carry out to resolve the problem.

Three women work together to fill boxes with non-perishable food items for distribution.

Food Distributions

NSWA members may enroll in the association’s budget-saving Benefit Plan II program and participate in weekly free-of-charge supplemental food distributions featuring fresh produce and other nutritional foods. Volunteers are needed year-round to pick up, sort, box and distribute food to enrolled members.

A doctor examines the left arm of a patient in a medical office

General Medical Sessions

Volunteer advocates and interpreters work with a NSWA volunteer physician to hold a General Medical Session monthly. At these sessions, NSWA members receive free preventive medical care exams. NSWA certified medical advocates work with the benefit recipient and volunteer doctor to follow up the prescribed treatment plan to ensure members receive the best care possible, including arranging donated laboratory analysis and X-rays. NSWA needs more volunteer doctors, nurses, advocates and interpreters. Call today about how you can make a difference!

A group of high school students work together to mail out letters in a room with beautiful paintings on the wall.

Letter Mailouts

Volunteers prepare and send letters about our current campaigns to people who have expressed an interest in volunteering or supporting NSWA. We need volunteers to help with the daily letter mailout as well as to assist with the mass mailing of NSWA’s membership newspaper and Sponsors Guide.

Two volunteers stand behind a table with information displayed about the organization. In the background there are other people staffing tables with food.

Literature Tables

Volunteers set up information tables in front of grocery stores, local community events and other locations to promote NSWA so that others can join our cause. This is one way NSWA enlists new friends and participants to come in and make a difference. Please call if you can volunteer or if you know of a location where NSWA can set up a table.

A team of three volunteers speak with two women who are outside their home on the porch.

Membership Canvasses

The house-to-house canvass is the main activity through which NSWA signs up new members to the organization. The canvass also serves to maintain contact with current members in the surrounding areas, many of whom do not have phones. Through this activity, we keep members informed about NSWA activities and how they can actively participate in their association. NSWA volunteers canvass low-income neighborhoods throughout Jackson County to make the benefit of organization available to workers and their families. If you are interested in volunteering for the next canvass or are a member and would like canvassers to come to your neighborhood, please call NSWA today.

A college student wearing a baseball hat writes on a sheet of paper as she sits in front of a typewriter in an office

Welcoming New Members

Volunteers mail out letters welcoming new members to the association. The packet to new members includes a booklet about the 11-point self-help benefit program and ways new members can participate in building their association, such as becoming a delegate to the Workers Benefit Council.

A girl holds up a copy of the Northwest Seasonal Worker newsletter

Publication Sessions

Skilled volunteers work to design leaflets about NSWA programs and special events, as well as produce the Northwest Seasonal Worker and Sponsors Guide quarterly. NSWA’s publication sessions also provide on-the-job training to those who want to learn writing and graphic design skills. If you have graphic design, writing or photography skills, you can teach others. Whether you are coming to learn or teach, we need you!

A volunteer is speaking at a church in front of a large group of people with a large number of people in colorful shirts standing behind the volunteer.

Speaking Engagements

NSWA volunteers and members speak to college classes, clubs, faith congregations and other groups to teach about the economic problems NSWA’s members face and how people from all walks of life can participate in building solutions from the bottom up.

Volunteer Your Skills in the Trades!

Help Us Maintain What We Have Built!

Front of NSWA's Office

After
Before

Back of NSWA's Office

After
Before

What We Need

Skilled Trades

We need plumbers, carpenters, electricians and others who will volunteer their labor and skills.

handymen

If you are not a licensed professional, you can still play a role in helping NSWA maintain its Office Central. Come in today!

Landscapers

Landscapers and hardscapers alike can participate with NSWA, bringing their skills to bear with the upkeep of our grounds to keep them safe and attractive.

referrals

Know someone in the trade or with some "fix-it" skills, introduce them to NSWA!

CALL TODAY!

541-773-6811

NORTHWEST SEASONAL WORKERS ASSOCIATION

203 N. Oakdale Avenue | Medford, Oregon 97501

203 N. Oakdale Avenue

Medford, Oregon 97501

HERE TO WIN,
HERE TO STAY

Est. 1976

Labor donated