Volunteers & Internships - International Relations Council

IRC volunteers help us with our events and programs, without them we would be unable to do what we do. We appreciate the work of all of our past, present, and future volunteers and look forward to working with you soon.

Though we are a non-profit organization centered around world affairs, our volunteer opportunities typically involve engaging with the local community, and assisting the organization with our outreach and administrative duties. If you’d like to engage with global affairs more deeply through a volunteer opportunity, please get in touch directly at dfitzpatrick@irckc.org and we’ll happily help connect you to opportunities which utilize your research interests.

If you want to help the IRC maintain its presence as a Kansas City institution through our volunteer engagements, keep reading!

Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities

To express interest in one of the volunteer opportunities below, fill out this form or email Daniel Fitzpatrick, Membership & Engagement Coordinator (dfitzpatrick@irckc.org), and we’ll be in touch with more information.

Interviewing Experts for Beyond The Headlines

In addition to its public programming, the IRC has started an initiative called “Beyond The Headlines”, where volunteers conduct interviews with a wide variety of subject matter experts: KC community leaders, policy experts at think tanks, former/current diplomats. The IRC will provide volunteers with an interview guide, guidelines on how to reach out to speakers, and access to our Zoom account. Interviews can be done at your leisure, and will be posted on the IRC social media channels.

Volunteering at Community Events

In the spring, summer, and fall, you might find the International Relations Council represented at cultural events and festivals throughout the KC metro area! Examples include the Northland Ethnic Festival, Kansas City Dragon Boat Festival, Ethnic Enrichment Festival, and KC PrideFest!

The IRC relies on volunteers to participate in these cultural events and festivals, and to help spread the word about our organization when we have the chance to get in front of community members. IF you’re interested in volunteering at one of our community events, we’d love to hear from you! Send an email over to dfitzpatrick@irckc.org

Volunteering at Community Events

Social Media Ambassadors

One of the biggest ways that our community can help us at the IRC is to help us spread the word about the different programs and events that we facilitate, which are open to the public! We can only do so much to help get our posts in front of as many eyes as possible – which is why we’re seeking the help of a few “social media ambassadors” whose role will be to share, repost, and extend invitations to our free, public events!

Project-Based Volunteering

As a nonprofit organization with a small staff, the IRC often finds itself in a situation where we have some great ideas to execute that seem to fall under the realm of “if only there were 48 hours in a day!”. Volunteers who might enjoy a more administrative or project-based role can have a big role to play in the IRC’s general operations.

Examples of projects which volunteer support can make a big difference in include:

Outreach to as many schools as possible in the KC Metro to let schools and students know about our Global Education programming
Curating an up to date list of volunteer opportunities with IRC non-profit partners
Assisting the IRC staff / committees in executing mail campaigns
Cultivating and refreshing up to date lists of community events, cultural festivals, and international happenings around the city!

Join an IRC Committee

If you’re interested in getting involved with the IRC on a regular level, we invite you to consider participating in one of the IRC’s committees! Our committees meet an average of 6-8 times a year to play an advisory role in the organization, under specific arms such as Fundraising, Global Education, Membership, and more! The IRC also convenes committees for some of of our signature events: WorldQuest Trivia Night, The Berkley Lecture, and Global Honors Evening. For more information on joining a committee, please click here.

Internships At the IRC

The IRC has an internship program, both for credit and in a volunteer capacity, and are happy to tailor internship opportunities to your particular program requirements! We are currently seeking interns for the Fall 2026 semester. If you’re interested, please send your name and resume to Evan Verploegh at everploegh@irckc.org