Announcement
Last year, the IRC in Silver Spring proudly worked with over 200 volunteers across twelve programs to serve newcomers in our community.
Volunteers provide newcomers with essential services, from economic empowerment programming to casework support towards integration. In April, we are celebrating Global Volunteer Month by speaking with three dedicated volunteers who go above and beyond to amplify the impact of our work.
Upon moving back to the U.S. after working on environmental conservation in Argentina, Cristabel was set on making a career transition to the nonprofit sector. She volunteers weekly at the IRC in Silver Spring’s Job Labs, employment application support spaces offered by the Career Pathways team for newcomers working toward economic empowerment. In her role, she supports by identifying job and educational opportunities, editing resumes and preparing newcomers for job interviews. In one instance, Cristabel found that multiple Job Lab participants had previous experience serving as a caregiver in their home countries but lacked formal care certifications required by many U.S. jobs. One of Cristabel’s most impactful moments with the IRC was connecting these participants to the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) program at Montgomery College. This formal certification opens the door to more job opportunities in the U.S. for many newcomers. Cristabel shares that her experience at Job Labs has been “rewarding and life changing” and confirmed her desire to work professionally in nonprofits.
Hailey, a University of Wisconsin – Madison student studying International Studies, is one of the IRC’s Spring 2026 youth program interns. Since beginning the term in February, Hailey supported the youth team by helping launch a new virtual tutoring program. She developed over 45 lesson plans, mainly focused on English language skill-building. In her role, she also assists caseworkers, accompanying home-visits and leading the weekly after-school program, providing academic enrichment and English-language instruction to local students. Inspired by previous experiences working at nonprofits focused on youth services, Hailey sought out an internship at the IRC in Silver Spring to marry her passions for community service, international studies and education.
Hailey shared that “building relationships in the classroom to support kids, hear about their interests [and] learn their families' stories” has been her favorite part of the experience.
Maggie, a former journalist and active volunteer at various nonprofits in the area was looking for a way to make a difference person- to-person. Three years ago, she found the IRC and became a housing set-up volunteer to help make housing placements for newcomers feel like home. Volunteers like Maggie help on an ad-hoc basis with tasks such as unpacking furniture and decorating clients’ first homes in the U.S. Today, Maggie continues to support the IRC through new volunteer programs, including delivering groceries to community members no longer eligible for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits and food baskets to families celebrating Ramadan. She’s driven to make the “journey [to the U.S.] a little easier” for newcomers in the community.
In FY25, our volunteers dedicated over 24,000 hours to serving the IRC in Silver Spring’s clients.
We are so grateful for every volunteer who has committed their time and resources to support the work of the IRC and welcome newcomers to the community.