News from New York, NY

The IRC in New York and New Jersey relies on exceptional volunteers who make our work possible year after year by welcoming refugees in our communities.

As some of the earliest hit states in the pandemic, NY and NJ responded with empathy, resourcefulness and energy to ensure all new arrivals and established refugees weathered the storm.

RYSA, now the Newcomer Youth Summer Academy (NYSA), welcomes dozens of Peer Mentors as key team members each year. Alice, a Peer Mentor for RYSA 2020 - a virtual and unusual year - offers her reflections below. Inspired? Volunteer with NYSA 2021

Cultural Orientation is an intensive social adjustment course for all newly arrived refugees which focuses on essential information for new Americans through content-based instruction. The class aims to familiarize students with their new environment and prepare them for the daily challenges of living as part of the New York City community.

The IRC in New York’s food and agriculture program focuses on increasing community involvement in their local food systems, through hands-on training and food accessibility programming. Food and agriculture programming takes place at the two urban farms in the South Bronx and Woodside, Queens. The New Roots Intern will support the IRC Food and Agriculture Coordinator in managing this programming and organizing seasonal food production. In addition to food production, the intern will assist with organizing weekly farmer’s market, food distribution, and other educational and community activities. This position works directly with the Food and Agriculture Coordinator.

The financial coaching intern is a volunteer position to support the IRC in NY’s Providing Opportunities for Women’s Economic Resilience (POWER) program. The POWER program is an economic empowerment program that provides vocational training and career development services to immigrant women in New York City. The aim of the program is to empower low-income refugee, asylee, and other immigrant women in New York City by developing their professional and technical skills to improve their economic well-being. The Women’s Economic Empowerment intern will support the program by providing job coaching and counseling services to program participants, while also supporting training. The ideal candidates will have prior experience in the field of career development preferably in a counseling or coaching role.

The career development intern is a volunteer position to support the IRC in NY’s career development program. This program aims to support IRC clients to establish in reaching career goals they have set for themselves. The career development program identifies training and certification program in different industries that will earn participants professional employment and increase in income. The career development intern will support the program by enrolling clients in the program, assist them in building a career pathway and identifying industry specific programs and opportunities related to career goals. The intern will also conduct research that will support the building of relationships with employers as wells internship and apprenticeship partners. The intern will also provide job readiness tools to participants. The ideal candidates will have prior experience in the field of career development or job readiness programing.

The Immigration Department Intern will assist immigration staff in providing services to refugees, asylees, and other immigrants such as adjustment of status, citizenship, and family reunification. (S)he will work closely with immigration staff to draft applications and provide follow-up communication to clients. The intern will also perform a series of clerical and administrative duties to ensure client files are kept up to date.

The financial capabilities is a volunteer position to support the IRC in NY’s financial education program. This program aims to increase financial literacy of participants, provide them with financial coaching and access to low interest loans. This program aims to empower participants and boost their confidence to handle their personal finances. The Financial Coaching intern will support the program by providing financial coaching and counseling services to program participants, while also coordinating monthly financial education workshops for all IRC clients. The intern will also engage in outreach to external organizations as well putting together loan packages for clients. The ideal candidates will have prior experience in the field of personal financial management, preferably in a counseling or coaching role. Due to the nature of the program, the financial coaching intern will need to volunteer for set office hours every week and should be available for a minimum of ten hours per week and up to fifteen, if possible.

The Employment intern is a volunteer position to support the IRC in NY’s early employment programs. This program aims to support IRC clients to establish in reaching employment and career goals they have set for themselves. The IRC’s federal and state employment programs provide job readiness training (JRT), job counseling, and job placement services for newly arrived refugees and asylees beginning their careers in the US. The employment intern will support the program by enrolling clients in the program, assist them in developing employment goals and identifying opportunities related to these goals. The intern will also assist in developing research that will support the building of relationships with employers and assist in development of employment opportunities. The intern will also provide job readiness tools to participants. The ideal candidates will have prior experience in the field of job development or job readiness programing.