Current opportunities
Summer Internships
The IRC in Charlottesville offers a variety of unpaid internships for students currently enrolled in an educational institution or those who are recent graduates.
Special Events Volunteer
The IRC in Charlottesville is seeking volunteers with a wide range of skills to help plan the annual fundraising event We Rescue Lives, the World Refugee Day Celebration, and other IRC events. Volunteers on the Event Committee meet monthly with IRC staff to plan and execute events for the community and for IRC clients.
Reception Volunteer
Be the first to greet people as they walk into our office!
ESL Tutor
Help refugees improve their English!
Apartment Set-up Volunteer
Help to welcome newly-arrived refugee families by furnishing and decorating their apartment.
Become a GenR: Charlottesville Member
GenR—short for Generation Rescue—is a group of young and influential humanitarians between the ages of 25 and 40 who have joined forces with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) to help people survive conflict and disaster and rebuild their lives.
Volunteer process
Familiarize yourself with the IRC and review our current available volunteer positions. Choose 3 that best fit your interests, skills, and schedule.
Complete a volunteer application by following this link. Once your application has been received, the Volunteer Coordinator will contact you regarding upcoming Volunteer Orientation dates within 10 business days. All Volunteer Orientations take place at the IRC Charlottesville office, located at 609 East Main St, Suite 104, Charlottesville, VA 22902.
After you have attended a Volunteer Orientation and your application has been reviewed, you may be selected for a brief phone interview to discuss potential placement options.
Once the interview is confirmed and conducted, successful interviewees will complete the necessary background checks.* To protect our clients, we require background checks for all our volunteers, and we ask volunteers to make a $35 donation to cover associated costs. Currently, 92% of our funding goes directly to our clients, and your help to cover this cost allows us to continue providing the best service possible. This step can add 1-2 weeks to the process, but is typically very fast.
Once cleared, you're ready to get started! Depending on your role, you'll either receive further training from your in-office department or will be invited to attend a tutor training before being matched with a family to tutor and/or mentor.
Additional things to note
*You must be 18 years or older to volunteer and complete a background check. For High School Opportunities, please email [email protected].
Most positions require at least a 3 month volunteer commitment with up to 5 hours per week. If this is not feasible for you, please email us about our on-call opportunities.
Please email [email protected] with any questions.