Current opportunities
Adult ESL Volunteer Teacher
Volunteers will teach one or two levels (beginner and intermediate) modular “a la carte” English class to help newly arrived refugees and immigrants transition into the everyday aspects of life in the US. Using engaging and student-centered lessons, the teacher will provide content-based instruction. Finally, volunteers will collaborate with members of the Family Education team to ensure clients’ immediate educational needs are met.
Volunteer Recruitment and Management Civic Corps
The Volunteer Recruitment and Management Civic Corps Member is responsible for collaborating with IRC staff to determine volunteer and intern needs; recruit, screen, train and supervise volunteers and interns; provide on-going support and guidance for volunteers and interns, and enter volunteer information in a central database system.
Volunteer Dari-speaking Cultural Orientation Teacher
Cultural Orientation is a 2-day intensive social adjustment course for all newly arrived refugees which focuses on essential information for new Americans through content-based instruction.
Refugee Resettlement Intern in NY
The Refugee Resettlement Intern for the IRC in New York will assist Resettlement Services staff in providing reception and placement services to newly arrived refugees.
Pashto Speaking Cultural Orientation Volunteer Teacher
The Cultural Orientation Volunteer Teacher will teach Cultural Orientation classes once or twice per week, using IRC’s established curriculum.
Citizenship and Immigration Intern in NY
The Immigration Program provides fee-based services to refugees, asylees, Cuban/Haitian entrants and other immigrants in New York. The intern will work closely with IRC staff to provide legal services to clients seeking assistance with various immigration forms.
Cultural Orientation Intern
The Cultural Orientation will support timely coordination and scheduling of classes in collaboration with colleagues, assist with program and date management, and teach as needed using IRC’s established curriculum.
Family Education Support Volunteer
The Family Education Support Volunteer will assist the program coordinator to evaluate and assess students, prepare materials for classes and complete both short and long term outreach projects.
College & Career Readiness Advisor Volunteer
The College & Career Readiness Advisor will manage a caseload of IRC clients who are interested in pursuing higher education or vocational school. The intern will provide individual consultations and follow-up on all referrals. The intern will also plan college readiness workshops and several CUNY college visits. This volunteer role will provide firsthand experience in managing a caseload of refugee and immigrant clients, planning and implementing workshops, designing and implementing a college/career readiness curriculum for recently-arrived refugee and asylee youth.
Unaccompanied Children Intern
The IRC in New York provides services to unaccompanied minors as part of a national response to the large influx of youth entering the United States without legal guardians. The Unaccompanied Children Intern will support the Unaccompanied Children Caseworker to complete home studies on potential sponsors and assist minors in obtaining educational, health, and legal services once they are placed with a sponsor. The intern’s primary responsibility will be helping clients to obtain legal assistance, enrollment in school, and health insurance and to conduct research on possible resources available to the children and their sponsors within the 5 boroughs of NYC. The Unaccompanied Children Intern will work within the Resettlement Department at the IRC in NY resettlement office and report to the Unaccompanied Children Caseworker.
Volunteer process
Review our volunteer positions and select your top three choices. Make sure to note EXACT desired titles offered.
Complete a volunteer application. Your application will be reviewed and you will be contacted if your interests, availability, and skills match current openings. **Please note we receive a high volume of applications and only top candidates are contacted.**
If you are contacted for an interview, you may be asked to follow additional steps. Upon completion of a successful interview, we will run references. To protect clients, we require a background check for all volunteers. We ask that you make a minimum contribution of $50 to offset the high cost of a background check. 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. The background check process and confirmation from IRC, may take 1-2 weeks.
Once cleared, you will be required to attend an orientation and training.
Additional things to note
You must be 18 years or older to volunteer. For High School opportunities, email [email protected]