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Volunteer
Silver Spring, MD

Volunteer opportunities

Thank you for your interest in welcoming refugees to your community. By volunteering with the IRC in Silver Spring, MD, you use your skills to help people who have fled violence and persecution to rebuild their lives in America. See below for the latest volunteer opportunities and how to apply.

Last updated 

Current opportunities

Silver Spring, MD

Receptionist volunteer

Start date: Ongoing

Greet IRC clients and connect them with IRC staff.
Silver Spring, MD

Family mentor volunteer

Start date: Ongoing

Work one-on-one with a refugee family or individual to ease their transition to the National Capital Region and the United States.
Silver Spring, MD

Housing Set-up Volunteer

Start date: Ongoing

Help our Logistics Specialist prepare for a family to arrive by setting up their apartment.
Silver Spring, MD

Refugee Welcome Home Project Volunteer

Start date: Ongoing

Lead an effort to fully furnish and set-up a home for a refugee family arriving to Maryland.
Silver Spring, MD

GenR

Start date: Ongoing

When you become a GenR member, you join a community of young leaders, professionals and humanitarians (ages 25-40) who want to make an impact in the lives of refugees and families caught in crisis.
Silver Spring, MD

Intern

Start date: Ongoing

Internships give you the chance to get deeply involved in refugee resettlement work. Interns play a pivotal role in supporting locally resettled refugees and leave their internships having built professional exprience preparing them for a career in a nonprofit.
Silver Spring, MD

Saturday Youth Tutor

Start date: Ongoing

Volunteer on Saturdays with the IRC's Youth program (middle and high school students). Volunteers will work with students in PG County, MD to practice English and the SAT.

Volunteer process

  1. Fill out this form to attend a volunteer orientation. After submitting the form, you will be directed to a page with instructions for orientation day. You will receive a reminder the week of your scheduled orientation. Volunteer orientations are required for all volunteer positions (exception internships and GenR).

  2. After attending a volunteer orientation: Complete a volunteer application by following this link.

  3. For non-fee based volunteer positions, you may be selected for an interview.

  4. 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 $30 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.

Additional things to note

*You must be 18 years or older to volunteer and complete a background check. Most positions require at least a 3 month volunteer commitment. If this is not feasible for you, please email [email protected] about other available opportunities. 

Please email [email protected] with any questions. 

All orientations take place at our office, located at: 8719 Colesville Road, 3rd Floor, Silver Spring, MD 20910