The Interfaith Center of New York has been proud to support and partner with the work of so many faith communities responding to the Asylum Seeker Crisis in New York. Many of these organizations rely on volunteers to make an impact on the lives of Asylum seekers. If you want to do your part to support Asylum Seekers in NYC, but don’t know where to start, consider volunteering with one of the following organizations:
- Artists Athletes Activists and Rauschenbusch Metro Ministries partner together weekly (Wednesday & Thursday | 10am – 3pm) at a church in Hell’s Kitchen. The ROCC program (Resources Opportunities Connections Community) is a safe and inclusive community for recently-arrived immigrants of all backgrounds. Be a part of this incredible aid through volunteer work – assist with in-person resource referrals and sign-ups, programming activities and games, cooking, English lessons and more. Volunteers are welcome for all or part of the day. Fluency in languages other than English is helpful, but not required. To volunteer, please contact Candice Braun at (917) 612-6782 or candice_ben@mac.com
- Ark Legal Clinic at CBST trains volunteers and attorneys to assist with asylum and work permit applications, translation, accompaniment to USCIS interviews, direct support for our immigrant neighbors, and more. When : Wednesday evenings. Where : 130 West 30th Street. Volunteer Info email : sanctuary@cbst.o Website : https://cbst.org/social-justice/immigration/
- Afrikana, a resource center in Harlem that assists migrants through a variety of applications, is looking for volunteers Monday through Thursday between 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. Located at 685 Lenox Avenue, NY, NY 10030, come with your computer and be prepared for a 2-to-4-hour shift. Sign-up to volunteer through this link: https://shorturl.at/jITU1
- B’nai Jeshurun is a weekly community gathering space for asylum seeking families from one of our partner shelters on the Upper West Side. Dinner, children’s activities, and Know Your Rights presentations will be offered for our guests. When : Thursdays. Where : 270 West 89th Street. Needed: Spanish speaking volunteers from 5:00PM-6:30PM on February 15th, 22nd, and 28th. Website : https://www.bj.org. Contact : Kiana Davis ( kdavis@bj.org )
- East Village Neighbors Who Care provides food, clothing, and information while offering a warming center for people waiting in line at the St. Brigid’s reticketing center. Groups : Food Group, Food Dispatch Group, Non-Food Donations Group, Shelter Group, Resources Group, Translation Group, Admin Group, Fundraising Group, Warming Group, Social Media Group. Information and Sign-up : https://linktr.ee/EVNC
- Emma’s Torch Emma’s Torch is a non-profit social enterprise that trains refugees, asylees, and survivors of human trafficking in the culinary arts and empowers them to build meaningful careers in the culinary industry. As part of its training program Emma’s Torch operates a restaurant and catering business, as well as the cafe at the Brooklyn Public Library. The Emma’s Torch Culinary Apprenticeship consists of eleven, 40-hour paid work weeks during which students receive 600 hours of mentorship, training, and work experience. Emma’s Torch maintains a 90% placement rate for its job seeking graduates. They have opened a new branch of its program in Inwood right near the new public library for catering production. Since we are very new to Manhattan, we are searching for volunteers in Northern Manhattan to support our English as a Second Language Curriculum teaching. Although we don’t require this volunteer to be an expert ESOL teacher, we prefer someone with experience in this field and experience working with migrant populations. Interest in the culinary arts would be an added bonus. This volunteering would be 1-2 times per week for 1-3 hours at a time, and the classes would take place between 1-4pm (subject to change and fairly flexible). Please reach out to the program manager (Emma Hofman at emmah@emmastorch.org ) for more information.
- HIAS is looking for long-term and short-term volunteers to help Asylum Seekers access Essential Services. Volunteering includes writing resumes, holding mock job interviews, building English Language Skills, fostering community, and so much more. Learn more and apply to be a volunteer here: https://app.betterimpact.com/PublicOrganization/8ea8d70a-85df-4b54-92b8-6f6dbdd91d21/1
- Marlene Meyerson JCC Manhattan will be conducting a Spring + Summer Clothing Drive for Children from new immigrant families in District 3 public schools from March 11 – 22. Help ensure that students have the clothing they need for the spring and summer seasons:
Where : 334 Amsterdam Ave at 76th Street
Donate : https://mmjccm.org/adults/social-responsibility-volunteering/donation-drives
To host a collection : contact jcharriez@mmjccm.org
Volunteer to sort clothing : https://mmjccm.org/volunteer-opportunities
Needed: spanish-conversant tutors to tutor children in NYC schools through Koopersmith Family Literacy + Math program https://mmjccm.org/adults/social-responsibility-volunteering/volunteer/koopersmith-family-literacy-math- program
Family Literacy + Math Program Contact : (litmath@mmjccm.org.)
- The Migrant Center of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi, needs intake coordinators, translators, and especially legal assistance at their site, where they help asylum seekers apply for asylum. For more information or for immigration assistance or to volunteer, please contact Fr. Julian Jagudilla, O.F.M. at 212-736-8500 ext. 377 or at migrantcenter@stfrancisnyc.org
- Masbia Soup Kitchen Network’s emergency food programs serve over 2 million meals a year in two main categories. We serve roughly 100,000 hot, sit-down dinners to clients at restaurants like soup kitchens, and the rest in emergency care packages equivalent to 9 meals worth of groceries for every member of the family.
Where :
-Flatbush (1372 Coney Island Ave • Brooklyn, NY 11230)
-Queens (105-47 64th Rd • Forest Hills, NY 11375)
-Boro Park (5402 New Utrecht Ave • Brooklyn, NY 11219)
Website : https://www.masbia.org/
Volunteer Sign-up : https://www.masbia.org/volunteer_signup/
- St. Luke’s in the Fields Clothing Closet provides clothing, personal care items, and brown bag sandwich meals to anyone in need. Volunteers are needed every Saturday (except Church holidays/special events) from 3 – 4 P.M. at 487 Hudson Street in Laughlin Hall; Volunteers help sort, set up, and distribute donations, assemble meals, and provide a welcoming atmosphere. You can sign up to volunteer here: https://episcopalcharities.volunteerhub.com/vv2/lp/stluke/
- St. Paul and St. Andrew, a one-day-a-week respite center located on the Upper West Side. Help to provide respite on Mondays between 8:30 A.M. – 11:30 A.M. Additionally the site needs help with the sorting and distribution of clothing donations on Sundays from 1:00 P.M – 3:30 P.M and Mondays 8:30am- 12pm. Follow this link to create an account and see the availability for volunteer slots: https://my.lotsahelpinghands.com/community/spsasanctuary/home
- Team TLC NYC, will need volunteers in the coming days and weeks to help set up several new storage spaces, to help move supplies to the new spaces, and to sort donations at various drop-off locations around the city. Starting October 27, Team TLC NYC will start doing clothing distributions every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at the offices of Repair the World in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, and will need volunteers to staff those distributions and others as we do pop-up stores in various locations. Please see our signup at https://www.signupgenius.com/go/LittleShopofKindness#/ for more information.
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Team TLC NYC / Artists, Athletes, Activists Night Owl Team greets asylum seekers arriving at Penn Station between 10:00 PM and 11:00 AM daily. Volunteers are trained, directed, and supervised by team leaders from Artists Athletes Activists to greet and assist asylum seekers who, arriving in a huge, strange city in the middle of the night with no money, no transportation, and no friends, would otherwise be lost. Here is a chance to genuinely rescue people in peril.
Sign – Up : https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0949AAA82BA4FF2-47151928-night#/
Where : Penn Station
When : Shifts from 10pm – 1am, 1am – 5am, 5am – 8am, 8am -11am
Needed : Spanish speakers
- Radical Hope Mutual Aid Center @ Judson Memorial Church runs a respite center every Monday from 10 A.M. – 5 P.M., where asylum seekers can access food and key social services. New volunteers are not being accepted at this time. To stop by or reach out, contact Ted Dawson at dawsontheodore@gmail.com
Want to submit a volunteer opportunity? Fill out this form. Additionally, you can send an opportunities or questions to brennan@interfaithcenter.org
