Our office depends on our many devoted volunteers to keep things running smoothly. There are many opportunities for you to become a volunteer with Refugee and Immigration Services, Diocese of Jefferson City:
providing additional support and guidance to an individual or family
tutoring English and other school subjects
setting up apartments for newly arriving refugees
assisting with translation
providing office support
organizing community awareness or fundraising events.
We work with volunteers from a wide variety of skills sets and backgrounds. However, availability of volunteer opportunities is contingent upon our current need and your availability. We will do our best to coordinate you with an appropriate family or activity and help support you as you go. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer, please call or come by the Columbia office.
Internships
We host a number of student interns each semester through a variety of degree programs including: social work, international studies, public affairs, nursing, agriculture and interdisciplinary studies. We are always looking for opportunities to expand to other programs. Please contact the Development Coordinator at 573-442-7568 for more information about internships.
Volunteer FAQs
What’s the process to become a volunteer?
Anyone who is interested in becoming a volunteer needs to fill out a volunteer application; you can have one emailed to you or come by the office to pick one up. The staff will review your completed application and contact you when an appropriate volunteer opportunity has been identified. Every volunteer must complete orientation, pass a background check and agree to a confidentiality and respect contract.
I want to tutor English, but don’t have experience. Can I still volunteer?
We recommend that individuals interested in tutoring English first gain experience by assisting in an ESL classroom at the Adult Learning Center. Once you have gained experience and tools for tutoring, you can be placed with a family to do additional in-home tutoring. Tutors should be prepared to gather their own resources and invest additional time in preparing lessons ahead of their meeting time with refugee clients.
My only availability is on Saturdays and Sundays. Can I still volunteer?
Due to the nature of our work, the optimal availability of volunteers is between 8am and 5pm, Monday through Thursday. There are always opportunities to interact with refugees outside of these hours, but volunteers must be willing to be self-directed in these opportunities.
Volunteers must be flexible and willing to work outside of their stated position of interest.
