Volunteer with Us
Volunteers are the heart and the engine of the Hyde Park Refugee Project. They welcome new families and provide them with ongoing support. They put their special skills to work to keep our organization going.
What do our volunteers do?
Our needs are always changing, but these are a sampling of our volunteer roles.
Mentors help the family learn about and adjust to the routines of daily life in the US and Chicago. They help the family complete tasks such as going over mail, paying utility bills, scheduling appointments, communicating with children’s schools, finding inexpensive stores for household needs, and other similar, seemingly mundane but absolutely essential routine activities.
Commitment:
- Mentors meet with families two-three times per month (or as needed), usually at the family home
- Mentors sometimes accompany members of families to appointments
- Mentors sometimes plan social and cultural activities with the families
- Being a mentor is a long-term commitment—9-12 months
You’ll meet with your assigned learners once a week at the family home or other agreed upon location to teach and practice all aspects of communication in English—conversation, reading, and writing. Prior experience in ESL is not necessary.
Tutors working with children meet the child at the family home once a week, providing academic and social support, talk, and play in English.
Commitment:
- One hour once a week at the family home at a mutually agreeable time
- Volunteers must commit to weekly meetings for a minimum of three months
- Prior experience in ESL not necessary
Help staff our annual Summer Camp for elementary aged children and guide enrichment activities.
Help staff our After School Program, which takes place on-site at local elementary schools. Help children with their English language learning and homework.
Commitment:
- Two days a week during the CPS school year
- 90 minutes/day
- Completion of background check and CPS sexual abuse training
Be a part of an on-call team to help resettle new families. Typically, with only a few days notice, we need to pull together and deliver household kits containing everything from linens to cleaning supplies to personal care items to cookware–everything a family would need when moving into a new apartment (except for the furniture). This role is ideal if you have a flexible schedule and can respond with short notice.
Be a part of an on-call pool of interpreters who help the families during official meetings and other occasions.
Currently required languages: Dari, Pashto, Spanish and Swahili
Join our Administrative Team and help with organizational tasks and logistics.
- Help plan and implement events for volunteers, families and the community
- Apply your writing skills and help develop website and social media content
- Join our fundraising team and help us research and respond to grants
Steps to becoming a volunteer
Note: starting the process doesn’t commit you to volunteering. It’s a way for you to learn more about what we do, and for us to find out what your interests are.
1) Sign up for an orientation session so we can get to know one another! We’ll tell you about us, and you can ask questions and determine whether you’d like to share your time volunteering with us. Click here (or email us at Info@hprpchicago.org) to sign up!
2) Complete our volunteer application to set up a user name and profile in our volunteer portal, Better Impact.
3) Complete a background check and submit your signed confidentiality agreement.
4) Get matched to an opportunity!