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28 people are interested
Become a Refugee Family Mentor & Make an Impact!
ORGANIZATION: Lutheran Community Services Northwest: Refugee Resettlement Program
Please visit the new page to apply.
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28 people are interested
Refugee Family Mentors at Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW) help refugee family’s transition to their new lives in King and Pierce counties. The family mentor role is multi-faceted and always evolving as families served come from different backgrounds and circumstances. Mentors and refugee families develop mutually rewarding relationships of cultural sharing, learning, and understanding.
Background: LCSNW resettles refugees from Iraq, Afghanistan, Somalia, Iran, Burma, as well as other countries. These families have experienced unspeakable suffering and loss. Being approved for refugee status and resettled in the U.S. is a blessing, but presents its own set of challenges. Imagine landing in a foreign land, knowing you could never go home, or be reunited with loved ones. You don’t know how your neighbors live, their language, their diet, their values, or their customs. Where to begin? With this new beginning comes hope, but it is a daunting and lonely process. That’s where the family mentor comes in.
Refugee Family Mentors engage in a range of specific and broad activities. Some mentors specifically focus on ESL tutoring, while others provide casual guidance on everyday life tasks; such as sorting mail, cooking dinner together, teaching refugees how to use a debit card, showing families local restaurants, helping them prepare for job interviews, taking families on fun outings like the movies, parks, festivals . . . the ideas are limitless, and provide the extra relationship that is so crucial to refugees’ success.
LCSNW serves families of all sizes and ethnic backgrounds, so family mentors can pick the family profile that interests them most. Mentors share time, companionship, activities, meals and inter-cultural experiences with their refugee families. The learning goes both ways - everyone wins!More opportunities with Lutheran Community Services Northwest: Refugee Resettlement Program
No additional volunteer opportunities at this time.
About Lutheran Community Services Northwest: Refugee Resettlement Program
Location:
223 N Yakima Ave, Tacoma, WA 98403, US
Mission Statement
Lutheran Community Services Northwest partners with individuals, families, and communities for health, justice and hope.
Description
Agency: Lutheran Community Services Northwest (LCSNW) is a non-profit human services agency serving communities throughout Washington, Oregon and Idaho. Our caring staff provides a wide variety of services to adults, adolescents, children, families, schools, businesses, congregations, neighborhoods and communities. We are privileged to touch the lives of people of all ages, cultures and faiths.
Refugee Resettlement Program: Refugees are people who have fled their country of origin because they are persecuted for being of a particular race, religion, nationality, political opinion or social group (1951 Refugee Convention). Refugees have faced and survived immense hardship, often demonstrating remarkable resilience. We see that resilience in the lives of those who have resettled in the United States. Families are given an opportunity to start life over in a safe place and begin the process of healing and regaining hope. Multicultural Community Services (MCS), a program of LCSNW, is contracted with the U.S Department of State to help refugees rebuild their homes and their lives. Since 1975, MCS has resettled over 35,000 refugees from all over the world, helping them become self-sufficient and integrated into the culture and community of King, Snohomish and Pierce Counties. Though refugees have lost nearly everything - they rebuild - becoming a vital, contributing force in our diverse communities.
CAUSE AREAS
WHEN
WHERE
223 N Yakima AveTacoma, WA 98403
DATE POSTED
December 6, 2016
SKILLS
- People Skills
- Cross-cultural Communication
- Community Outreach
- Teaching / Instruction
- Relationship Building
- English as a Secondary Language (ESL)
GOOD FOR
N/A
REQUIREMENTS
- Background Check
- Must be at least 18
- Orientation or Training
- Commit approximately 3 hours a week for 3 months