Become a Volunteer Child Advocate for Immigrant Children! Se busca voluntarios bilingües.

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Did you know that on any given day, dozens of immigrant children are locked up at detention facilities in Maryland, Virginia, and West Virginia? They may spend months, even years, separated from family, navigating the immigration detention system alone.

This is an opportunity for you to take action to help make sure that all children are treated with kindness and respect by becoming a volunteer with the Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights. As a volunteer, you will be appointed as the Volunteer Child Advocate (guardian ad litem) for an immigrant child in federal custody near Staunton, Virginia. The role of the Volunteer Child Advocate is to meet one-on-one with a child at a local detention center (or virtually), play games and spend time together, learn that child's story over time, and help us advocate for the child with government officials. All of your work will be supported and supervised by a Young Center attorney or social worker. Through volunteering, you will have the opportunity to learn about the immigration process and build personal relationships with amazing children.

ATTEND AN INFORMATION SESSION
The first step to becoming a volunteer is attending one of our Virtual Information Sessions. These sessions are an opportunity to learn more about our volunteer program and ask any questions you might have! We are holding 4 Information Sessions:

• Thursday, February 24th at 6:30 PM
• Sunday, February 27th at 10 AM
• Tuesday, March 1st at 12 PM
• Thursday, March 3rd at 6:30 PM

Sign up for a session through this Google Form (copy and paste into browser): https://forms.gle/W4ayCRY65w545J1Z8

We welcome volunteers from all cultures, professions, and social backgrounds. Volunteers must speak Spanish (if you have questions about your fluency level, please contact us) or an indigenous Mayan language (K’iche’, Mam, etc.). Volunteers must be at least 21, complete online modules, participate in all live virtual training sessions, and be willing to submit a background check and child abuse registry check. Our next training will take place virtually on April 9-10 and 12. Please email us at volunteer@theyoungcenter.org for more information!

(Please note that the location listed is a general central location. Our administrative office is in Washington D.C., but volunteers' weekly visits take place at one of several facilities in Northern Virginia, Richmond, the Shenandoah Valley, Maryland, and West Virginia. Most visits with children are taking place virtually for the foreseeable future.)