Franklin & Marshall College

Please contact me, , the Ware intern focusing on Human Rights issues. If you are interested in any of the volunteer opportunities listed below. We also work closely with The Human Rights Initiative (THRI) a student group in assisting local refugees with ESL and studying for the citizenship test.

 Local Refugee Volunteer Opportunities

Church World Service works with organizations and churches to provide resources to Lancaster’s refugee population.  The Human Rights intern will help set you up with an opportunity to work with refugee families in the area.  
-    This could include, but is not limited to: bi-weekly meetings with a refugee in his or her home to tutor English (2-4 hours a week), volunteer as a driving instructor, town tour guide, interpreter, furniture mover/handyman, computer trainer, personal finance coach, job skills mentor, health care assistance, or office support.
-    This can also include fund raising/coordinator to make care packages for new arrivals.
-    The Human Rights intern is responsible for coordinating/delivering any donations that are given to the Ware Institute for refugees.

Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Services also works with organizations and churches to provide resources to Lancaster’s refugee population.
-    LIRS needs: English tutors for newly arrived refugees, help furnishing an apartment for a refugee (moving furniture, cleaning, labeling as needed), orientation guides to teach refugees to navigate Lancaster (public transportation, household appliances, etc.)

St. Peter’s United Church of Christ offers English classes for adult refugees both one-on-one and in groups.  This includes reading, writing, or working on the computer.  All volunteers are assigned to a specific student so a trusting relationship can be formed. 
-    Hours: One-on-one tutoring: 9:00 – 10:00 am Monday – Thursday
Group tutoring (with a teacher): 10:00 – 11:30 am Mondays and Thursdays

IU-13 (Citizenship Classes)
-    IU-13 is an organization that offers Citizenship classes to immigrants and refugees in the community.  These classes are free and IU-13 pairs with Church World Service to complete the N-400 (Citizenship application) with the applicants.
-    Our volunteers work once a week during one of the scheduled classes to help facilitate discussion, work on practice questions and do mock interviews with the students of the class to help them excel faster.
-    Hours: Wednesdays from 7:15 – 8:30 pm at McCaskey High School (transportation provided)

Literacy Council of Lancaster-Lebanon
-    The Literary Council of Lancaster helps individual (including refugees) find employment, get a better job, train for post secondary education, and acquire the skills that help them function in their community or support their children’s educational success.
-    The Literacy Council offers ESL lessons to help promote literacy and help adults reach their reading, writing, math and English communication goals through personalized instruction.

Reynolds Middle School
-    Reynolds Middle School offers a variety of volunteer opportunities both in the Human Rights and Educational Outreach intern areas, and it is in walking distance from F&M!
READ (Reynolds Enrichment and Academic Development) for refugees
READ is an afterschool program that helps refugee and multi-cultural students with their homework so that they can keep up with the other students.
Hours: 3:00 – 4:00 pm Monday through Thursday
Kick It! (After School Soccer Program) for refugees
Kick It! is part of Reynold’s “Enrichment Program” and is a soccer program led by F&M students to engage refugee and multi-cultural students who do not want to participate in standard sports and are therefore leaving the afterschool program after the academic component.
 Hours: Monday from 4:30 – 5:30 pm

Pennsylvania Immigration Resource Center (PIRC) is a non-profit legal services organization, which often does pro-bono work with asylum cases at York County prison.
Students can work with PIRC through the Human Rights/Human Wrongs class which aids lawyers in building asylum law cases for detained asylum seekers, or can work on volunteer projects or internships with PIRC throughout the academic year or summer.   

The Human Rights Initiative (THRI) at F&M is a student organization that seeks to increase awareness, funds, and empowerment regarding Human Rights both locally and globally.  THRI offers different volunteer opportunities, events and fundraising opportunities to further these goals, all while focusing on an overall theme of Education.
The Human Rights Intern will serve as a liaison between the Ware Institute and THRI to ensure that programs/opportunities are supporting one other within the F&M community.