Volunteers extend their compassion, time, and expertise not only to our clients, but to our Agency staff to take part in the global effort of resettling uprooted people. A volunteer with ANA acts as a friend, teacher, and advocate to help new Americans integrate into the Boise community and achieve self-sufficiency.
Agency for New Americans relies heavily on the support of our volunteers. Some volunteer opportunities become available more often than others; however, we are always looking for people who want to help welcome new Americans home to Idaho. We believe in matching volunteers’ unique talents to the needs of ANA.
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How to become an Active Volunteer with ANA
1) To start the volunteer onboarding process, please create a profile with Better Impact. 2) Attend a volunteer orientation! The schedule of volunteer orientations is below. Sign up for a volunteer orientation in Better Impact, or email the volunteer coordinator the date of the orientation you would like to attend. 3) Receive and fill out a link from a third party for a background check. 4) Receive follow up email to confirm background clearance and acceptance to volunteer with ANA! |
"Refugees are the most important members of the community in Boise. We are so lucky to know so many incredible people who have come from circumstances beyond our understanding." -Camilla, ANA volunteer "I support refugees because I am a refugee myself. I believe everyone deserves a life filled with safety and happiness. Refugees are amazing people looking for a better life." -Farida, ANA Volunteer |
Agency for New Americans Volunteer Orientation Calendar 2023
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Volunteer Orientation Schedule at Jannus Inc.
Address: 1607 W. Jefferson St., Boise ID 83702 Time: 10:00 AM Mountain Time Friday, November 3rd, 2023 Friday, January 5th, *2024 |
Volunteer Orientation Schedule at St. Stephen's Church
Address: 2206 N Cole Rd., Boise ID 83704 Time: 6:00 PM Mountain Time Tuesday, October 17th, 2023 Tuesday, December 12th, 2023 |
If you have questions about volunteering, please call 208-338-0033 ext. 0170 or email our Volunteer Coordinator, Olivia, at owargo@jannus.org.
General Volunteer Opportunities
AIRPORT ARRIVALS
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Join us at the airport to greet our newest arrivals when they first land in Boise! You can make welcome signs, gift flowers, or simply bring a smile to help welcome Boise's newest residents as they arrive. (No balloons, please!)
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APARTMENT SET UP
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Setup apartments for new arrived refugees, including setting up kitchens, making beds and generally making the apartment look nice and ready for the refugees to live in. You can meet at the apartment and help setup everything, or you can assist the donations manager with the heavy lifting and moving furniture and items into the apartment. Move-ins typically happen during normal business hours. Our housing specialist coordinates with our team to schedule the move with the apartment management. Move-ins scheduling often happens with short term notice with the current housing situation, so this is a great opportunity for those with flexible weekday schedules!
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TRANSPORTATION ASSISTANCE
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We need help transporting clients to a multitude of appointments and events. This volunteer opportunity has requests both in advance, as well as last minute requests the day of the appointment, depending on the transportation need. Transportation request locations may include appointments at the agency, Social Security, apartments, the English Language Center, community activities, and more.
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HYGIENE KITS
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Provide support to our agency by assisting with Hygiene kit building! Put together a list of hygiene items into baskets, do small inventory on current items, and restock hygiene supplies on agency shelves. Must be able to walk down a steep flight of stairs! This volunteer need is once per month.
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FAMILY MENTOR
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Build relationships with refugees by giving new American families an Idaho friend to help them with integration. Mentors meet with families at least twice a month to help with English language practice, grocery shopping, paying bills, school orientations, and cultural sharing, such as having a picnic, going to the zoo, watching a movie, or having a pizza party. This is a great option for those are seeking a more involved volunteer opportunity.
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REACH YOUTH MENTOR
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Build relationships with refugee youth ages 15 - 24 by giving them an Idaho friend to help them with integration. Mentors meet with youth at least once a week to help with English language practice, school, community engagement, and cultural sharing, such as having a picnic, going to the zoo, watching a movie, or having a pizza party. This is a great option for those are seeking a more involved volunteer opportunity with refugee youth.
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WOMEN'S GROUP
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Promote a safe environment for women to meet and socialize! Female volunteers are needed to help with transporting women to and from weekly meetings and providing support with the setup/take down of activity supplies. Women's group occurs weekly on Tuesday and Friday afternoons.
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Student Volunteer Opportunities
SERVICE LEARNING
We ask for a minimum of 20 hours for the semester. This can be flexible to the project you are hoping to complete for your course. Whether you are looking to support our agency in employment, case management, marketing, events, donations, or community outreach, we would love to get you connected with our Agency to complete your work.
Student Projects
Students of all ages, from elementary to college, have conducted their own student led projects to support Agency needs. Projects have included donation drives, marketing campaigns, hand written greeting cards for new Americans, airport arrivals, and student-led fundraisers. If you are a student or an educator interested in doing a student led project with our Agency, please reach out and we would love to collaborate with you to make your idea a success, in support of both your educational endeavor and our mission to improve the lives of new Americans in Idaho.
Internships
We provide opportunities for both graduate and undergraduate students to complete volunteer internships for their course credit. These roles require an interview and application process. If you are interested in interning with our Agency, please view any available intern positions on our "Join our Team" page and reach out to our Volunteer Coordinator Olivia with your interest.
