Service Opportunities: Sign Up
Magarya Waitara
Did you know that Nashville has one of the fastest-growing refugee communities in the US? Did you know that about 1200 new refugees arrive to Nashville each year? Are you interested in learning more about Nashville's diverse community and helping new immigrants transition by assisting them in their education, medical and other needs? Then participate in one or more volunteer opportunities or take a more active leadership role in a specific project that will allow you to not only give back to the community and learn about different cultures but also add a unique service experience to your CV!
Vanderbilt International Connections (VIC) has a chance to work with refugee dedicated organizations like Newcomer Academy, International Community Centers, Catholic Charities, Paragon Mills Elementary, African Leadership and Siloam Clinic to assess the needs of the community and develop the following projects that students are asked to help with:
1. Health
- Adopt/Follow a family: Groups of 2-3 students will be assigned to one of new refugee families. Students will welcome a family to Nashville, help them get oriented with multiple medical appointments, vaccinations, teach English during home visits, help them buy groceries or simple take them around town for a leisurely tour and help identify other needs. This is a rewarding opportunity to get to know a family, their culture and unique challenges as they resettle in Nashville. Very flexible scheduling.
- Health education visits: A group of students will visit a refugee family or a school serving refugees and recent immigrants and talk to them about health issues (basic hygiene, nutrition, exercise, etc.). Students would be responsible for preparing visual/audio tools and presentations. Presentations could be also done at Newcomer Academy in the afternoon to reach children during their English preparatory program before they transition to a regular school system. More opportunities are available for adults at African Leadership refugee ministry or Paragon Mills Elementary. Little health education can go a long way to help people in our communities live healthier and more enriching lives. Flexible scheduling.
- Help with immunizations: There is a great need of volunteers to help new families get their immunizations. Students will be trained by Catholic Charities and will set up a schedule with them. They will contact families that need to return to a healthcare center for immunizations and drive them there and back. The project will take a few hours at a time, so it’s good to do when you have a free afternoon or during breaks! It is a great way to learn about challenges facing new families and to work with one of the main refugee organizations in Nashville-Catholic Charities.
2. Teaching
- ESL:There is a great opportunity to teach ESL to youth-adults at Paragon Mills Elementary, a school serving a lot of refugee families, and at the African Leadership Refugee Ministry. Volunteer teachers and teacher’s assistants are needed at all levels. Classes are small (10-15 students) and the curriculum is prepared for teachers to use. The classes are held on Mondays 7:00 - 8:15 PM and they go for 10 weeks at Paragon Mills Elementary. At the African Leadership Refugee Ministry, classes are Tue/Thu 4:30 – 6:00 PM and Wed 6:30 – 7:30 PM, classes go for 6 weeks. You can teach classes individually or team-teach with others. There will be a training session coming up soon, so you are encouraged to act quickly if at all interested. This is open to all who are interested, students as well as members of the community.
- Tutoring at the Center for Refugees and Immigrants of Tennessee (CRIT). Tutors needed to help with homework in a variety of subjects with emphasis on English and Math. Tutoring days are Tuesday and Thursday 5-7PM but you can drop in anytime and set up your own schedule. It is a great way to interact with kids and to be a role model for them.
- The Pre-school Program at the African Leadership Refugee Ministry. This will serve children ages 4 & 5 that are getting ready to start kindergarten. This program is to help them get ready for school by equipping them with the skills that their peers will already have. This program will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays 10:30am-12:00pm.
- After School Program at the African Leadership Refugee Ministry. This program will meet on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, & Thursdays 4:00pm-6:00pm. This program aims to create mentoring relationships with refugee middle schoolers and high schoolers through homework help.
3. Health Fairs
- We conduct screenings to various refugee and immigrant populations including Bhutanese (Speaking Nepali), Burmese (Chin, Karen, etc), Sudanese, Somali, Burundians , Egyptians, Kurds, etc. The fairs usually take place on Saturdays for 3 hrs. We need interpreters and participants to these fairs. We are in great need for interpreters and other participants. Please sign up if you can help.
If you are interested please fill out the following form https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dHdzMF8wdzVwNWN3WmxEeVRYMlN2d3c6MQ#gid=0
to let us know specific projects you want to help with or lead. Please feel free to contact Magarya Waitara (magarya....@vanderbilt.edu) for more details. After we receive responses, we will have meetings for specific projects to get you started. There are a lot of opportunities for collaboration with other student organizations and please, spread the word to anyone who you think might be interested.
Thank you,
VIC Board
Vanderbilt International Connections.