CBE’s Refugee Task Force (RTF) consists of CBE and community members committed to supporting refugees and immigrants. Most of us are descendants of immigrants ourselves, and we feel grateful for the opportunities our ancestors were given. We believe that every newcomer to this country deserves to be treated fairly and justly, and we cannot stand by and watch people’s rights be violated.
Here are some of the ways we work to support our neighbors and how you can get involved:
Direct Service
- Join the Action Network, where you can indicate what type of help you’re able to give. This way, when a need arises, we’ll be able to contact a specific group quickly. You can always decline if the timing or ask doesn’t work for you. Please fill out this form to join the network. And if you know of someone who needs help, please let us know.
- Distribute food to the hungry (sign up to volunteer with CBE Feeds for one or more slots here).
- Make sandwiches for hungry neighbors or help distribute food with CHiPS.
- Volunteer to help furnish apartments (with Ruth’s Refuge).
- Become a mentor to a young person who is seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile classification, a legal status that puts them on a path to getting a green card. To find out more, please e-mail Bonnie Kerker.
- Assist with drives for essential items, such as coats, toiletries and metrocards (contact Bonnie Kerker).
Advocacy
- Advocate for fair and just policies at the city, state and national levels – – find opportunities to get involved on the HIAS website.
- Stay abreast of relevant policy initiatives here.
- Help immigrant families feel safe in your community while building trusting local relationships of solidarity. In this project, we will work with Indivisible.org to invite local businesses to put up solidarity posters in their windows.
Court/Legal Case Assistance (you don’t have to be a lawyer!)
- Join Make the Road NY to help community members renew their DACA status. Volunteers are needed to help fill out these applications. The clinic will be held on October 24 (10:00-4:00). Note: You do not need to be a lawyer to join this effort. Please email Andrés Santamaria Cortes, Lead Attorney, Make the Road, to register.
- Join an interfaith immigration Sacred Court Accompaniment program led by our friends at HIAS-NY, B’nai Jeshurun, the Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew, and Co-Counsel NYC. Through this initiative, volunteers accompany immigrant community members to their court hearings, offering a powerful presence of solidarity and support in a system that is often isolating, terrifying, and dehumanizing.
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Want to get involved or join our listserve? Have ideas? Contact us here: cberefugetaskforce@gmail.com
Additional Volunteer Opportunities
Ark Legal Clinic at CBST. Trains volunteers and attorneys to assist with asylum and work permit applications, translation, accompaniment to USCIS interviews, direct support for our immigrant neighbors, and more. Many of those we work with are LGBTQ and/or HIV+. Clinics are Wednesday evenings.
Website: https://cbst.org/social-justice/immigration/ Volunteer Info email: sanctuary@cbst.org
Educational Alliance. Provides a wide variety of services for new immigrants. Volunteers are needed to support Work Authorization Clinics, the ReLoved Boutique, and at Welcome to New York Sessions.
Website: https://edalliance.org/ for full details on locations and volunteer opportunities. Volunteer at Educational Alliance’s Work Authorization Clinic: Edalliance.org
Donate Clothing: Mannycantor.org
HIAS Direct Service Volunteer Program. Engages volunteers in supporting asylum seekers through one-on-one mentorship and English language tutoring, research projects, interpretation & translation, accompaniment, and more. We ask interested volunteers to attend an hour-long informational webinar to learn more about volunteering with HIAS to begin the onboarding process.
Website: Hias.org Volunteer Info & Sign up: Betterimpact.com
Masbia Soup Kitchen Network’s Emergency Food Programs. Serve over 2 million meals a year in two main categories. We serve roughly 100,000 hot, sit-down dinners to clients at restaurant like soup kitchens, and the rest in emergency care packages equivalent to 9 meals worth of groceries for every member of the family.
Website: Masbia.org Volunteer sign up: Masbia.org/volunteer_signup/
New Neighbors Partnership. Reimagines in-kind giving by turning what is normally a one-time, blind donation into a long-standing relationship between families. By partnering with a newly arrived family to contribute ongoing hand-me-down kids clothes, you can help a family feel welcomed and supported in their new life here.
Website: Newneighborspartnership.org
Volunteer Info: https://www.newneighborspartnership.org/volunteer Partner with a family: Newneighborspartnership.org/partner-with-a-family
New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC). Advocates for the rights of Immigrants in New York State. Volunteer to help with events, legal, and language support.
Website: Nyic.org Volunteer Sign up: Nyic.org/get-involved/volunteer
Team TLC Pro Se Asylum/TPS Legal Clinic at Plymouth Church. Monday evenings. If you know people who can use assistance, please have them email legalteamtlcnyc@gmail.com or send a WhatsApp to 917.270.1023
Volunteer Sign Up: Signupgenius.com Location: Plymouth Church, 75 Hicks Street, Brooklyn