There are many volunteer opportunities available at El Pueblo. Some of our most needed are teaching volunteers and IT volunteers, but whatever your skills or interests are, we will help you find your ideal position.
Some of our most sought out positions by volunteers are:
ESL Teacher:
Speak, understand, read and write English well. Good organizational skills and able to take direction. Willing to follow the curriculum provided by El Pueblo. Willing to do checkups/tests at the end of each unit and report the results. Committed to being present and prepared for each class meeting. No prior experience required, but must be compassionate and work well with the community served and co-workers. Schedule is Tuesdays and Thursdays 6:00pm-8:0pm. Off during the summer.
ESL Assistant:
Help the ESL teachers during class and possibly substitute on rare occasions when a teacher cannot attend. Must have excellent teaching and interpersonal skills and be committed to being present for every class meeting. Schedule is Tuesdays and Thursdays 6:00pm-8:0pm. Off during the summer.
Clerical Assistant:
Must be Familiar with Word and Excel and be able to run the copy machine. The clerical assistant would enter new student data and update weekly attendance into Excel spreadsheets. Additional responsibilities include: help with contacting students by phone, text, email, or regular mail; producing certificates at the end of each session; helping with new student registration. Must be responsible and good with technology; work is during class time or during the day. Schedule is flexible, likely about two hours a week. Must be bilingual.
File Clerk:
Seeking a volunteer to work a few hours each week with flexible schedule. Due to confidential nature of information, background check will be required. Must have excellent organizational skills, work well under limited supervision, and have familiarity with Word and Excel to:
- Go through closed files and remove those that are over 7 years old.
- Update and maintain spreadsheets with client data.
- Help compile statistics for grant reports.
- Produce termination letters for closed cases.
- Help with data migration into new case management system.
Office Assistant:
Seeking assistants to fill slots from 1-5 pm Monday through Thursday. Bilingual (Spanish & English) language skills required. Previous office experience or reception/paralegal work preferred, though not required. Previous experience working with immigrant communities and/or trauma survivors preferred, though not required. Must be compassionate, work well with the community served and co-workers, be able to multi-task, and have a working knowledge of Microsoft Word.
- Attend to walk-ins and do intakes.
- Return phone calls when possible.
- Administrative assistant for legal work, including to help write up reimbursement requests.
- Perform general office clerk duties and errands
Bookkeeper:
Seeking experienced bookkeeper to volunteer time to assist with financial reporting for grant reporting. Due to confidential nature of work, background check will be required.
Bookkeeping Assistant:
Seeking a volunteer to assist in bookkeeping functions. Due to confidential nature of work, background check will be required. Work experience as Financial Clerk preferred; proficiency with MS Office and QuickBooks required; knowledge of basic bookkeeping and financial transactions required; attention to detail; excellent verbal and written communication skills; solid organizational and time-management skills. Tasks include:
- Assisting legal staff with ensuring compliance with all funder requirements by preparing financial reports for funders and performing accounts receivables and accounts payables functions.
- Assisting with agency financial management by performing monthly bank reconciliations and generating financial reports.
Pro bono attorney:
Seeking licensed attorneys to assist with representing clients in MS family courts. Must have at least 4 years practicing law as an Attorney. Preferable expertise with humanitarian and family-based immigration law for victims of interpersonal violence, crime and persecution. Duties to include:
- Work closely with Director/ Supervising Attorney in directly representing immigrant survivors and their families in guardianship cases in local family courts to ensure safety of children affected by domestic violence a/o separation of families due to detention/deportation.
Volunteer attorneys and DOJ Accredited Reps:
Seeking attorneys a/o DOJ accredited representatives to assist with representing client. Must have at least 2 years practicing immigration law as an Attorney or DOJ Accredited Representative. Preferable expertise with humanitarian and family-based immigration law (incl. removal defense) for victims of interpersonal violence, crime and persecution. Preferable management experience. Duties will include:
- Conducting client initial intake screenings
- Filing (primarily gender-based persecution) asylum applications in the context of removal proceedings to maintain family unity
- Providing direct immigration legal representation based on clients’ status as survivors of DV/ SA/ human trafficking/ child abuse/ crime/ persecution
- Providing general support on all cases handled by staff Attorneys and DOJ Reps;
- Providing direct legal representation to immigrant survivors and their families in administrative immigration court proceedings and asylum applications.
IT Volunteer and/or Social Media Outreach Volunteer:
Seeking volunteer to assist with all technology-related matters (computer/ internet/ scanner/ phones) and able to work remotely at your convenience. Also seeking assistance with Web design and administration and social media outreach. This work will greatly enhance our ability to disseminate essential information to service providers and the community at large about the most effective means of identifying immigrant victims of crime, what service providers may be able to help these victims, and what documentation service providers/courts may need to most effectively assist these victims and their families.
Craft Instructor: Seeking volunteer to help with Mujeres Unidas craft programs. Meetings are Tuesdays from 10 am to noon. Bilingual (Spanish & English) language skills required. Previous experience working with immigrant communities and/or trauma survivors preferred, though not required. Teaching experience preferred, though not required. Must be compassionate, work well with the community served and co-workers, and have a transferable skill. Duties include:
- Facilitating group arts and craft and sewing sessions for emotional/psychological therapy and job skill development of victims of domestic violence.
- Tailoring sessions (i.e. materials used and outcomes) to clients’ circumstances, needs and goals.
- Encouraging clients to express themselves through tapping into their innate sense of creativity, while emphasizing that the process is more important than the end product.
Thriving Families Organizer: Seeking volunteers to assist with creating and presenting workshops to enhance service providers’ ability to identify and refer immigrant victims of crime and domestic violence. Bilingual (Spanish & English) language skills required. Previous experience working with immigrant communities and/or knowledge of Know your Rights materials preferred, though not required. Must be compassionate, work well with the community served and co-workers, and have excellent communication skills. Duties include
- Help Thriving Families Coordinator and Advocate create and present workshops on Safety Planning, including:
- Domestic Violence Safety Plans- to help families remain safe while in an abusive situation, planning to leave, or after leaving
- Safe Family Reunification Plans- to help pre-adolescent and adolescent immigrant youth integrate into S MS homes (for the purpose of mitigating youth run-aways and subsequent vulnerability to human trafficking, statutory rape and other related abuse)
- Emergency Family Plans- to help families prepare for guardianship transfers, compile important documents and information, etc. in the event of separation due to immigration status of parent(s) and/ or child(ren)
- Participate in planning, advertising and delivering educational presentations to diverse audiences at Public Awareness Forums to enhance community-wide understanding about who immigrant victims are, what rights that they have, what resources are available to them in local communities, and how to properly make referrals that enhance the safety of immigrant victims and their families.
General Labor:
Seeking volunteers to assist in creating and maintain a hospitable and healthy facility for our clients, the majority of whom are immigrant victims of domestic violence or crime and their families. Ability to use common tools, understand and follow directions; and work with minimal supervision are required; a basic understanding of carpentry is a plus. Must be 18 or older. Duties may include:
- Routine building maintenance tasks.
- General cleaning.
- General yardwork.
You can submit your volunteer application online by clicking here or you can pick up a volunteer application at the office Monday through Thursday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We are located at 425B Division St., Biloxi, MS 39530 as well as 203 E 1st St., Forest, MS 39074.
If you are interested in a position that is not listed, such as graphic designer or anything else, please fill out an application and write in what you would like to do while volunteering with El Pueblo.
