Volunteer Opportunities
Community Refugee and Immigration Services’ (CRIS) mission is to help refugees
and immigrants reach and sustain self-sufficiency and achieve successful
integration into the Central Ohio Community. Thank you for your interest in
contributing to the success of our community’s refugees and immigrants.
Many refugees and immigrants find their first few months in the U.S. to be a very challenging
experience. Thank you for your interest in joining us in our mission to assist refugees and immigrants
in achieving and sustaining self sufficiency. Your time and enthusiasm are greatly appreciated!
If you are interested in volunteering please sign up for one of our monthly orientations. Volunteer
Orientations are held from 5:30-7:00pm on the first Wednesday of each month at 4889 Sinclair Rd,
Suite 111, Columbus OH 43229.
Please RSVP to attend an orientation by e-mailing volunteer@cris-ohio.com.
Current Volunteer Opportunities
1.) Refugee Co-Sponsorship
Your faith, civic, and/or educational group can take part in making an important difference in the lives
of newly arriving refugees through co-sponsorship. Refugee co-sponsors have three general
responsibilities. They act as guides, friends and advocates to those newly arrived in the United
States. In all cases, their overall goal is to assist refugees, as necessary, to become self-sufficient as
soon as possible. From the day a faith, civic, or educational group decides to co-sponsor a refugee, it
works in partnership with Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS). CRIS assists co-
sponsors by providing instruction, information, and advice on an ongoing basis.
Time Commitment: Refugee co-sponsors are expected to participate in training prior to the family’s
arrival and to be actively involved for at least 90 days post-arrival.
2.) Refugee Acculturation Mentor
Refugee Acculturation Mentors are commonly individuals wishing to work on a personal level with a
refugee or refugee family. Acculturation mentors are expected to continually join CRIS in our mission
to empower refugees through encouragement, education, and support in becoming connected with
their new communities.
Time Commitment: Refugee Acculturation Mentors are expected to visit a refugee family or
individual weekly/biweekly for a minimum of 90 days post-arrival.
3.) Interpretation and Translation Volunteer
CRIS has a continuous need for volunteer interpreters and translators for varying languages. At this
time, we are specifically seeking volunteers proficient in the Arabic language.
Time Commitment: Time commitment will vary based on programmatic needs and volunteer’s
availability. We will ask interpreters and translators to provide us with hours of “on-call”
availability.
4.) ESOL Classroom Assistant
ESOL Classroom Assistants volunteer at CRIS’ various classroom locations across Central Ohio.
Volunteers generally tutor students; however this varies depending on site placement. Placement
depends on the instructor’s need and the availability of the volunteer.
Time Commitment: ESOL classes meet for 2.5 hours Mon-Thurs. ESOL Classroom Assistants can
volunteer in one to four 2.5 hour sessions each week and are expected to commit to at least 8 weeks
in the classroom.
5.) Employment Mentor
Work one on one with a recently arrived refugee, helping him/her find self-sustaining employment.
Activities may include searching for job openings, resume preparation, assistance with job applications
(online and/or paper), mock and real job interviews, etc.
Time Commitment: Minimum 4 hours a week for 8 weeks.
6.) CRIS Services Support Volunteer
Support volunteers assist staff at any of our four locations with projects or tasks in the office as
assigned. This may include, but is not limited to, accompanying clients to appointments, answering the
phone, filing, secretarial tasks, sorting donations, and short term projects.
Time Commitment: Minimum 4 hours a week for 8 weeks.
7.) Organize a Donation Drive
Coordinate a “Welcome Basket” for a newly arriving refugee family. When refugees arrive in the U.S.
they often have limited belongings and need basic household items to start their new lives. The list is
available upon request. The “Welcome Basket” provides items that your faith, civic, and/or educational
group can collect to welcome a refugee family to Columbus.
Time Commitment: Generally it takes 1-2 months to collect these items. When a Welcome Basket is
complete, CRIS will coordinate a time for the donating group or organization to deliver it to a newly
arrived family.
Donation Guidelines: We welcome monetary donations and in-kind donations. At this time, our
specific needs include the “Welcome Basket” items. We also welcome new or gently used bed frames,
children’s toys, TV’s, DVD/VCR players, computers, and microwaves. If you are interested in making a
donation, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@cris-ohio.com. As a non-profit
organization, CRIS can provide you with a tax reimbursement form upon request.
Unfortunately, at this time we are unable to accept clothing or large furniture donations. If you wish to
donate furniture, please contact MAP Furniture Bank at 614.272.9544 (www.mapfurniturebank.org).
Internship Opportunities
There are also openings for CRIS interns to work on a variety of opportunities depending on interest.
All provide an excellent set of skills and knowledge for those interested in international issues,
immigration, refugee and asylee rights, working in a multi-cultural setting, social work and more. At this
time, all positions are unpaid, but we can provide documentation of volunteer or internship hours for
course credit. We are currently accepting applications for internships.
To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume to the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@cris-
ohio.com.
Qualified applicants will be contacted for an interview. Please note that there are often more applicants
for internship positions than there are positions. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept all qualified
applicants. Preference will be given to applicants whose skills and experience match CRIS’ current
intern needs and demonstrate passion and dedication to CRIS' mission.
and immigrants reach and sustain self-sufficiency and achieve successful
integration into the Central Ohio Community. Thank you for your interest in
contributing to the success of our community’s refugees and immigrants.
Many refugees and immigrants find their first few months in the U.S. to be a very challenging
experience. Thank you for your interest in joining us in our mission to assist refugees and immigrants
in achieving and sustaining self sufficiency. Your time and enthusiasm are greatly appreciated!
If you are interested in volunteering please sign up for one of our monthly orientations. Volunteer
Orientations are held from 5:30-7:00pm on the first Wednesday of each month at 4889 Sinclair Rd,
Suite 111, Columbus OH 43229.
Please RSVP to attend an orientation by e-mailing volunteer@cris-ohio.com.
Current Volunteer Opportunities
1.) Refugee Co-Sponsorship
Your faith, civic, and/or educational group can take part in making an important difference in the lives
of newly arriving refugees through co-sponsorship. Refugee co-sponsors have three general
responsibilities. They act as guides, friends and advocates to those newly arrived in the United
States. In all cases, their overall goal is to assist refugees, as necessary, to become self-sufficient as
soon as possible. From the day a faith, civic, or educational group decides to co-sponsor a refugee, it
works in partnership with Community Refugee and Immigration Services (CRIS). CRIS assists co-
sponsors by providing instruction, information, and advice on an ongoing basis.
Time Commitment: Refugee co-sponsors are expected to participate in training prior to the family’s
arrival and to be actively involved for at least 90 days post-arrival.
2.) Refugee Acculturation Mentor
Refugee Acculturation Mentors are commonly individuals wishing to work on a personal level with a
refugee or refugee family. Acculturation mentors are expected to continually join CRIS in our mission
to empower refugees through encouragement, education, and support in becoming connected with
their new communities.
Time Commitment: Refugee Acculturation Mentors are expected to visit a refugee family or
individual weekly/biweekly for a minimum of 90 days post-arrival.
3.) Interpretation and Translation Volunteer
CRIS has a continuous need for volunteer interpreters and translators for varying languages. At this
time, we are specifically seeking volunteers proficient in the Arabic language.
Time Commitment: Time commitment will vary based on programmatic needs and volunteer’s
availability. We will ask interpreters and translators to provide us with hours of “on-call”
availability.
4.) ESOL Classroom Assistant
ESOL Classroom Assistants volunteer at CRIS’ various classroom locations across Central Ohio.
Volunteers generally tutor students; however this varies depending on site placement. Placement
depends on the instructor’s need and the availability of the volunteer.
Time Commitment: ESOL classes meet for 2.5 hours Mon-Thurs. ESOL Classroom Assistants can
volunteer in one to four 2.5 hour sessions each week and are expected to commit to at least 8 weeks
in the classroom.
5.) Employment Mentor
Work one on one with a recently arrived refugee, helping him/her find self-sustaining employment.
Activities may include searching for job openings, resume preparation, assistance with job applications
(online and/or paper), mock and real job interviews, etc.
Time Commitment: Minimum 4 hours a week for 8 weeks.
6.) CRIS Services Support Volunteer
Support volunteers assist staff at any of our four locations with projects or tasks in the office as
assigned. This may include, but is not limited to, accompanying clients to appointments, answering the
phone, filing, secretarial tasks, sorting donations, and short term projects.
Time Commitment: Minimum 4 hours a week for 8 weeks.
7.) Organize a Donation Drive
Coordinate a “Welcome Basket” for a newly arriving refugee family. When refugees arrive in the U.S.
they often have limited belongings and need basic household items to start their new lives. The list is
available upon request. The “Welcome Basket” provides items that your faith, civic, and/or educational
group can collect to welcome a refugee family to Columbus.
Time Commitment: Generally it takes 1-2 months to collect these items. When a Welcome Basket is
complete, CRIS will coordinate a time for the donating group or organization to deliver it to a newly
arrived family.
Donation Guidelines: We welcome monetary donations and in-kind donations. At this time, our
specific needs include the “Welcome Basket” items. We also welcome new or gently used bed frames,
children’s toys, TV’s, DVD/VCR players, computers, and microwaves. If you are interested in making a
donation, please contact the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@cris-ohio.com. As a non-profit
organization, CRIS can provide you with a tax reimbursement form upon request.
Unfortunately, at this time we are unable to accept clothing or large furniture donations. If you wish to
donate furniture, please contact MAP Furniture Bank at 614.272.9544 (www.mapfurniturebank.org).
Internship Opportunities
There are also openings for CRIS interns to work on a variety of opportunities depending on interest.
All provide an excellent set of skills and knowledge for those interested in international issues,
immigration, refugee and asylee rights, working in a multi-cultural setting, social work and more. At this
time, all positions are unpaid, but we can provide documentation of volunteer or internship hours for
course credit. We are currently accepting applications for internships.
To apply, please submit a cover letter and resume to the Volunteer Coordinator at volunteer@cris-
ohio.com.
Qualified applicants will be contacted for an interview. Please note that there are often more applicants
for internship positions than there are positions. Unfortunately, we are unable to accept all qualified
applicants. Preference will be given to applicants whose skills and experience match CRIS’ current
intern needs and demonstrate passion and dedication to CRIS' mission.
