CASP’s mission is to cultivate a supportive community for those seeking asylum in the U.S., while offering basic needs and accompanying them on their journey towards building a life in this country.
Volunteers are the core of that supportive community. We hope that each interaction with a volunteer is a welcoming, healthy, and successful experience for the asylum seekers we offer support to. Please take a moment to page through our volunteer resource guide to see what this type of work entails.
Accompanying asylum seekers takes many shapes…
When a family or person first arrives, we set up teams of volunteers who can offer support through transportation, orientation, friendship, etc. This team is coordinated by a volunteer team leader and our Outreach Coordinator, Cristi, supports, trains, and resources the teams so they feel ready to work with an asylum-seeking family.
There are also many volunteers who are less available for the team structure but are still able to offer their time in other ways, many of them still interacting one-on-one with asylum seekers. Generally, this group of people is contacted via email to see if they are available to meet a need.
Whether you are looking to be a part of a team or volunteer on specific activities, take a look at our sign-up form and see if there are activities that interest you.
If you find some (or if you’d like to propose “Others”), fill out the form, and click the “SUBMIT” button at the bottom of the page. You will then be guided through the rest of the sign-up process.
After submitting the sign-up form you will need to complete the remaining steps:
- Read and sign off on the Volunteer Guide.
- Read about requirements for working in person with guests.
Note: to be covered by CASP’s insurance policy for volunteers, you need to complete all the steps in this process.
The first step is finding a host home…
Perhaps you have some extra space at home and have been thinking about what you can do to support asylum seekers. Hosting is one of the best ways to engage with our work. You probably have questions about how this works, so we interviewed a two-time host for CASP and asked about his reflections and tips for prospective hosts.
Check out the interview below! And please fill out this form if you’d like to open up your home to asylum-seekers.
Other things…
Keep track of your hours. Please help us in our grant-seeking efforts by keeping track of your volunteer hours and mileage. You can create your own log sheet or download this convenient form. Please send your hours directly to volunteering@caspvt.org , our volunteer tracker might contact you to get those hours from you as well.
And if you’re one of the amazing people wanting to get the word out about CASP and are involved in public outreach for CASP, please familiarize yourself with our fact sheet about CASP and the people we serve.
Suggested Readings & Videos
To learn more about our work, why we do it, and how we do it look through our volunteer resource guide. There you will find many readings, videos, and resources to guide your learning and volunteering experience.
All of the online trainings we have offered can be found on our community education page.
We also host study groups each spring so join our newsletter to keep an eye out for this year’s!
Have questions or updates?
If you have questions about volunteering or would like to update your sign-up form, write to volunteering@caspvt.org.