How does a good neighbor become a Journey's End Volunteer? 

Volunteer Opportunities

Application Process

Please review our Application Process for information on how to become a Journey's End volunteer! 

Questions?

Please contact the Community Outreach team.

Journey's End offers a wide array of opportunities for individuals, groups, and families to make a difference. Through our Community Outreach department, good neighbors of all ages as well as church groups, businesses, and civic organizations help provide a welcome and ongoing support for refugees.

We have opportunities to help during the weekdays and evenings as well as through donation and fundraising drives. We also have occasional volunteer opportunities on weekends and at special events. Volunteers choose which roles they’d like to do based on interests and talents, as well as our current needs and opportunities.

For the most part, we require all volunteers to be 18 years of age or older to volunteer with us. Groups of elementary or high school student groups are welcome to inquire about group volunteer opportunities. Occasionally parents & teenagers volunteer together as duos, which provides supervision of the minor volunteer at all times.

Volunteer acceptance, placement, and scheduling are at the discretion of the Community Outreach team.

Mobile Food Pantry

Once a month, Journey’s End serves as a FeedMore WNY mobile food pantry location, open to the community. Volunteers assist with setup, food distribution, and cleanup.

This volunteer opportunity is available to both general volunteers and is also great for professional, civic, and religious volunteer groups looking to get involved with Journey’s End.

If you have a group interested in getting involved with Mobile Food Pantry please email us directly.

Adult Education Support

Our Adult Education Program supports adult immigrants looking to learn English as part of their journeys towards self-sufficiency.

Volunteer opportunities include:

• Classroom Support

• Tutoring (ESL, Citizenship GED)

• Community Resource Room Volunteer

Brewster Street Farm Volunteering

Our Brewster Street Farm is managed and staffed by former refugees who earn income from its produce.

Volunteers can support the farm through:

• Farm Stand Volunteering

• Farm Maintenance

  • Raised Bed Maintenance

  • Watering

  • Weeding

  • Hoop House Maintenance

  • End-of-Season Cleanup

  • And More!

Youth Mentorship Programs

Journey’s End provides key support to refugee youth through special programming. These programs often include mentorship and volunteer opportunities, including:

• Young Adult Mentoring

• Group Mentoring for High School Students

• Volunteers for Spring & Summer Break Camps

This is a great opportunity for graduate students and current or retired teachers!

Volunteer Support for ILS Program

Our Immigration Legal Services Program occasionally utilizes volunteers to: 

• Screen for Clinics

• Support Application Clinics

We also host current law students as interns each semester. If you are interested, please email us.

Donations and Fundraising Drives

Note: Please contact us before doing any kind of in-kind donation drive so we can guide you on the current needs of our clients.

We often need specific items to support our families. Toiletries, diapers, school supplies, and winter items (coats, hats, scarves, mittens) are items we often need.
We cannot accept non-winter clothing items.

Or maybe your company, school, or church is interested in doing a “fun”raiser for Journey’s End, or being a sponsor for our WNY Refugee Film Festival!

Contact us for lots of great ideas!

CURRENTLY ON PAUSE: Home Again Program (Groups Only)

The Home Again Program is an opportunity for large volunteer groups including schools, businesses, religious organizations, or groups of friends and family to work with Journey's End in setting up and furnishing an apartment for a recently arrived refugee family. Refugee families arrive with little to no resources for establishing homes during their first few months of resettlement. Journey's End relies heavily on donations from the community to provide these families with essential home furnishings. Journey's End has found that when a committed group of volunteers work on a set up project, barren apartments are transformed into welcoming homes for newly arrived refugees. After long and arduous journeys to the United States, a warm and cozy apartment brings a sense of security to families who have left so much behind.

This program is currently on hiatus. Please email us with any inquiries.

Other Volunteer Opportunities!

Our work is always growing, and volunteers play a key role in supporting that work! Join our community of volunteers to learn about all volunteer opportunities.

If you are interested in learning more about group volunteer opportunities, please reach out to us.