Volunteer
NICE is working to empower the refugee and immigrant population in Nashville through resettlement, employment, education, health and social services. We can’t do it alone. We need the heads, hands and hearts of committed people like you. Whether you want to volunteer with your family, friends, coworkers, or on your own, we can help you find the perfect opportunity. Take a look at the volunteer process and opportunities below.
Our Volunteer Process:
1.) Complete an online application. This allows us to get to know a little bit about you! After we go over your application, we will send you an email with an orientation date and time.
2.) Attend a general volunteer orientation. This is our chance to sit down and tell you a little bit more about us and what we do here at NICE, as well as put a face to the name.
3.) Placement and training. We do our best to put you into a volunteer position you will love while providing training to make sure you feel comfortable in your new role.
4.) Background check. This is a security precaution for the safety of our clients, NICE, and you!
5.) Begin volunteering! Now you’re ready to get out there and serve Nashville, all we ask is that you track your volunteer hours and report them back to us for our records.
Click here to fill out an application.
Click here to view our volunteer schedule.
Feel free to contact us with any questions at volunteer@empowernashville.org or call 615-315-9681
English Teachers and Co-Teachers: Instruct refugees and immigrants in their pursuit of the English Language. Prior teaching experience is not necessary. Training and resources are provided. Classes operate Monday-Thursday, mornings (10:00 – 11:30 a.m.) and evenings (6:00 – 7:30 p.m.). Plan to commit to at least 1 class session each week for 9 weeks. Next session will begin August 10, 2021 and will end October 8, 2021.
New American Staffing Agency Volunteer: The New American Staffing Agency (NAS) works with refugees and immigrants that have been in the United States for more than five years to help them find jobs in Nashville. This is a for-profit agency that is part of NICE – which means that all the money that NAS makes, goes back into NICE to help fund other programs. As a volunteer, you would work directly with clients as a caseworker to help them find a position. The specific schedule will be negotiated with New American Staffing Agency.
Translator: Work as a Translator at Nashville International Center for Empowerment! You would work across the agency to help translate things like enrollment paperwork in our Adult Education Department, translate sensitive information in our resettlement department, and help our staff greet and communicate with new refugees once they arrive in Nashville. These are the needed languages: Swahili, Kinyarwanda, Kinyamulenge, Kinyabwisha, Tedim, Karen, Burmese, Chin-Mindat, Arabic, Kurdish, Egyptian/Sudanese Arabic, Acholi, Dari, Pashto, Somali, Spanish, Nepali, Tigrinya, and Kunama.
Administrative Assistant: This position is “as needed” when the current receptionist will be out of the office. M-F 9:00-5:00pm NICE office: 417 Welshwood Drive, Suite 100 Nashville, TN 37211
Youth Mentor: Youth Mentors will help K-12 students excel in the online learning environment. Mentors will help students and their families navigate online learning platforms, develop and maintain learning schedules, offer homework assistance, and provide individualized support to English Learner students. This is a weekly commitment of 2 hours for at least one academic semester (for the fall of 2021 the dates are August 10 – December 16) to be scheduled with you and your student. The ideal Youth Mentor will be reliable, flexible, and feel comfortable connecting with youth from diverse backgrounds with varying degrees of English proficiency.
NAZA After-school Volunteer: The NAZA After-school volunteer will work with middle-school students at Margaret Allen Middle School and McMurray Middle School to help students adjust to education in the United States, tutor specific subjects, teach social-emotional learning skills, and just have fun! This program is Monday-Thursday from 4:00 PM – 6:00 PM.
SIFE Volunteer: Similar to our NAZA volunteer, the SIFE volunteer will be working with Students with Formal Interrupted Education (SIFE) to support their education and English Learning. SIFE students are typically students who recently arrived to the United States and need a lot of assistance to catch up. You will be working to help students adjust to the United States School System and offer tutoring at a variety of schools across Nashville. The time is TBA, but it will likely be from 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM, Monday – Friday.
