•Colonias Development Council: The CDC of Doña Ana County is an organization that works to promote social and economic justice for the people of the rural US colonias in the surrounding communities. These colonias are often home to many low-income, often immigrant populations with poor community infrastructure and little opportunity for jobs. The CDC helps these communities to organize in order to stand up for their rights and create self-sustaining economic projects. The volunteer placed at this site helps the communities to organize and manage these projects. (Skills and interests: Community organizing, economic development, strong interest in social justice, self-motivation. Spanish level: Moderate to high fluency in Spanish required. Americorps status: Eligible for full-time.)
•Mesilla Valley Habitat for Humanity: Habitat for Humanity provides assistance to low-income families to become home owners by giving them a “hand-up.” By putting in hours of “sweat equity,” eligible families can assist the Habitat volunteer teams in building their own house and paying moderate, affordable mortgage rates once their house is completed. The volunteer placed at this site helps to organize and coordinate volunteers and tend to the daily needs of the organization. The volunteer also works closely with the families.
(Skills and interests: Volunteer organization, computer skills, strong communication skills, interest and/or experience in home building. Spanish level: Low to moderate to fluency in Spanish preferred but not required. Americorps status: Eligible for full-time.)
•Jardin de los Niños: Jardin de los Niños is a day-care center/preschool that serves the homeless or near-homeless youth of the Las Cruces area. Jardin is a bright and cheery environment for kids whose home environments may not always be bright and cheery. Volunteers participate as teaching assistants in the various classrooms during the day, help to run the after-school program in the afternoon, and work closely with the families of the children that are enrolled in Jardin.
(Skills and interests: Experience working with children, elementary education, recreational programming, organization, keeping educational records. Spanish level: Moderate fluency in Spanish preferred but not required. Americorps status: Eligible for full-time.)
•La Casa, Inc.: La Casa, Inc. is an organization providing comprehensive domestic violence services to victims of family violence and their families—emergency shelter, crisis intervention, counseling, case management, children’s counseling, legal assistance, etc. The volunteer at this site serves as the Education Specialist, assisting clients in their educational needs by providing ESL classes and tutoring, GED tutoring, Homework Table for the kids, and connections to local educational services. Recently, the BSC volunteer working at La Casa has been in charge of Economic Empowerment classes for victims of domestic violence that have helped educate people about economic abuse and financial stability. When we have had two volunteers at this placement, one has worked primarily with adult education, and the other with children.
(Skills and interests: Education/teacher training, willingness to work with children and adults, organizational skills, self-motivation, interest in family and intimate partner violence issues. Spanish level: Moderate to high fluency in Spanish preferred but not required. Americorps status: Eligible for full-time.)
•Peace Lutheran Church Elementary After-School Program: Border Servant Corps is a community ministry of Peace Lutheran Church in Las Cruces, a congregation led by Pastor Steve Loy and committed to social justice work in the border region. The volunteer at this site will work half-time to develop Christian education programming within the church, working with the youth to plan events as well as weekly education and service opportunities. The rest of the volunteer's time will be devoted to an after-school program for area school children of local low-income families. Depending on the interest of the volunteer, there is an opportunity to help in the border immersion educational trips run by the BSC.
(Skills and interests: Strong organizational skills, volunteer organizing and recruiting, working in a Lutheran church setting, creativity, education/recreation, experience working with children, self-motivation. Spanish level: Moderate fluency in Spanish preferred but not required. Americorps status: Eligible for half-time.)
•Community of Hope Individual and Family Services: The Community of Hope is a member of a consortium of local organizations committed to helping the poor and homeless. Community of Hope serves as as a day shelter, where area homeless persons are able to access various services such as job placement, case management, health, and rental or utility assistance. The volunteer at this site has worked to help educate the community regarding homelessness issues, as well as provided case management to homeless or near-homeless clients.(Skills and interests: Community organization, experience with the homeless population, public health, developing community education/awareness of homelessness issues. Spanish level: Moderate fluency in Spanish preferred but not required. Americorps status: Eligible for full-time.) |
