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The Albany Field Office of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) seeks an Intern or dedicated volunteer to serve as Donated Goods Coordinator, who will facilitate donations from the community for newly arriving refugees. Refugees come to Albany having fled war and persecution, and start with nothing. USCRI resettles 350 refugees each year, and has to find an apartment for each family and provide them with appropriate furniture and housewares. With limited funding, we rely on donations from the community to provide all refugees with the items they need in their new home.

The Donated Goods Coordinator will:

- Coordinate with members of the community who’d like to donate items
- Arrange for pick up or delivery of the donation to our warehouse
- Provide donors with receipts and track required data for our reporting needs
- Recruit and work with on-call volunteers to help with donation deliveries
- Help maintain the warehouse
- Organize Donation Drives through schools and community groups
- You may be asked to help with the actual set up of a home before the arrival of a particular family


TERMS AND CONDITIONS

• We are looking for someone who can work in our office for at least 2 days, ideally 4, during the Monday – Friday work week.
• A minimum commitment of 3 months is required, with preference given to candidates who can commit for 6 months.
• The position is unpaid.


EXPERIENCE AND QUALIFICATIONS

REQUIRED
• Must speak, read, and write English fluently
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and other Windows applications and have experience with Internet research and databases.
• Must have excellent organizational, time-management, follow-up, interpersonal, and administrative skills.
• Must have excellent telephone manner, research and writing skills, attention to detail.
• Must be capable of working in a fast-paced, multicultural office environment, take initiative, and be able to handle multiple assignments at once and meet deadlines.
• Must be able to lift heavy items with appropriate assistance
• Commitment to the human rights and general welfare of asylum seekers, refugees and immigrants.

DESIRED, BUT NOT REQUIRED
• Strong candidates will have previous internship experience or related work experience
• Strong candidates will have a truck, and the ability to pick up donated items from houses
• Strong candidates will be fluent in a second language in addition to English. Preference will be given to speakers of: Arabic, Farsi/Dari, Burmese, Karen, Nepali, Spanish, Somali, French, Turkish, and Russian.


ABOUT USCRI ALBANY
The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) is a national voluntary agency that works with the federal government to resettle refugees from all over the world in welcoming communities throughout the United States. USCRI Albany opened its doors in 2005, and now serves hundreds of refugees each year, helping them connect with the resources and services they need to adapt to their new homes in the Capital Region. The largest populations served by the Albany Field Office are from Burma, Iraq, Bhutan, with smaller groups from Afghanistan, the Congo, and Sudan. The Albany field office also has an immigration and asylum services program that serves not only refugee clients and their families, but asylum seekers and immigrants from the wider community as well.
Our mission is to help refugees become self-sufficient, contributing members of our community who can again dream of a hopeful future for themselves and their children. We act to defend human rights, promote self-sufficiency and education, and forge community partnerships through a full range of services and programs.

Please submit a cover letter and resume to Jen Barkan, Resource Manager, at info@uscri-albany.org.

Please indicate in your cover letter the time frame and number of hours per week you would be available for the internship.

If you are interested in being considered for more than one internship with USCRI Albany, please indicate this in your cover letter; there is no need to submit multiple applications.