Nonprofit
Volunteer Advocates for Immigrant Children
Details
Description
Join our community of Volunteer Child Advocates across the country who provide accompaniment to unaccompanied immigrant children and youth, and advocate for their rights and best interests while in government custody here in Chicago. Join us for our in-person training on September 19th and 20th.
Your Commitment:
- Visit with the child each week, get to know them, and do activities that are of interest to them. (This is mostly what you'll be doing!)
- Help the child think through options and decisions.
- Develop best interest recommendations with Young Center staff.
- Maintain communication with the Young Center staff.
- Advocate for the best interest of the child alongside Young Center staff.
Due to the nature of our work and the extensive contact Volunteer Child Advocates have with children and adolescents, Young Center requires all Volunteer Child Advocates to:
- Be at least 21 years of age
- Commit to serving as a Volunteer Child Advocate for at least 12 months
- Submit all required application materials
- Complete an interview with a Volunteer Coordinator
- Attend and complete all aspects of the Volunteer Child Advocate Training
- Submit to and pass FBI and State Criminal Background Checks
- Sumit to and pass Child Abuse and Neglect Registry checks for all states they have lived in during the last five years.
- Provide results of a tuberculosis test (results must be negative)
Sign up for an information session (required) here:
- August 19th 2:00 PM CST: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/7_I1ZCNmS5eQAUmlDAEcww
- August 25th 6:00 PM CST: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KfmC8y0GRt6jKMkKmrA1QQ
- August 31st 6:30 PM CST: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/TR3kXM-eRnuCbvgGW1ZDeA
- September 14th 7:00 PM CST: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/HclCei26Q5SAOece8TJ03Q
- September 23rd 2:00 PM CST: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/KnTKYsmcS0iTq9pa1aeFRw
- October 13th 6:00 PM CST: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/YUdY08v4QVCY5261e0clqg
- October 19th 6:30 PM CST: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/RCrxW8cVRTqEgYDPCg5CWA
- November 3rd 7:00 PM CST: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/DaI8i6V0R2q8wPZuyiMcHA
Location
How to Volunteer for This Opportunity
Our volunteers work one-on-one with unaccompanied migrant children to connect with them and advocate for their rights. We have some basic requirements to volunteering with us: • Must be at least 21 years old • Speak a language other than English
- Preference for Spanish and Central American Indigenous Languages
- Access to a car to get to meetings with the child
Complete background checks We will be hosting in-person Volunteer Child Advocate trainings in Fall or 2026 in the following locations: New York, New Jersey, Washington D.C., Chicago, Grand Rapids, Phoenix, Los Angeles, Harlingen, Houston, and San Antonio; if you anticipate you may be unable to attend in person, please still apply as we will offer alternative training dates and formats throughout each calendar year.
