VOLUNTEER WITH US
Building One Community offers volunteers who care deeply about immigrants the opportunity to help them succeed. Much of B1C’s success is due to the commitment and compassion of our diverse group of volunteers. Your time, skills, and talent make a real difference in people's lives. Through volunteering with us, you will learn about our local community, connect with other volunteers, and find a stronger sense of purpose.
HOW IT WORKS
1
Receive our orientation manual or schedule an optional tour
2
Register as a volunteer
3
Our volunteer team will follow up with specific opportunities
4
Log your hours on your Personal Volunteer Site. Fill out the form and use the link that is emailed.
Log Your Hours
VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
There are opportunities available for individuals as well as groups. Our most popular opportunity is tutoring adults English but we have many others. We will try to match your interests and schedule with available opportunities.
Join us in providing valuable services to our community. These are some sample volunteer opportunities:
- Teaching and tutoring English Language Learning (ELL) classes
Technology tutor
- Job skills training
- Homework help
- Personal support services
Review the section below called Current Volunteer Opportunities to see what is available. Click on the green arrow next to each opportunity to see the full description. If you have questions, contact the volunteer team at volunteers@b1c.org.
Georgia
This place has opened my eyes. It's definitely a different environment , even though it's so close to where I live.
Don
My students are so alive and yearning to learn more English. It's so gratifying to find people who are trying so hard and feel grateful.
Idania
B1C does its best to help others, no matter your color or race. They offer many programs and activities and they also provide a place to socialize.
Chiara
It has been a great experience. Just getting to know the people here, it's like becoming a part of a family.
Jeffrey
I've been an interpreter and I've also worked with computer literacy programs... by just doing simple things like these I can make a big impact.
CURRENT VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES - APRIL 2025
Must be at least 14 years of age, preferably 16 or older.
- Description: teach or tutor an adult immigrant English in person at B1C.
- Responsibilities: After initial training, teach / tutor and plan sessions independently.
- Skills needed: ability to speak slowly and clearly. Patience and flexibility.
- Schedule and time commitment: (you only need to choose 1 shift)
- 417 Shippan Ave – Teach Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday 9:30am-11am. Tuesday and Thursday 11:30am-1pm or 6:15pm-7:45pm.
(for this location only, you must be able to commit for at least 80% of the time for 3 months).
- 75 Selleck St – Teach Monday to Friday 9am-11am or 11:30am-1pm. Monday and Wednesday 6pm-8pm.
- Training and supervision: ELL program staff.
- Resources available: ELL books, worksheets and ELL online library.
- Location: 417 Shippan Ave or 75 Selleck St.
Must be at least a junior or senior in high school, tech-savvy and have leadership experience or experience working with elementary school aged children. Completion of B1C’s abuse prevention training is mandatory prior to volunteering with children.
- Description: Assist after school staff in classroom management and instruction. Provide mentoring and homework help to elementary school students.
- Responsibilities: Help children with their homework, guide enrichment activities and classroom conversation.
- Skills needed: Experience with children and homework help, leadership skills a plus. Bilingual Spanish-speaking preferred but not required.
- Schedule and time commitment: Minimum of two days a week. Sessions take place Mondays to Thursdays from 4:30 pm - 6:30 pm.
- Training and supervision: Academic Enrichment and Springboard Staff
- Resources available: Educational resources provided.
- Remote/onsite/hybrid position: Onsite at 417 Shippan Ave.
Must be at least 14 years of age. This opportunity is for high school students only. We emphasize responsibility, independence, communication and leadership skills.
- Description: tutor an adult immigrant English in person at B1C in one-on-one sessions.
- Responsibilities: tutor and plan sessions independently.
- Skills needed: ability to speak slowly and clearly. Patience and flexibility.
- Schedule and time commitment: sign up as available at least one day before session. Sessions available Saturday morning onsite at B1C 11am-12:30pm.
- Training and supervision: ELL program staff and Youth Group leaders.
- Resources available: ELL books, worksheets and ELL online library.
- Location: 75 Selleck St (entrance at 77 Selleck St).
Must be at least 14 years of age, preferably 16 or older.
- Description: Provide one hour of English instruction once a week to parents who are waiting for their children who are enrolled in Homework Club.
- Responsibilities: Teach English to a group of about 10-15 parents. The volunteer will introduce new vocabulary, practice pronunciation and conversation, do grammar practice, lead readings, and review any topics in English that the group might be interested in.
- Skills needed: The volunteer will need to speak English fluently, feel comfortable leading a group, be patient, and be willing to move slowly through material and repeat as necessary.
- Schedule and time commitment: One hour a week, preferably Mondays, from 4:30pm to 5:30pm.
- Training and supervision: ELL program staff.
- Resources available: ELL books, worksheets and ELL online library.
- Location: Onsite at 417 Shippan Avenue.
Must be at least 16 years old.
- Description: Support the B1C/Connecticut Foodshare Truck with food distribution and logistics.
- Responsibilities: Carry and organize food on tables, help with logistics (line, pick-up, etc.), guide guests with questions and flow. Arrive at least 15 minutes before the publicized distribution time and stay until the truck leaves.
- Skills needed: Volunteers should be able to repeatedly lift boxes weighing at least 25-30 pounds, should have cultural competency skills to treat guests with dignity and respect.
- Schedule and time commitment: Mondays from 12:30pm-2:00pm every other week.
- Training and supervision: Family Services Staff
- Resources available: iPads
- Location: Onsite at 507 Shippan Ave's parking lot, rain or shine
Must be 18 years old and fluent in Haitian Creole and English.
- Description: assist interpreting in Haitian Creole in our Immigration Legal Services Program.
- Responsibilities: Interpret during legal consultations or translate documents needed for legal proceedings.
- Skills needed: must speak and write Haitian Creole fluently and be computer literate.
- Schedule and time commitment: flexible depending on volunteer availability.
- Training and supervision: Immigration Legal Services program staff.
- Resources available: N/A.
- Location: 417 Shippan Ave.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
We have both adult and youth volunteers. Youth volunteers must be 14 years of age in order to volunteer. Keep in mind that we expect youth volunteers to function independently as volunteers.
It is B1C policy that volunteer tutoring and mentoring be conducted in person at one of our facilities. There are very few online opportunities. We will occasionally ask volunteers to assist at partner locations or an off-site fundraising venue.
Fluency in another language other than English is not required unless an opportunity specifically calls for it. We currently serve participants who originally come from all over the world so Spanish is not required.
Most of our volunteers come from varied backgrounds and having a teaching background is not required. What we do ask is that you speak clearly, loudly and slowly. We offer shadowing and ELL training sessions before you start tutoring on your own.
Sometimes our students may not make it to their already scheduled tutoring session. Even though we make every effort to coordinate between participants and volunteers these instances will happen. We ask that our volunteers remain flexible and open to performing other volunteer tasks.
Keeping track of volunteer hours is crucial. We not only value your time and effort, but we also need a record of service hours so we can apply for grants that will help fund us.
You bet you do! Any time you spend planning or organizing for your volunteer opportunity must be logged. This includes any time spent planning lessons, photocopying, etc.
Once you register to volunteer you will receive a monthly newsletter containing information about current opportunities. You can also come back to this page to see our current opportunities or contact the Volunteer Director directly by emailing here.
You can go to your Personal Volunteer Site by clicking on the Log Your Hours button a the top of this page.
Sometimes in the course of volunteering, a volunteer may get to know details about a participant’s personal history which may be upsetting. Hearing about a traumatic event in somebody else’s life may generate feelings of sadness, helplessness or anger and even trigger memories of past traumatic events the volunteer may have experienced.
In order to help manage these feelings in case they arise, B1C has put together the following resources to identify and manage second hand trauma. Remember, it’s ok to take a break from volunteering or rotate to a different volunteer opportunity to take care of your wellbeing. Please reach out to B1C’s volunteer team at volunteers@b1c.org if you need support or would like to rotate to a different opportunity. Click on the links below for more information.
YOUTH VOLUNTEERS
Youth can start volunteering at 14 years of age and parents are intentionally not involved in the process. Our youth program strongly promotes independence, responsibility, self-confidence, and communication skills. If you are interested in volunteering, you can register online here.
We have opportunities available after school, on the weekend, during school breaks, and summer months. Below are sample opportunities. Go above to Current Volunteer Opportunities to see what is available.
ELL VOLUNTEER:
Become an English language teacher or tutor to an adult immigrant.
YOUTH GROUP:
Join our high school youth-led volunteer group on Saturdays from 11am-12:30 pm.
HOMEWORK AND ENRICHMENT CLUB:
Help with Homework on Mondays through Thursdays from 4:30-5:45 pm during the school year. Must be 16 or older.
SUMMER PROGRAM:
Join our Summer Program and help elementary school children with educational and enrichment activities. Must be 16 or older.
YOUTH AMBASSADOR:
Youth Ambassador opportunities may become available throughout the year. Volunteer with us first before inquiring about this position in which you can represent B1C and our mission at your school, place of worship, social club, or sports team. Organize a fundraiser to sponsor a drive, event, or collaborate with B1C to create your own volunteer project. If interested, reach out to our volunteer team directly at volunteers@b1c.org.
ELL Library
Welcome to the English Language Learning (ELL) Library!
The ELL Library is a curriculum tool created to better support teachers at Building One Community. It contains Curriculum Guides for each level of ELL at Building One Community with lesson goals, grammar, vocabulary, and materials for every day of the week.
