Los Angeles, California
Site Director: Jonathan Hakim
Phone: (323)753-3210
E-mail: losangeles@ndmva.org
Catholic Charities - San Gabriel
The NDA member assists with administering basic needs assistance programs at two Catholic Charities centers, including assistance with food pantry and utilities programs and client referrals. A high percentage of the client population is comprised of monolingual Spanish speakers and assistance is often conducted in Spanish if possible. The member also provides some case management focused on obtaining/maintaining housing and employment. At times, the member will conduct outreach activities at local parishes, participate in community meetings/events, and lead workshops on topics such as financial literacy. There are also opportunities to create new programs with the director's supervision.
St. Columbkille School
is a Catholic school located in south Los Angeles. The school serves students in grades K-8, many of whom are from immigrant families and have limited English ability. An NDA member will serve as classroom aide in primary grades. Responsibilities within the classroom vary depending upon the teacher's particular needs, but can include tutoring, testing, grading, small-group instruction, helping students with projects and classroom work, and assisting with tracking for progress reports. Outside of classroom duties include assisting in the computer lab, providing lunch and playground supervision, and after school tutoring in St Julie's Learning Center. Member can also take on extracurricular activities such as coaching, assisting in a school play, helping create a school newsletter, or other opportunities as fit the skills of the member.
St. Thomas the Apostle School / St. Agnes School
The NDA member will work primarily in one elementary classroom in each of two K-8 Catholic schools. Duties include one-on-one and small group support to children who need help keeping up with the rest of the class and enforcing the rules of the classroom while encouraging the students to focus on their work. Member helps the teachers with grading, copying, and putting on group activities. Member supervises the students during lunches, which involves taking groups of kids out to the public park for recess, watching them, and taking them back inside. After school member assists with daycare and works with children who are doing their homework.
St. Thomas the Apostle is located in the heart of central Los Angeles and in 2004 celebrated 100 years of Catholic education.
St. Sebastian School
During school hours, the NDA members serve as teachers' aides at this Catholic K-8 school. Duties include monitoring the children, helping with school work and correcting homework, administering make-up exams, preparing various class and homework assignments, and other tasks. Member may specialize in math or literacy instruction with small groups of students who need additional help. Outside of the classroom, member serves as a yard/cafeteria supervisor for recess and lunch breaks. After school, the members' time is spent helping to organize and execute the school's after-school enrichment program. Of the 3 hour program, one hour is spent helping students with their homework. The next hour is spent teaching an enrichment class to the students, examples include a class on modern music or a class based on fun science experiments. The last hour of the after-school program is spent interacting with the children in different group activities, especially outdoor sports and games.
St. Margaret's Center (Lennox, CA)
is a Catholic Charities community center that serves the airport area of Los Angeles. The center provides a comprehensive range of emergency and supportive services to individuals and families who live at or below the federal poverty level. The Center's goal is to provide relief, dignity, and support. The Center does this by providing emergency food, shelter, rent assistance, clothing, and household supplies. The Center also assists individuals through case management and skills development to become more self-sufficient and to achieve economic security. About 70% of the clientele is Latino, 25% African American, with the other 5% of other races.
The NDA member works alongside staff providing services including greeting and intaking clients at the front desk, assisting clients over the phone, helping clients fill out documents, finding work for people seeking work, assisting in a literacy tutoring program, organizing/ supervising the organization of the food pantry, helping clients get assistance on their bills, organizing and volunteering at the community Christmas party, and many other services as best matches the skills of the member. Bilingual (Spanish/English) a plus!
CARECEN
Working under the supervision of the Legal Director, the Citizenship Resource Coordinator (CRC) is responsible for teaching a citizenship/civic engagement course for six hours a week. The CRC works with asylees, victims of violent crime, victims of domestic violence and victims of trafficking. The main duty of the CRC is to help them by providing citizenship exam preparation and encouraging civic engagement. In addition, the CRC coordinates part-time volunteers to staff the Citizenship Resource Lab, a study hall where students can access civics study materials, ESL software and one-on-one tutoring at no cost. The CRC conducts a quarterly training for all volunteers to familiarize them with the naturalization process, tutoring methodologies and CARECEN policy. Finally the CRC promotes the expansion of CARECEN’s citizenship program by conducting outreach in the greater Los Angeles area. The CRC serves as the program’s ambassador at public speaking engagements and community fairs. The CRC collaborates with partner organizations and local media to ensure the citizenship services are being advertised to the widest audience possible.
The Immigration Services Paralegal (ISP) works under the supervision of the Legal Director and Legal Services Coordinator. The ISP is responsible for providing paralegal assistance to Legal Department clients in immigration matters including naturalization applications, adjustment of status and asylum. The ISP educates applicants on the naturalization process, screens applicants to determine their eligibility, provides brief legal services such as work permit and permanent resident card renewals; FBI fingerprints; Freedom of Information Act Requests; and document translation, prepares cases for submission, and troubleshoots client problems as they go through the process. At times, the ISP may need to serve as a translator for Spanish-speaking clients. The ISP provides administrative support to CARECEN's immigration legal services for victims of domestic violence when needed. The ISP will act as the substitute legal receptionist/intake screener for approximately two hours a week. Training will occur on the job and no prior paralegal experience is necessary.
Families of the Incarcerated
The CHIP Program Coordinator is responsible for the recruiting, hiring, and matching of mentors with mentees through the non-profit organization Families of the Incarcerated. Coordinator aids potential mentors in completing the application process, then is responsible for matching the mentor with a mentee meets with mentors on a minimum quarterly basis to follow up on mentor/mentee relationships. Coordinator must also utilize the Caregivers Choice website to input and maintain mentor/mentee information. Coordinator forms and maintains partnerships with local community members, businesses, and non-profit organizations. In addition to the CHIP Program, coordinator attends and helps facilitate parenting classes once a week for those parents struggling with their at-risk youth. Coordinator is asked to help in the research and procurement of funds for the CHIP Program. Grant writing is not necessary but research will be done on potential grants.
Read about our other California service opportunities in San Francisco and Watsonville
Notre Dame Mission Volunteers - Americorps
403 Markland Ave.
Baltimore, MD 21212
Phone:(410) 532-6864 - Fax: (410) 532-2418