Interested in getting involved with Lutheran Social Services? Each of our four main programs can benefit from your support, but right now we are most focused on finding enthusiastic volunteers for our Refugee Services program, and we always appreciate donations of furniture, toiletries and household items. You can fill out the volunteer forms or make a donation to any of our programs below.
Get Involved
BECOME A VOLUNTEER, DONATE ITEMS, MAKE A MONETARY DONATION
Volunteer Opportunities
ONGOING VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
- Drivers – Drive refugees to their various appointments during their 90-day resettlement period. Appointments are weekdays during regular business hours. Requirements: Level 2 background check, drug test, driving record check, current DL, and car insurance. Foreign language skills are not required.
- Airport pick-up drivers – Pick up arriving refugees at Jacksonville International Airport. Arriving flights are on weekdays and weekends; time of day varies. Requirements: Level 2 background check, drug test, driving record check, current DL, and car insurance. Foreign language skills are preferred (Arabic, Farsi, all Burmese dialects, Spanish, French, Kinyarwanda and other).
- Mentors (First Friends) – Help refugees learn new life skills they need in America such as how to: use public transportation; shop at a grocery store; learn to speak, read and write English; obtain and use phone/Internet services; use computers; etc. Mentors may also sign up to take refugee families on fun enrichment activities that help them acclimate to Jacksonville, such as trips to museums and the beach. The mentor schedule is flexible; activities are planned around the mentors’ and the mentees’ schedules. Requirements: Level 2 background check and drug test; driving record check, current DL and car insurance are required if mentor is planning to transport refugees. Foreign language skills are not required.
- Interpreters and translators – Needed languages include Arabic, all Burmese dialects, Spanish and Farsi.
- Apartment Set-up Crews – Driving record check, current DL and car insurance are required if volunteer is going to use agency’s vehicle.
- Interns (college students preferred) – Serve as case manager’s aide on weekdays during regular business hours. Requirements: Level 2 background check and drug test.
AS NEEDED VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES
- Cultural Orientation Class Instructors
- Homework Helpers
- Conversational English Instructors
If interested, please click the Volunteer Application Form below to start the registration process.
How to Donate Items
Our families arrive from conflicted countries all over the world, carrying only what they can fit in a suitcase. LSS helps them to start a new life from scratch here in the U.S., and we are always grateful for donations of furniture and household items. Please click the button below to see our wishlist. If you have items to donate, we are happy to schedule a pick-up on Tuesday or Thursday 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Contact LSS at contact@lssjax.org or 904.448.5995 with questions or to schedule a pick-up.
Make a Monetary Donation
We’re working with our national leaders to support efforts to advocate on behalf of the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program. We’re also working hard locally to raise funds that will help us preserve resources and avoid losing our talented and experienced Refugee Program staff during this time of transition and uncertainty. We need to be ready, if and when the ban is lifted, to restart this lifesaving program as rapidly as possible. Your tax deductible contribution at any level will serve as gap funding to help us stabilize our program during the 120-day temporary restriction period.
If you are more interested in donating to our AIDs Care and Education Program, the Nourishment Network or our Money Minders Program, you can also use the button below and just specify that program in the donation designation line of the online form. Thank you for your consideration in supporting any Lutheran Social Services program.