Help Our Newest Neighbors Succeed

Your gift goes to work immediately, directly helping those who need it most. Select JFCS, or designate your gift to JFCS Refugee and Immigrant Services in the designation drop-down menu on the Donate page or donate items off of our wish list.

Check out the Amazon Wishlist for refugee arrivals and select a gift to donate!

Questions, please contact us at 412-422-7200 or donations@jfcspgh.org.

Volunteers have been the cornerstone of JFCS’s existence since the agency’s inception. Volunteers who work with us tell us they find the experience often just as meaningful and rewarding as it is for the individuals we serve.

Family or Individual Mentorship

Work closely with a refugee individual or family to help them achieve important goals, such as: 

-Learning to identify and understand important mail

-Becoming familiar with their new neighborhood

-Navigating the U.S. healthcare system

-Integrating into their new community

-Provide transportation for clients when needed

-Practice English with clients to build confidence and communication skills

Offer specialized skills, such as: 

-Interpretation 

-Bus training 

-Setting up utilities 

This volunteer opportunity is long-term and requires weekly meetings for 6 months. 

Interpretation and Translation

Provide interpretation services during Cultural Orientation sessions for refugees and immigrants, and translate departmental materials including flyers, scripts, and flashcards to ensure clear and accessible communication in different languages. 

This volunteer opportunity is on an as-needed basis. 

Welcome home teams

Organize a team of volunteers to gather essential items for an immigrant family. Items may be gently used or purchased new (note: certain items, such as bedding, must be brand new). Once collected, deliver the items to the JFCS office or directly to the client, and assist with setting them up. 

Transport and Accompany Clients to Appointments or Events

Accompany immigrant clients to appointments as a requirement for green card applications, regular medical appointments, or community events.

Do you want to get involved in a new way?

Through JFCS’s new Community Sponsorship Program, faith-based and organized community groups can directly engage in refugee resettlement efforts. Partnering with faith-based organizations has been essential to JFCS’s resettlement work, with congregations of different faiths coming together to cook welcome meals, donate furniture, help with housing set-ups, and educate the community about refugees in our city. Now, faith-based organizations have a chance to get involved in an even deeper way.

By becoming a Community Sponsor for one or more refugee families through JFCS’s Community Sponsorship Program, your group can provide direct assistance for the first year of their lives here in Pittsburgh! You’ll be invited to participate in all aspects of resettlement—from initial meetings with prospective families through their first year here—and have access to training opportunities throughout that time. All while building relationships with other community members who care deeply about welcoming new neighbors into our city!

Does your organization want to strengthen local community support for refugees and immigrants by sponsoring a newly arrived refugee or their family?

Contact us at 412-722-4200 or refugee@jfcspgh.org to learn more about this exciting way to help our newest neighbors thrive!

Helping refugees find a home in Pittsburgh is an important part of our work. We’re looking for landlords willing to rent to people who don’t have a credit history in the US, and we’re looking for people interested in temporarily hosting someone who has recently arrived (this option is limited to homes that have a private entrance).

Please contact us at refugee@jfcpsgh.org to speak to someone about renting or hosting.