Refugee Transitions

Excellent place to volunteer! RT matches volunteers with newly arrived refugees to provide English tutoring, and some practical lessons for living in the US.
This is home-​based tutoring, so you meet at the pupil’s home at a convenient time for both of you. This was critical for me, because I have to work during the daytime, and this allowed me to tutor in the evenings.
The refugees are eager to learn, and they also teach you a lot about their own culture and home countries, not to mention their amazing resilience.

Pretty much my favorite place to have volunteered at. In most tutoring programs, you develop relationships with your pupils, but the model RefTrans uses for tutoring adults (one-​on-​one, in-​home tutoring, with a minimum 6-​month commitment) really fosters strong bonds and (hopefully) lasting friendships. It’s a little terrifying to begin with, despite their trainings, because you’re basically on your own and may have very little experience. If you’re the kind of person who learns best by doing, though, this is an ideal situation to develop learner-​specific teaching skills.
I absolutely adore my tutee, who is constantly cracking me up, and I really enjoy spending time with her. We vary activities a lot; in addition to sitting on the floor with pens and paper, we go on a lot of field trips — some of which we will not repeat (I’m looking at you, creepy pervert at the DMV!), and it usually feels much more like a normal friendship than any student/​teacher dynamic. In none of my other friendships, though, have I started crying when I saw someone sound out their first word and understand it, or been too overjoyed that they knew a certain word to get upset at them for using it to play a practical joke on me (don’t use English for evil!).

One does not have to travel abroad to experience and be part of a different & fascinating culture, just volunteer with Refugee Transitions. I have been having a blast with my refugee. I love helping her and am astounded by her drive to get established here. There are so many lessons the I AM LEARNING FROM HER. I have also been warmly welcomed into her community.

RT is a fast growing non-​profit organization and it serves hundreds of refugees across the bay area. The staff and volunteers are passionate about what they do, and the students are eager to learn. As a volunteer, I honestly feel inspired and accomplished every time I meet with my tutee. So if you are looking to contribute to a non-​profit organization, you should definitely look into RT!

Does a TERRIFIC job helping refugees become self sufficient.
RT Volunteer Tutors teach English and life/​job/​academic skills. It’s a GREAT org and being a volunteer is super inspiring. Offices in SF & Oakland. Check em out!