Volunteers
Volunteers are the engine of Good Neighbors of Capitol Hill. The volunteer network initially came from the faith communities which joined together to build a service program for refugees. They were soon joined by others from the Capitol Hill community and the wider DC metro area. In any month, about three dozen individuals are involved in at least one apartment set-up. Some volunteers have participated in apartment set-ups since 2016 and others have been recently recruited. Each team has a core of volunteers who help with the gathering, sorting and cleaning of in-kind donations, purchasing new items, and delivering the items to the family. The Bed and Mattress and Furniture Teams are always in need of sturdy folks who can help transport and assemble larger pieces of furniture, but every team has a place for any volunteer who can help welcome refugees to our community.
We are very excited about establishing a new “Computer Tech” team to assist in the purchasing, delivery, and set-up of computers for our refugee family adults. Often the children have access to computer through their schools, but the adults do not have access to digital resources. We are looking for 3 or 4 or more individuals who have sufficient technical expertise to match computer capacity with the needs of our refugee families, locate the best deal for purchasing new computers, and help families install software that meets their needs and, if necessary, provide some in-home assistance so the families can use the computer effectively. Long range plans would include working with providers of refurbished computers as well as purchasing new ones.
