Welcome to The Advocate, Sanctuary for Families’ Volunteer Digest. We are thrilled to reintroduce additional ways to communicate and celebrate the incredible work of our dedicated volunteers, highlight upcoming opportunities, and recap what has been going on in Sanctuary’s Volunteer Program. |
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Welcome to The Advocate, Sanctuary for Families’ Volunteer Digest. We are thrilled to reintroduce additional ways to communicate and celebrate the incredible work of our dedicated volunteers, highlight upcoming opportunities, and recap what has been going on in Sanctuary’s Volunteer Program.
Whether you are new to our volunteer team or a seasoned contributor, we hope this digest will become your go-to source! The Advocate will aim to keep you informed, inspired, and connected as we work together to make a difference for survivors of gender-based violence.
Thank you for being a part of the Sanctuary family — we couldn’t do this without you!
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End-of-Year Holidays: We just wrapped-up another successful holiday season of giving. Sanctuary’s Adopt-a-Family Program fulfilled holiday wishes for 102 families while over 1,000 additional clients received gifts through the Winter Wishes Program. In addition, we welcomed 160 volunteers into our gift giving space over seven dates in December. A huge thank you to the hundreds of individuals and groups who helped make this holiday season special for Sanctuary clients.
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Sarah Burke House, Sanctuary’s large transitional shelter, runs an impactful After School Program for the youngest survivors onsite and volunteers are instrumental in the Monday-Friday programming. This school year has already been filled with volunteer-led workshops, activities, and educational support. They ended 2024 with a shelter-wide talent show that brought smiles to all! We are excited to continue volunteer programming for the kids in 2025!
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This fall we launched a new program called Homework Help that offers virtual one-on-one tutoring for school-aged clients on Wednesdays. The students of various ages benefited from volunteer support with reading, writing, English comprehension, and math. One volunteer wrote “Both of the kids I worked with did a great job. They were both very eager, and I could tell that they benefited from my encouragement.” Our Fall 2024 Conversation Group partnered volunteers with 27 clients who were aiming to enhance their conversational English skills. This program helps clients gain confidence in speaking English, overcoming barriers they face day-to-day.
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Noble Henry
Community Service Director, NYU Black Student Health Association (BSHA); Volunteer, Children’s Activities and Sarah Burke House Afterschool Workshops
Noble, alongside a small group from NYU's BSHA, led monthly workshops during SBH Afterschool programming in 2024. His group is committed to providing continuous workshops in 2025 focusing on team building, sportsmanship, and healthy leadership.
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Upcoming and Ongoing Volunteer Opportunities
- Educational Homework Help/Tutoring
Once a week, February-May; Virtual Assist children and adults with one-on-one support in a variety of areas, including homework help, ESL, and standardized test prep.
- Survivor Leader Graduation Volunteers
February 10th; In-person Come help set up decorations for our celebratory event. Tear down volunteers are welcome too!
- Conversation Group
Two 1-hour sessions, March-April 2025; Virtual Help our clients practice and gain confidence speaking English conversationally through interactive conversation topics.
- Interview Prep
April 4th, April 30th, May 14th, June 4th 12:30-2 PM; Virtual Support participants within Sanctuary’s Career Readiness Training Program by helping them practice interview skills.
- Translation Volunteers
Flexible schedule; document translation opportunities for 30+ languages Assist with document translation and interpreting phone calls or meetings.
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Join Sanctuary at the following panels and celebrations:
- January 30th: Economic Empowerment Graduation (RSVP)
- February 10th: Survivor Leader Graduation (RSVP)
- March 11th: CSW69 Parallel Event (RSVP)
- April 9th: Pillars of Change, Sanctuary’s Annual Volunteer Appreciation Event
Mark your calendars for Sanctuary’s next new volunteer orientation on February 18th, 5-6 PM!
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