Volunteer

Make a difference in someone’s life.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. Because what the world needs are people who have come alive.”
– Howard Thurman, theologian, educator & civil rights leader

 

Become an FCA Volunteer

Our volunteers are a vital resource in our capacity to serve families on Long Island. We have many opportunities for you to help children, teenagers, seniors or adults.

Sign up today!  Complete the form and check out the list of available volunteer opportunities below.

377 Oak Street, 5th Floor
Garden City, NY 11530
Phone: (516) 746-0350 x4303
Email: HR@fcali.org

FCA would like to thank the New York Community Bank Foundation for their generous sponsorship of the Volunteer Program.

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Volunteer Sign-Up

Volunteer Opportunities

Safe Observant Senior Program

Administrative Assistant Volunteer Job Description

General Position Description

This individual will support the Case Counselors who provide criminal justice navigation, safety planning, resources and emotional support to victims of elder abuse. Administrative duties include what is required to meet the FCA and Office of Victim Services reporting systems and all tasks relating to the program goals

Availability

The Administrative Assistant will be required to report for a minimum of 14 hours per week, preferably 2 seven hour days; 3 seven hour days preferred

Essential Job Duties
  • Support Case Counselors with review and organization of emails, Outlook Calendar, day to day activities, etc.
  • Prepare and mail documents to clients
  • Facilitate Client Satisfaction Questionnaires
  • Prep program documents
  • Enter data to Excel spreadsheet
  • Light filing, researching and organizing resources
  • Using copy machine and scanner
  • Retrieve telephone messages
  • Perform other duties as assigned
Supervision

Reports to: 2 Case Counselors
Supervises: N/A

Minimum Qualifications — Education & Experience

Education: Associates Degree preferred

Experience: Minimum of 2 years experience working in a professional setting with administrative duties

Knowledge of Nassau County resources, Nassau County criminal justice systems a plus

Minimum Qualifications — Other

Computer Skills: Basic computer skills, especially with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, and Outlook) that are consistent with level needed to perform essential job responsibilities

Math Skills: Ability to perform basic arithmetic computations essential to primary job responsibilities

Reasoning Ability: Ability to assess situations and utilize sound professional judgment in determining appropriate resolutions. Ability to use abstract and critical thinking

Communication and Interpersonal Skills: Must be comfortable and able to engage with clients, team members, providers, and all FCA employees.

Other: Must be sensitive to the cultural differences of clients, co-workers and others with whom you come in contact during the execution of job responsibilities. Must be able to maintain confidentiality in accordance with HIPAA policies and practices

Bilingual Clerical Volunteer

Hempstead Prevention Program Seeks Bilingual English/Spanish Clerical Volunteer

The Hempstead Prevention program provides individual and group prevention counseling, parenting classes for at-risk families, evidence-based workshops for adolescents to enhance decision-making skills, and community wide outreach and education about drugs and other high-risk behaviors.

The Hempstead Prevention Volunteer will assist with phone outreach, registration, and translation of materials from English to Spanish for our Spanish-speaking clients. The ideal candidate would enjoy working with families and be bilingual (English/Spanish).

Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP)

HEAP VOLUNTEER NEEDED

Family and Children’s Association, Long Island’s oldest human care agency, is seeking volunteers for Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP).  HEAP is a federally funded program designed to help low-income households meet the high cost of home energy.  Both those who pay separately for heating costs and households whose heat is included in their rent may be eligible for a one-time regular benefit.  The HEAP year generally begins in mid-November and closes in mid-March or when the program funding is exhausted.

The HEAP volunteer will be responsible for:

  • Managing a large volume of customer calls and making the appropriate transfers.
  • Updating client information in the database.
  • Working with the team to process applications in a timely manner and file them once completed.
  • Mail clients updated information regarding the program.

The ideal HEAP Volunteer would possess the following characteristics:

  • Basic computer skills
  • Patient person with great communication and customer service skills
  • Available Wednesdays & Thursdays from 10am – 1pm
  • Able to bend and sit for long periods of time
  • Resides near or willing to travel to the Uniondale area
  • Bilingual a plus
Clerical/Administrative Support

CLERICAL/ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT NEEDED

FCA is seeking volunteers that would be willing to provide clerical/administrative support in the form of filing, data entry, mailings, and other office duties as assigned. The ideal candidate would be detail oriented, comfortable using Microsoft Excel, available for a minimum of 10 hours per week, and live near or willing to travel to Garden City.

Bill Payer/Paper Management Volunteers

Bill Payer Program

Family and Children’s Association, Long Island’s oldest human care agency, is seeking volunteers for its Bill Payer/Paper Management Program.  The service is aimed at helping seniors stay independent and remain in their homes.

Trained volunteers go to the seniors’ homes in Nassau, where they will assist them in some of their money management tasks.  This includes sorting and organizing bills, preparing checks for their signature, maintaining accurate records, and assistance with discarding outdated papers.

The ideal Bill Payer Volunteer would possess the following characteristics:

  • Background in finance/accounting helpful, but not necessary
  • Detail-oriented
  • Ability to travel to client homes in Nassau County
  • Available 1-2 days per month for 2-3 hours each
  • Willing to commit to the program for at least 1 year
Host a Workshop at our Learning Center!

FCA’s after-school Learning Center offers supportive, educational, and enrichment services to at-risk, vulnerable adolescents – youth who have runaway or are experiencing homelessness, those in foster care and those from struggling families who are 14-24 years old. They receive the support and services they need to prepare them for employment, college and successful adulthood.

The center seeks motivated professionals who can provide educational and engaging workshops to benefit our youth – from health and nutrition to job seeking skills to learning how to write a winning essay for a college application.

FCA’s Learning Center is funded through the Newsday Charities, a McCormick Foundation fund.

THRIVE Recovery Center

Long Island’s Center for Transformation, Healing, Recovery, Inspiration, Validation and Empowerment (THRIVE)

THRIVE SUPPORT VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Volunteer for THRIVE. The mission of THRIVE is to help individuals and families find, maintain, and strengthen their recovery through peer-based support, navigation assistance and referral services; provide interactive educational programs that promote wellness, economic prosperity and civic engagement; and maintain a safe, welcoming haven for substance-free recreational and social activities.

THRIVE is actively seeking volunteers to provide administrative and practical support for center activities, including building maintenance, clerical duties, reception area, security, community outreach, recreational events, peer support groups, recovery month activities, and special events. The ideal volunteer would possess the following characteristics:

  • Great interpersonal skills and the ability to work as part of a team
  • Office/Clerical experience with a knowledge of Microsoft Word & Excel programs
  • Available to volunteer for 2-4 hour shifts on the following days/times
    • Mondays thru Thursdays: 12-9pm
    • Fridays and Saturdays: 2-10pm
    • Sundays: 1-5pm
  • Members of the recovery community and/or their family members encouraged to volunteer
  • Bilingual English/Spanish a plus
Ombudservice Program Seeks Volunteers

Ombudservice – Advocating for Seniors

This is an opportunity to advocate for residents living in nursing homes, family type homes and assisted living facilities in Nassau County.

Before placement in one of the facilities, a volunteer must complete 6 days of training to satisfy the NYS Certification requirement.  In addition, the volunteer must attend 6 in-service trainings annually to maintain their certification.

As a NYS Certified Ombudsperson, you would advocate for the resident to ensure that their rights, dignity and quality of care are being met.  The volunteer works in collaboration with the resident, resident’s family, facility management and regulatory agencies.

This volunteer opportunity requires a two year commitment to visit their assigned facility for approximately 3 hours, one day a week.

This opportunity is located in Nassau County.
This opportunity is available all year round.
The hours are: Monday through Friday.

For additional information call (516) 466-9718, ext. 2

HIICAP Counselors Needed

Health Insurance Information Counseling & Assistance Program (HIICAP)

Our Health Insurance Information Counseling and Assistance program (HIICAP) is your source for free, current and impartial information, counseling and advocacy services concerning health care coverage. Through our hotline and our volunteer counselors, we can provide you or your loved ones with information on all aspects of health insurance including Medicare Parts A, B, C & D and EPIC.

Would you enjoy working with fellow volunteers educating our community?  Do you have a background in health care, customer service, education, or social work? Join our wonderful team of volunteers as they provide a much needed service in Nassau County.  Family and Children’s Association provides all training required. Volunteers are needed every day of the week so a schedule can be tailored to your needs.

HIICAP is actively seeking volunteers to counsel Nassau County residents and their families on Medicare health insurance. The ideal volunteer would possess the following characteristics:

  • Background in health care, customer service, education, or social work
  • Resides near or willing to travel to the Garden City area
  • Available 1-2 days per week between the hours of 9am-5pm
  • Willing to commit to the program for at least 1 year
  • Computer skills a plus
Walkabout Seeks Tutors

Walkabout for young men and women is a transitional house in Freeport, serving homeless adolescents. It provides ten young people (ages 16 – 20) with housing and services for up to eighteen months in order to prepare them for living independently in the community.

Walkabout is in need of tutors who specialize in the areas of high school algebra, geometry, global history and world history. The ideal volunteer would possess the following characteristics:

  • Bachelor’s Degree (or higher) in Education or related field
  • Great interpersonal skills and experience working with youth
  • Resides near or willing to travel to the Freeport area
  • Available a minimum of one day per week for one hour, preferably Monday evenings between 4pm – 6pm (Other days/times may be scheduled in the future to accommodate the needs of the residents)
Project Independence Suffolk Seeks Volunteers

Project Independence Suffolk

Project Independence is a comprehensive, non-residential program designed to prepare youth between the ages of 14-21 who are in foster care, or discharged from foster care, to live and work independently in the community when they are no longer eligible for foster care.

TUTORS NEEDED

PI-Suffolk is in need of tutors for high school students in most subject areas including reading, writing, math, science and social studies.  The ideal volunteer would possess the following characteristics:

  • Education Background or Retired Teacher
  • Great interpersonal skills and the ability to work with youth
  • Resides near or willing to travel to the Holbrook area
  • Available during after-school or evening hours
MENTORS NEEDED

PI-Suffolk is also seeking mentors to work with their young adolescent male population. The ideal mentor would possess the following characteristics:

  • Working professional
  • Valid NYS Driver’s License and be comfortable transporting youth in their vehicle
  • Great interpersonal skills and the ability to connect with youth
  • Resides near or willing to travel to the Holbrook area
  • Available during after-school or evening hours
Vocational Education Program Seeks Tutors

The primary focus of FCA’s Vocational Education Program is to prepare students to take the High School Equivalency Exam (Known originally as the GED, but now titled TASC).  Our service is free of charge and no student is turned away as long as they are at least 21 years of age and sufficiently motivated, regardless of their educational background. Students are interviewed as to their goals, tested and provided with individual curriculums.  At regular intervals they are retested, their progress assessed, and goals reviewed and sometimes revised.  We offer both TASC preparation and basic education services.

As a volunteer, you will assist adults studying for the High School Equivalency Exam. The ideal volunteer would possess the following characteristics:

  • Volunteers should be proficient in either math, reading and/or writing
  • Resides near or willing to travel to the Village of Hempstead
  • Available at least once a week for a few hours between 9am – 3pm Monday thru Thursday
Friendly Visitor Program

The Friendly Visitor Program is a volunteer-elder matching program that serves Nassau County seniors, 60 years of age and over.  This program matches in-home visitors and telephone visitors with homebound elders, providing a supportive voice and sympathetic ear.

Volunteers must:

  • Be at least 18 years of age
  • Have the interest and capability to fulfill the role of a friendly visitor
  • Be capable of traveling to and from the home of the elder independently
  • Be a good listener
  • Be able to communicate orally and in writing
  • Be sensitive to the needs of the elderly
  • Be open-minded and non-judgmental
  • Be resourceful in coping with a variety of situations
  • Have a sense of humor in dealing with day-to-day concerns
  • Be tactful and diplomatic – able to work with agency staff, elders and families
  • Be reliable – must not disappoint those who look forward to the volunteer’s visit.
  • Have reliable transportation
  • Complete 3 hour training session prior to starting program

This opportunity is located throughout Nassau County, Monday – Friday between the hours of 9am – 5pm and requires the volunteer to make a one year commitment to visit their assigned client one hour per week.

Financial Counseling - Debt Counseling and Reverse Mortgage

Volunteers will be trained to provide debt counseling and will assist clients to develop short and long-term budgets.  They will be trained as to how to successfully intervene with mortgage delinguency and foreclosure crises.  they may also work with our CHEC program’s HUD certified reverse mortgage counselor to assist clients in understanding this option.

This opportunty is in Garden City
This opportunity is available all year round.
The program operates: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday between the hours of 9:30 am and 5:00 pm.

Fiscal Volunteer
  • Data entry on cumulative pages.
  •  Copying full documentation.
  •  Printing payroll register for full documentation and also for funders that require it with claims.
  •  Printing cancelled checks and bank statements for full documentation and also for funders that   require it with claims.
  •  Printing cash requirement reports.
  •  Entering on labor dist. reports the amount less GTL and mileage.
  •  Running tapes for funders that require it.
  •  Scanning payment and vouchers of paid claims.
  •  Filing copies.
  •  Organizing copies per program.