Background: Founded in 1933, the International Rescue Committee is a leading, non-sectarian, non-profit organization providing emergency relief, protection, rehabilitation assistance, resettlement services, and advocacy for refugees and victims of oppression or violent conflict. Domestically, our 28 offices across the U.S. ensure new arrivals have food, shelter, and clothing, and work with refugees to help them gain self-sufficiency.
Scop of Volunteer Work: The New Roots farm volunteer will support refugee farmers who are earning income through their small farming business. Volunteers will assist with a very wide variety of tasks on the farm and will be supervised by a member of the IRC New Roots team or directly by the farmers who are present at the time of a volunteer shift.
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
- Planting
- Harvesting and washing vegetables for wholesale orders
- Weighing, labeling, and packing vegetables
- Weeding various areas of farm
- Miscellaneous farmer assistance (vegetable transport, hoeing, pest management, etc)
- Clean up debris/trash around farm site
- Tidy and sanitize wash station and/or walk-in cooler
- Fence maintenance and repair
- Winterize farm (October-November, includes dismantling irrigation, removing row cover and black plastic, organizing and taking inventory of farm supplies, etc)
Requirements
- Ability to work in varying temperatures and weather conditions
- Ability to perform hard physical labor, including lifting 50 lbs, squatting, bending for long periods of time, pulling and pushing.
- Background check required
Start date:
Volunteer shifts will begin in June, you can view upcoming shifts here: https://signup.com/go/nQqGgtt
Shift Options
Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the summer.
We ask that volunteers come for a 2-hour minimum at any time in the windows above.
Please note that New Roots staff will NOT always be on site. Farmers will be directly managing volunteers at times. New Roots will provide a training to farmers prior to the season to make sure they are equipped for this role.
Training
New Roots will send out an email with important information prior to the first volunteer shift and will be on site during Thursday work days to provide any additional information and answer questions.
Next Steps
Attend a general volunteer orientation, you can sign up for that here: https://signup.com/go/FVjFCTJ
After attending the general volunteer orientation, passing background check, and submitting all required paperwork, sign up for a farm volunteer shift through the following link: https://signup.com/go/nQqGgtt