It’s the 25th anniversary of Refugee Week (19 – 25 June 2023), the world’s largest arts & culture festival celebrating the contributions, creativity and resilience of refugees and people seeking sanctuary. King’s Volunteering has partners with over 100 different organisations working across a variety of causes. Here, we’ve collated some of the organisation we work with that support asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants.
You can find all our community organisations listed on King’s Volunteering online.
The Indoamerican Refugee & Migrant Organisation’s mission is to enable the development, agency, and participation of all Latin Americans and other Spanish and Portuguese speakers, by responding to both immediate needs and structural inequalities. Watch their YouTube video: I volunteer because…
There are a few different ways that you can get involved with as a volunteer:
You could become an Assistant ESOL Teacher to support recently arrived Children & Young People in the UK.
You could join IRMO as Children E-Mentor supporting recently arrived Latin American children aged 5-12 to learn English, settle in the UK and thrive. This role can be done remotely and requires some knowledge of Spanish or Portuguese.
Become a mentor at the Latin American Youth Forum (LAYF) – a youth-led group based at IRMO for migrant and refugee young people aged 13-19 where activities are offered in English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
Due to legal, linguistic and social barriers, finding work can be extremely difficult for many migrants. Being unable to provide for themselves and their families has significant negative effects on self-esteem and mental health. Migrateful’s mission is to empower and celebrate refugees and vulnerable migrants on their journey to integration, by supporting them to run their own cookery classes.
You could sign up for a six-week volunteering cycle where you will support the smooth running of a Migrant-led Cookery Class. You will choose a spot on the same day, at the same time and venue each week for the next six weeks.
The King’s Sanctuary Programme includes a range of projects, through which King’s has supported sanctuary seekers to thrive in higher education, educated thousands of displaced people through blended bridging programmes and bespoke contextualised online university courses, and has enriched the UK community sponsorship scheme by developing an education-led pathway for forcefully displaced students and academics. King’s also aims to enhance understanding of forced displacement among our students, staff and alumni and to develop opportunities for them to make a positive contribution through engagement activities, training and volunteering opportunities.
You can volunteer with the King’s Sanctuary Programme as a Refugee Post-Arrival Support Volunteer.
South London Refugee Association is a front line community organisation providing specialist advice and support to refugees, asylum seekers and other migrants who are at risk or in crisis because of past trauma or restrictions related to their current immigration status.
You can volunteer as a Community Meal Chef, where you can help to cook meals on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
Refugee Education are working towards a world where all refugee and asylum-seeking children and young people can access education, thrive in education, and use that education to create a hopeful, brighter future. We do this by supporting over 600 young refugees and asylum seekers each year with a range of programmes.
Salusbury World’s mission is to support refugee and migrant children and families in Brent to develop the skills and confidence to navigate and succeed in society, and to feel supported and hopeful for the future.