Refugees from Myanmar (formerly Burma) are beginning to call Lowell home.  This community of newcomers is seeking volunteer help to ensure that the transition for a growing number of families as as smooth as possible.  If you have time to share, this community is looking for the following:

Transportation Volunteer – Provides safe, reliable transportation to medical appointments and other appointments for Burmese refugees who do not have licenses or automobiles.  Some volunteers are also needed to transport school-aged children to and from after school tutoring programs.

Clothing and Household Goods Distribution Volunteer -  Clothing and Household Goods Distribution Volunteers are needed to collect donated clothing and household articles, bring them to a central location, sort them by size and examine donated goods for obvious defects, and supervise the distribution of goods to Burmese refugees who come to the distribution point.

Tutoring/Homework Help Volunteer -  Provides one to one or small group tutoring services to school aged Burmese students.  Volunteers are needed for both general homework help and tutoring in specific subjects, including math, English, science, and social studies.  Tutors offering help on specific subjects will need to help design the curriculum.

Life Skills Training Volunteers -  Provide one-time trainings for small to medium sized groups of Burmese refugees on life skills needed for self-sufficiency in America.  Topics can include such things as how to use public transportation, accessing health care and basic preventative health care, parent/school issues, etc.

If you are interested in helping out, contact James Thawnghmung at 978-606-9288 or madeinburma@yahoo.com.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 19th, 2011 at 5:58 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.