What a busy year it has been for the Volunteer Legal Team! The team successfully filed asylum, SIV (Special Immigrant Visas) or TPS (Temporary Protected Status) applications for JFS’s Afghan clients who were evacuated in 2021–over 100 clients were served. The team...
The VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) Program is a program established by the IRS, run by volunteers to file taxes as no cost for underprivileged communities. This year, four experienced volunteers stepped up to establish a new site at our JFS office in...
It is difficult to sum up an entire year’s worth of work in words. In the last year, we were able to start multiple programs that would not have been possible without the participation of our wonderful volunteers. We ran a year long Afghan women’s ESL group, made...
April is Volunteer Appreciation Month! This past year has been a significant year of growth for JFS, and has brought new opportunities and programs for volunteer engagement. On April 28th we hosted a Volunteer Appreciation Event in our Welcome Center to celebrate our...
Two wonderful volunteers have been teaching ESL in Westfield and Chicopee to Ukrainian adult learners since last summer. The students have progressed significantly – they are eager to communicate in English. These volunteers lead class independently, they arrange...
The past year and our work with Ukrainians have brought many joyful moments for our staff and clients: first days of school in the US, instruments distributed to Ukrainian musicians, and generous community members going above and beyond. Just last week, the UMass Fine...
