Welcome to the LatiNola volunteering page! LatiNola has exciting volunteer opportunities that you won’t find anywhere else in the city. By volunteering with us you will experience new sides of our community, give back, learn how to organize projects, and meet others who are dedicated like you! Below are our current volunteer opportunities. To sign up contact Sadira at volunteer@puentesno.org.

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FEATURED VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

Support the ROLLIN’ RINOS Wheelchair Athletic Association! There’s a great volunteer opportunity coming up! Come help out with this three day long, 5th Annual Field Of Hope Event. This is an end of year Adaptive Wheelchair Sports and Recreational Games and Pre-Christmas Activities for youth, adults and families with members who have physical disabilities. This event goes from Friday 12/16 - Sunday 12/18.  Volunteers can attend for as little as 4 hours, and for as much as the whole weekend. Volunteers are needed to participate in activities, keep score, distribute toys, play with cute kids and/or help out with food service. We are looking for as many as 35 volunteers so PLEASE  come out and give back to your community and enjoy some fierce basketball competitions! If you are interested please contact Sadira Glendenning at volunteer@puentesno.org or at 504-821-7228.

Become a Bilingual Evacuteer
When a mandatory evacuation is called during a hurricane, the city of New Orleans activates the City Assisted Evacuation Plan (CAEP) to evacuate those who cannot leave by themselves. Evacuteers provide vital volunteer assistance to those who are using the CAEP, and bilingual evacuteers provide the added support of making the CAEP more accessible to non-English speakers. Please consider joining the pool of Evacuteers, by emailing Rafael Delgadillo at rafael@puentesno.org, or by calling 504-821-7228 for more information.

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OTHER VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES:

OIG Calls for Citizen Volunteers
The Office of Inspector General (OIG) is looking into the strain on the City Budget resulting from City Trash Pick-Up contracts increasing by 113% pre-to-post Katrina, despite serviced sites dropping by 37%. They will be conducting a random-sample inspection of approximately 2,000 trash pick-up sites and they need 200 CITIZEN VOLUNTEERS – that’s us – to conduct the inspections. EngageNOLA has pledged 25 volunteers to spend 3-4 hours on this project. This includes a 1-hour training the week of October 18th and 2-3 hours in the field doing inspections on Saturday, October 23rd or Sunday October 24th. If you’re interested SIGN UP and we’ll send you additional details as we receive them If you have questions email Rocio at volunteer@puentesno.org.

LatiNola Votes! Voter Registration
Research shows that Latinos, especially young Latinos, could be a significant voting block, but many are not registered or do not vote. Help us change this! LatiNola wants to promote active citizenship among the Latino community. This means that we want those who are eligible to be registered and voting! LatiNola Votes volunteers will go to area events, promote voting, and register people. This effort is completely non-partisan.

Tutor Spanish at Warren Easton High School
Did you know that LatiNola runs a youth development initiative called the LatiNola Youth Leadership Council? Some students in the high schools where we work are struggling with Spanish, and could really use your Spanish expertise to help them get the most out of their Spanish classes. This volunteer opportunity includes tutoring and helping the Spanish teacher prepare for her lessons. This is perfect for anyone interested in education or teaching, as you get both behind-the-scenes and classroom experience.

Orleans Public Defenders
Orleans Public Defender is seeking volunteers to help with first appearances. Bilingual not necessary. Help with paperwork, call families, and support OPD staff. Great experience for someone who is interested in learning about legal work!

Mentors
Jefferson Community School is looking for mentors for their at rish students 12-16 years old in 6-8 grade. The mentor is expected to visit during school hours for a maximum of 30 minutes at least every other week. The schedule is very flexible. Aside from getting to know the student, mentors can play sports, bring them lunch, read a book together, etc. Cards and gifts can also be sent to the school for your student. Please note that the students are at risk and can use some attention, consistency, and just have someone who cares. Please inquire if interested and able to commit until the end of the school year (end of May).

Cultural Presentations at Workforce Development Sites
If you want to get out in the community, work with young people, and teach, we have an exciting opportunity for you! There are many workforce development sites in the city, such as Job Corps and LA Green Corps, that train young New Orleanians in career-building skills. Many of these students are learning to work in fields where they will likely have Latino co-workers, yet they know very little about Latin American and Latino culture. Be an ambassador of Latino culture by providing educational presentations to trainees at Job Corps and LA Green Corps, get them excited about Latino culture, and help them better understand and appreciate their Latino co-workers and neighbors. Presentations can be creative, fun, and follow the interests of you and your students. Trainees who have received these presentations in the past have been very engaged in the material, and educators at the sites are excited to have us. The schedule will be once every week or every other week in the afternoons

Spanish Language Computer Lesson
The Old City Building Center, located in Mid-City, has a computer lab to make available to the public. This location presents an opportunity to provide computer classes to the Mid-City Latino population. Volunteers will teach computer literacy classes in Spanish on internet, email, word processing, accessing online resources, etc. This is a new program and volunteers will work with the OCBC director and LatiNola to start it, promote it, and make it a success. If you speak Spanish, want to teach, or are interested in marketing or advertising, this will be a great project for you.

Wage Claims Clinic Volunteer Training
The Employment Rights Consortium holds a weekly wage claims clinic for workers who are denied wages. Volunteers areneeded to conduct client interviews, help draft demand letters, interpret (Spanish and Portuguese) for pro-bono attorneys, and advise workers of their rights (attorneys). Volunteers are asked to attend a training, which will provide an introduction to the laws relevant to wage claims and go over how the wage claim clinic works. The clinic takes place Thursday evenings. If you are interested, contact Vanessa Spinazola at 504-581-4043 extention 212 or vspinazola@probono-no.org.

Speakers’ Bureau
LatiNola is recruiting people excited to be part of a new Speakers Bureau we are developing. Anyone interested in sharing their expertise or experience is encouraged to create a talk and join. One of the main audiences for these presentations will be local high school students involved with the LatiNola Youth Leadership Council, so we are particularly interested in people who can talk about something of interest to aspiring youth scholars and leaders in our community. The Speakers Bureau will serve to inform and inspire youth and to close the Latino opportunity and achievement gap in New Orleans. To learn more about the Speakers Bureau or to add your voice to our expertise pool, please email Laura Williamson at education@puentesno.org.

NonPacc
Sit on the community meeting and write a summary on “what is going on” focusing on issues, concerns, questions, problems, etc regarding Latinos. There are 8 districts in Orleans Parish, all of which have their own meeting each month. Weekdays/Evenings.

Coffee-Mate
-Volunteer Lay Health Educator – Teach uninsured and underinsured African-American, Latina, and Vietnamese women in your community about breast and cervical cancer screening, treatment, and prevention. Plan and deliver monthly educational sessions that promote screening and prevention. Plan and deliver monthly educational sessions that promote screening and prevention. Help women access screening services in your community. 20 hours a month.
-Volunteer Patient Navigator – Help uninsured and underinsured African American, Latina, and Vietnamese women access follow-up and treatment services for an abnormal breast or cervical cancer screening. Collaborate with health service professionals and community groups to provide resources and support cancer patients. Develop and maintain a relationship with caner patients to eliminate barriers to healthcare and ensure compliance with treatment and follow-up visits. 20 hours a month.

To sign up for one or more volunteer opportunities listed above, please email us at volunteer@puentesno.org. For more information or to discuss an opportunity, please call Rocio Mora at 504-821-7228