Volunteer Opportunity: Airport Arrival

Position Summary:

When a new client arrives in Memphis, Airport Pick-Up Volunteers greet them at the Memphis International Airport (MEM) and transport the client(s) to their home or apartment. Airport Pick-Up Volunteers are often the first Memphians clients will interact with. The goal is for clients to feel welcomed and more at ease, to be safely transported to their housing, and to do a brief housing and emergency protocols orientation.

 

Key Responsibilities:

1. Greet clients at the airport right outside of security.
2. Transport clients and their luggage home.
3. Give the clients a brief orientation to the home (ex: lights, water/food, locks) and a safety plan (cell phones, emergency contacts, 911).

 

Qualifications:

1. 18+ years old.
2. Pass a criminal background and motor vehicle check
3. Reliable, flexible, respectful towards other cultures

 

Time Commitment:

1. Flexible, no certain weekly or monthly time commitment. Volunteers can accept a pick-up opportunity as their schedule allows.
2. Generally, airport pick-ups take 1.5-2.5 hours to complete. Factors that influence the length of time include unexpected travel delays, lost baggage, the number of people arriving, and where their housing is in relation to MEM and to the WRM office.

 

Duration: Ongoing, committing as your schedule allows.

 

Benefits to the Volunteer:

1. Be the first friendly face that your newest neighbors see!
2. Gain cross-cultural skills and experience.
3. Begin mutually transformative friendships with refugees.

 

Onboarding and Training:

1. General short-term/long-term volunteer application.
2. Criminal background check, reference check, and motor vehicle check.
3. Training includes the standard WR volunteer virtual training and watching a recording of an airport pickup.

 

Management and Communication:

Airport Pick-Up Volunteers will be collaboratively managed. Church and Community Engagement (CCE) will recruit and onboard Airport Pick-Up Volunteers. Initial Welcome Services (IWS) will communicate directly with the Basecamp group and coordinate pick-up details with volunteers who respond to a request. CCE will do quarterly check-ins with volunteers who have participated in a pick-up to receive feedback about their experience. CCE and IWS will do quarterly check-ins to communicate the status and need for onboarding new volunteers and communicate feedback from current Airport Pick-Up Volunteers.

 

Feedback Loop:

After each Airport Pick-Up Volunteer’s first and second pick-up opportunities, CCE will ask the volunteer and IWS for feedback. CCE will also do quarterly check-ins with volunteers who have participated in a pick-up to receive feedback about their experience. CCE and IWS will do quarterly check-ins to communicate the status and need for onboarding new volunteers and feedback from current Airport Pick-Up Volunteers. IWS will recommend to CCE whether a volunteer should be recommended for another Airport Pick-Up opportunity or if the placement was not a good fit.