Get Involved

Volunteer With Purpose.

Ignite Opportunity!

Our program broadens the definition of family to include the community charged with guiding our youth toward the best versions of themselves. Hope Ignites New York provides holistic services to foster growth in our scholars and to cultivate their innate resilience.

Ways To Connect & Serve

Hope Ignites New York volunteers fuel academic, social-emotional, and leadership growth for scholars across the city. Your time, talent, and presence open doors to opportunity.

Volunteers are essential partners in our mission. They help expand access to academic support, enrich scholar experiences, introduce new career pathways, and strengthen the Hope Ignites village.

Every volunteer becomes part of the network that empowers our scholars to thrive academically, socially, and professionally.

Academics are at the heart of what we do at Hope Ignites New York.

Every scholar in our program is building toward a future that includes college access, career pathways, and long-term stability — and strong academic support makes that possible.

We are currently seeking in-person volunteer tutors who are ready to invest their time and talent in our young people.

High-need subjects include:

  • Math: Algebra, Geometry

  • Science: Physics, Chemistry, Biology

  • Language: Spanish

  • ELA: Reading & Writing Support

If you believe in the power of education to change a life, we’d love to hear from you.

📧 Email Kevin.Smith@HopeIgnites.org with the subject line: “Volunteer: Tutor”

Be part of the village. Help us provide A Home. An Education. A Future.

(High School Scholars Only)

Help our high school scholars confidently navigate the path to college.

College access is more than applications — it’s clarity, confidence, strategy, and affordability. As a College Readiness & Access Volunteer, you will provide hands-on guidance to scholars as they prepare for one of the most important transitions of their lives.

Volunteers may support scholars with:

  • College essay brainstorming, editing, and storytelling

  • Application planning and submission timelines

  • Scholarship research and application completion

  • FAFSA preparation and financial aid navigation

  • Affordability conversations and financial literacy guidance

  • Interview preparation and professional communication skills

Your expertise can reduce confusion, ease anxiety, and open doors.

By helping scholars understand their options and present their best selves, you are directly contributing to long-term educational attainment and upward mobility.

Be part of the village that ensures every scholar has not just a college acceptance — but a sustainable plan for success.

Be the consistent presence that changes a trajectory.

Mentors commit to building a steady, trusted relationship with a scholar over 6–12 months. Through regular check-ins, goal-setting conversations, and accountability support, mentors help scholars strengthen academic habits, decision-making skills, and self-belief. This role requires consistency and intentionality — but the impact of one committed adult can alter a young person’s outlook and opportunity for years to come!

Become a member of our village and email Laressa Bordenave @ Laressa.Bordenave@hopeignites.org with the subject Line: Volunteer Mentor

Inspire through lived experience and leadership.

Our Guest Speaker Series invites professionals, leaders, and creatives to engage scholars in meaningful dialogue that broadens perspective and builds identity. Volunteers may participate in:

  • Pink Table Talks – A women’s empowerment series centered on confidence, leadership, self-worth, and navigating personal and professional spaces with strength.

  • Barbershop Series – A men’s leadership and dialogue series focused on accountability, purpose, integrity, and healthy expressions of manhood.

  • Math Scholars: Careers in Numbers – Conversations with professionals in math-based industries including finance, engineering, analytics, technology, and architecture.

  • Financial Literacy Workshops – Practical sessions on budgeting, credit, saving, investing, and building generational stability.

  • Emotional Wellness & Mental Health Conversations – Tools for resilience, emotional regulation, and stress management.

  • Fitness & Nutrition Sessions – Movement-based or educational workshops promoting physical health and holistic well-being.

Your lived experience can expand vision, normalize excellence, and affirm identity.

Email Kevin Smith if you are interested in becoming a member of our village @ Kevin. Smith@hopeignites.org

Spark curiosity. Ignite innovation.

STEM Experience Leaders design and facilitate interactive workshops, demonstrations, or project-based learning activities that cultivate curiosity and critical thinking. Whether introducing coding fundamentals, conducting a science experiment, exploring engineering concepts, or highlighting careers in health sciences, you help scholars see themselves as capable innovators and future problem-solvers.

Interested in volunteering for this experience, email Kevin.Smith@hopeignites.org

Develop the whole scholar.

Enrichment Volunteers lead creative or skill-based workshops that nurture self-expression, imagination, and confidence. Opportunities include art, photography, dance, music, creative writing, coding, robotics, culinary arts, and other specialized talents. These experiences reinforce that achievement is not one-dimensional — creativity and joy are essential components of holistic development.

Email Laressa.Bordenave@hopeignites.org if interested in joining our village.

Celebrate the milestone.

Decision Day is one of the most meaningful celebrations of the year, honoring seniors as they commit to their next chapter — college, workforce training, or post-secondary pathways. Volunteers assist with event coordination, décor, scholar recognition, and family engagement. Your support helps create a powerful moment of affirmation where scholars publicly declare their future with pride.

Email Laressa.Bordenave@hopeignites.org if interested in becoming a member of our village.

Connect scholars to real-world opportunities.

Our Annual Career Fair brings together professionals and organizations committed to expanding access, exposure, and economic mobility. Volunteers and partners may participate by hosting a company table, serving as a speaker panelist, coaching scholars through résumé reviews, or providing social media and LinkedIn profile feedback.

This is more than a networking event — it is a structured experience designed to build confidence, professional awareness, and tangible next steps. Your presence helps scholars translate their education into career pathways and develop the professional polish required to compete and succeed.

Access begins with proximity. Proximity begins with you.

Email Laressa.Bordenave@hopeignites.org

Support the transition from college to career.

Collegians often navigate internships, job searches, networking, and professional identity development without a roadmap. As a Collegian Support Volunteer, you provide targeted guidance on internship placement, job search strategies, professional networking, mentorship connections, career exploration, and workplace readiness.

Volunteers may offer one-on-one mentorship, career shadowing opportunities, interview preparation, or introductions within their professional networks. Your insight and access can accelerate a collegian’s trajectory and reduce the uncertainty that often accompanies early career development.

This role strengthens not just college completion — but long-term economic stability.

Email Laressa.Bordenave@hopeignites.org if you are interested in becoming a member of our growing village.

Corporate Group Volunteer Experiences

Engage Your Team. Strengthen the Talent Pipeline. Build Lasting Impact.

Hope Ignites New York offers structured, high-impact volunteer experiences for corporate teams seeking meaningful community engagement. Our scholars — including high school students who live on site and collegians preparing for career launch — benefit from exposure to professionals who model leadership, discipline, and opportunity.

These experiences are thoughtfully designed to be hands-on, skill-based, and aligned with workforce development, wellness, and economic mobility — key corporate impact priorities in 2026.

Corporate teams don’t just volunteer. They help shape futures.

As part of our IFNY Mary Lanning Summer Workforce Development Program, corporations host a group of chaperoned scholars for a one-day industry immersion experience during our five-week summer program.

Your team introduces scholars to:

  • The structure of your industry
  • Career pathways within your organization
  • A behind-the-scenes workplace tour
  • Interactive skill-building sessions
  • A Q&A with professionals across levels

This is more than a visit — it’s exposure, aspiration, and pipeline development in action.

Cook Together. Connect Together. Build Community.

Corporate teams join us at LaSalle Hall in Brooklyn, where our high school scholars reside, for a shared evening of preparation and conversation.

Volunteers help:

  • Prepare dinner alongside scholars
  • Share a meal together
  • Participate in guided table discussions around leadership, resilience, and career journeys

This experience fosters authentic connection in the place scholars call home — reinforcing stability, mentorship, and community.

Prepare Scholars to Compete and Succeed.

Corporate teams provide hands-on professional coaching for collegians and upperclassmen through:

  • Résumé reviews
  • LinkedIn and digital brand audits
  • Mock interviews
  • Professional communication coaching

This experience equips scholars with the polish and confidence needed to secure internships, jobs, and competitive opportunities.

Corporate teams can support Hope Ignites New York through one of the following group impact opportunities:

• Community clean-up and dorm beautification projects at historic LaSalle Hall

• Supporting our Annual Gala or Decision Day celebrations

• Basketball Night — team-building through a friendly game of hoops with scholars

• Walk for Hope — rally your team to champion Hope Ignites New York through a Charity Miles group walk

These experiences combine service, visibility, and relational engagement — reinforcing that community investment is both action and presence.

  • corporate volunteering1

Ready to Engage?

One hour can open a door. Consistency can change a life.

The opportunities listed throughout the page are a few of the many ways in which anyone—groups, companies, or individuals—can connect with us in meaningful ways. Come once or multiple times throughout the year. View the next most upcoming opportunities below, or head to our calendar to get a look at the whole year in advance!

Holiday Gift Drive

November 1 - December 31

Open Doors, Open Hearts

November 5 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Signature Community Event

November 10 @ 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm

Work With Purpose

Are you passionate about giving hope and creating opportunity? Join our team!

Hope Ignites is proud to employ mission-driven professionals who are dedicated to utilizing their unique talents and skills to create opportunity and hope in the lives of each child that we call a Scholar. Whether its hands on with our Scholars or on deck in our Admin building, we would be thrilled to explore possibilities with you. We offer competitive salaries and benefits, a culturally competent and empowering environment, and the opportunity to have a deep and lasting impact.

View Our Open Positions

Together we can make amazing things happen.

We’re excited that you’re interested in joining our New York team!

Please click on the position you would like to apply for, then click the Submit Resume button.
A new window will open and you’ll be prompted to fill in a short interest form and upload your documents.
A member of our Human Capital Management team will review your information.
If you are selected to move on as an applicant, you will be sent an invitation to fill out an application.
Our team will be in touch with you as quickly as possible!

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