By Nichole Cirillo, IAVE Executive Director. Above: An immigrant family leaves Ellis Island, a former U.S. immigration center, in 1905.
Volunteering to dispel misinformation and bring people together
This past weekend, I traveled to the Finger Lakes region of New York state, where my father grew up. I have cousins who live there, and my trips always include at least one visit with them. They are much older than me and hold family history that I’m eager to learn while I still can. This trip was no different and on Sunday morning, over coffee and donuts, they told stories about my grandfather, who died long before I was born.
My grandfather had a hard start, coming to the United States at age 14 in 1912, fleeing poverty, disease and war with only two silver dollars and a single change of clothes. He had no appreciable skills and couldn’t speak the language of his new home. But within a year, he had gotten a job at a rope factory, and through the help of volunteers, began to learn English. Eventually he married, had children and made a life, and in May of 1921— three months after his first child was born—he became a U.S. citizen.
There is an immigrant story in all of us
I have always tried to remember that whatever success and prosperity I have, I owe to him. Which is why I am particularly sad when I hear about anti-immigrant incidents anywhere in the world.
Two things stick out to me about the recent anti-immigrant violence and demonstrations in the U.K. and Europe:
There is an immigrant story in all of us. Whether it was 20 years ago or 200, whether it crossed seas or mountain ranges, we all connect to someone who has chosen—or been forced to—leave their home. Nations are allowed to have sovereign borders, but sowing hatred of immigrants is an old trick used to divide people, pointing the finger at “them” as the reason for “our” problems instead of taking responsibility to address deeper, systemic causes.
Volunteering brings people together. Misinformation is a fact of our lives. But luckily for us, volunteering is a powerful tool to show the truth and reality of the world. When we volunteer, we meet people from all walks of life. We hear and see the complexity of broken systems. And we learn to join with others and work together to find solutions for pressing problems.
Help IAVE make a better world
My own volunteer history has included tutoring English to new Americans, gathering clothes and household goods to help asylum seekers get settled, and working on college essays for children of immigrants. In each of these instances, I’ve learned of unimaginable conditions of poverty and criminality—sometimes provoked or sustained by my own country—that caused people to flee their homes.
Taking something away from their new neighbors was the farthest thing from these immigrants’ minds. Rather, they just wanted a safe community for their children and a chance at a better life, just as my grandfather had.
At IAVE we believe that volunteering creates a more just and sustainable world. We believe volunteering bridges divides, connects people face to face with issues at the center of their community, and helps to heal divisions.