Volunteers

“As veterans, we aren't in the habit of waiting for someone else to get the job done. When we see someone who has put it all on the line for our country, we want to do everything we can to help them.”

In honor of National Volunteer Week—a special opportunity each year to thank volunteers who lend themselves to support causes they care about—HIAS is recognizing some of the incredible people sharing their time and talent.

Since joining the HIAS pro-bono legal program last fall, volunteer attorney Alan Lipsitz has been putting his skills to work for asylum seekers in both Washington, D.C. and New York. HIAS attorneys introduced Lipsitz to the intricacies of asylum law, matched him with clients in need of legal assistance and provided guidance and oversight throughout the case.

The social hall at Temple Micah in Washington, D.C. was humming with conversation. Roughly 100 people, representing more than 20 synagogues in the D.C. area between them, eagerly awaited information about how their congregations might take on the global refugee crisis in a very local way: partnering with a newly-arrived refugee family through the HIAS Welcome Campaign.