Citizenship Ambassador
The Citizenship Ambassador Program seeks to recruit and train immigrant youth as Citizenship Ambassadors (CA) in order to promote U.S. Citizenship and civic engagement in the Greater Hartford Area. CA will learn about citizenship, prepare immigrants for naturalization, and encourage the civic, linguistic, and cultural integration of immigrants into the Hartford community.
The program offers career and academic development for youth interested in the field of education, social work, international affairs, immigration, or communications. It is a great opportunity for youth enrolled in a Summer Youth Employment and Learning Program (SYELP), seeking a Capstone Project or Community Service hours, College Work Study/Internship, or wanting to volunteer.
Eligibility
- Citizenship Ambassadors must be 16 to 24 years old.
- They must also be an Immigrant green card holder, recently naturalized U.S. citizen, or 2nd generation American
Benefits
- Training on the naturalization process and civics
- Free citizenship application assistance for themselves and their families
Responsibilities
Upon completing of the training, participants receive a Citizenship Ambassador badge and choose a track. Each track has it’s own set of responsibilities.
- Lead a 15-30 minute activity or exercise in an ESL or Citizenship class
- Engage with adult students by walking around the room, checking their work, seeing who needs help
- Lead an ESL and/or Citizenship study group
- Lead an ESL and/or Citizenship CLC
- Assist with daily administrative tasks
- Assist in adult digital literacy classes
- Monitor social media platforms to discover current trends and news about Citizenship
- Draft and create 3 social media posts/stories/reels
- Create copy for email campaigns
- Draft and create 1 or 2 short videos or YouTube ads. (3-5 minutes in length)
- Assist with daily administrative tasks
- Participate in open houses
- Participate in outreach events
- Refer candidates to appropriate TAP services
- Refer candidates to the CAF link on TAP website
- Explain the naturalization process to others
- Identify spaces to promote citizenship
- Assist with daily administrative tasks
Enrollment
Candidates are invited to apply at anytime. To submit an application, click on the green button and complete the online form. Once it is submitted, our Citizenship Attainment Specialist will contact you.
Online Training
Citizenship Ambassadors will be required to complete self-guided online training courses after completing their enrollment process. The use of online courses lets Ambassadors develop their digital literacy skills and build the knowledge they need to aid others through the naturalization process.
The American Place has made these training materials available to the public so that anyone can benefit from the content regardless of enrollment in the program.
Citizenship On The Go
Citizenship on the Go (COG) is an online course offered by Hartford Public Library to help immigrants prepare for the civics portion of the U.S. naturalization test.
Becoming a Citizenship Ambassador
This course will help you prepare to be a U.S. Citizenship Ambassador. You will explore the USCIS website and learn about the naturalization process, including what to expect during the interview.