Urban Hope NYC Short Term Missions:
Come. Serve. Be Changed
What If One Week Could Change a Life—Including Yours?
Urban Hope NYC’s Short-Term Missions (STM) are more than service trips—they’re life-changing encounters with God’s purpose. Each week-long mission is a Spirit-filled, boots-on-the-ground opportunity to bring hope where it’s needed most: right here in Staten Island, a borough often overlooked but now experiencing revival.
This isn’t theory. It’s ministry in motion—face-to-face, street-by-street, and heart-to-heart. From the moment you arrive, you’ll be trained, equipped, and sent into the community alongside our local team, sharing the love of Jesus in real and tangible ways.
What You’ll Do:
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Teach children to read and pray in our public school partnerships.
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Mentor teens, serve meals, and help host block parties and basketball tournaments.
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Join our Summer Safe Zones, transforming high-crime areas into places of peace, prayer, and joy.
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Experience powerful worship nights, team debriefs, and citywide evangelistic events.
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Walk the streets in prayer, believing for revival in every neighborhood.
What You’ll Experience:
You’ll see the sparkle in a child’s eyes as they sound out their first Bible verse. You’ll listen to a mother who hasn’t felt heard in years. You’ll worship under city lights with strangers who quickly become family. And you’ll discover that God’s love is alive and unshakable in places the world has written off.
This is more than a mission trip. It’s a movement. Together, STM teams have helped us serve thousands of families, lead hundreds of children through Bible-based programs, and bring the hope of Christ into more than 100 citywide outreaches.
But STM isn’t just about what you’ll give—it’s also about what you’ll receive. Many of our volunteers leave changed forever, carrying a deeper faith, a bolder love, and a renewed vision for their own communities back home.
Come. Serve. Be Changed.
Step into Urban Hope NYC’s STM movement and see how God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.
How to Join Our Volunteer Team
Volunteering at Urban Hope NYC is more than just giving your time—it's a powerful way to grow spiritually, personally, and as part of a faith-driven community working to transform lives across New York City.
Spiritual Fulfillment Through Service
Live out your faith in real and powerful ways. Volunteering deepens your connection with God's purpose and allows you to be His hands and feet in the city. As you give, you'll find yourself spiritually renewed and inspired.
Personal Growth & Development
Step into leadership. Build empathy. Strengthen your communication skills. Volunteering opens the door to life-changing experiences and equips you with tools for future success—both spiritually and personally.
Health & Well-being Benefits
Did you know that serving others can improve your own health? Volunteers often report reduced stress, lower blood pressure, and a greater sense of purpose. It’s good for the soul—and your well-being.
Building Stronger Communities
From Literacy Dreams to HopeKidz, our programs depend on volunteers like you. When you serve, you're helping create safe, joyful spaces for families in under-resourced neighborhoods.
Answering the Call to Serve
Jesus said, “The greatest among you will be your servant.” At Urban Hope NYC, we follow His example. Every act of service is a step toward a more just, loving, and hopeful city.
Why Volunteers Are the Beating Heart of Urban Hope NYC
Behind every smile on a child's face, every life transformed, every prayer answered—there is a volunteer. They are not background helpers. They are the heartbeat of Urban Hope NYC.
No nonprofit thrives without them. We certainly wouldn't exist without ours.
Volunteers are the difference between a child falling behind and one learning to read… between a teen joining a gang and one stepping into their God-given calling. They are the hands, feet, and voice of hope in neighborhoods that have heard far too much silence.
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So Why Does Volunteering Matter So Much?
Because transformation requires presence.
And presence requires people.
People willing to give their time, their compassion, their skills—even their Saturdays.
Volunteers are how we:
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Tutor 100+ struggling readers each year in Title 1 schools through our READ2SUCCEED Literacy Program, building confidence and breaking the cycle of illiteracy.
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Mentor over 100 youth weekly in our Ambassadors of Peace program, helping teens in high-risk areas build leadership, emotional resilience, and faith-based values.
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Create safe zones through Summer Streets, where volunteers run VBS games, host sports tournaments, and hand out food and love to over 3,500 families.
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Coach basketball, referee tournaments, and bring structure, discipline, and joy to young athletes who’ve never had a mentor believe in them.
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Lead after-school Bible clubs, walking with children through tough questions and teaching them that Jesus is not just a name—but a friend and Savior.
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Knock on doors with smiles and hope, inviting families to community events and meeting needs right at the front porch.
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Walk through neighborhoods in prayer, standing in the gap against fear, violence, and hopelessness.
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Support our admin team—from filing reports to making calls to organizing events. Without the back office, the front lines wouldn’t move.
EVERY ROLE MATTERS
WHAT HAPPEN WHEN YOU SAY YES?
THIS IS YOUR INVITATION
You don’t need a title. You don’t need a degree.
You need a heart for people, a few hours, and the faith to say, “Here I am, send me.”
Mrs. Evelyn, a retired teacher, now spends two hours each week helping kindergartners sound out words. “At 73, I found my purpose again,” she says.
Jayden, a high school student, volunteers at our basketball leagues and now leads his own prayer circle with younger boys. “I used to be lost. Now, I’m someone they look up to,” he shared.
This is the power of showing up.
Urban Hope NYC is growing. The need is growing. And our reach can only expand as fast as our volunteer base.
Whether you’re gifted with words, a basketball, a clipboard, or just a willing heart—we need you.
Don’t underestimate your impact. Jesus fed 5,000 with what one boy brought to the table. Imagine what He could do through you.