Tahirih relies on the support of committed volunteers and pro bonos who believe in our mission and share our vision to build a world free from violence. In April, as we celebrate National Volunteer Month, we are highlighting some of the wonderful volunteers who make it possible for Tahirih to serve as many women and girls and other immigrant survivors as possible.
Marlo Goldstein (pictured above on the far left) has been a longtime Tahirih supporter and fundraiser since 2015 and a member of the Tahirih Greater DC-Baltimore Advisory Council. Through her commitment to Tahirih, we’ve had the pleasure of working with many volunteers from her employer Host Hotels & Resorts.
Barfonce Baldwin, the Executive Director of our Greater DC office, said, “It has been an honor to partner with Marlo in this work over the last eight years. From the very first event she hosted in her home to collaborating with her employer, Host Hotels & Resorts, in corporate philanthropic engagement, Marlo has been a true ambassador and Tahirih friend.”
As a Jewish person who grew up learning about the Holocaust, Marlo said she was moved by Tahirih’s work supporting immigrants looking for safety. “Seeing people who were facing life-threatening issues at home and who couldn’t get other countries to help them and were turned away, that just really struck me and stuck with me,” she said. “I find it so inspiring to find an organization that addresses that very issue. When you’re not safe in your own country, you don’t want to be turned away, you want someone to help you.”
When she joined Host Hotels & Resorts as Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, their legal team was looking for opportunities to be more involved in pro bono work so Marlo connected them to Tahirih. Marlo and the Host Hotels team have since been involved in many different ways supporting immigrant survivors of gender-based violence, including an in-home fundraising event, organizing an asylum clinic at Host headquarters working directly with Tahirih clients, coat drives and corporate sponsorship for the Tahirih annual galas over the years.
Recently, Tahirih was thrilled to have the support of Host Hotels staff to clean up and purge our legal files in our Greater DC office. Marlo shared that the GDC attorneys encouraged the Host volunteers to read through some of the files as they cleaned which, “really brings home what you’re doing. You’re not just emptying folders; these are people’s lives.”
Anusce Sanai, the Greater DC Managing Attorney, stated, “This herculean project has had an impact beyond what may be expected, as I personally had the privilege of spending time with the Host Hotels & Resorts team and learned a great deal from them. The volunteers extended a great deal of love to us. They were curious about our work but especially about us as advocates. When you feel seen in the world of human rights, it regenerates your commitment to the work.”
For other attorneys or professionals thinking about volunteering, Marlo says, “The work [Tahirih] do[es] is so vital and important and easily overlooked. There’s just this entire community that goes under the radar. People don’t realize that undocumented immigrants are helping them in their daily lives so to give a voice to people like that is very meaningful. It’s feeling like I’m a part of something greater than the day to day.”
