A culture is kept by the people who show up. We don't hire — the house is built by volunteers. Bring a few hours, a particular skill, or a lifetime of stories. There is a role here for you.
“I came to log hours. I left knowing where I come from.”
Students across San Diego need community-service hours to graduate. At the house, those hours become time spent inside Afghan-led programs — in the company of elders and children, learning a culture by helping to keep it. We gladly verify every hour.
Every role is a way of keeping a culture — by sharing it, gathering it, teaching it, or simply setting the table for it. No experience is required for most; we'll teach you. What you bring is care, and a little time.
Welcome the world at Balboa Park — speak about Afghan culture, history, and life. Broken English is welcome; spirit speaks louder than fluency.
Set the tables, pour the tea, and welcome every neighbor — from poetry nights to December Nights on the Prado.
Help children read the language of their grandparents in our Saturday classes. Patience matters more than fluency.
Photograph the house at work and tell its story — on social, and in the pages of the Journal.
Turn recordings and old texts into written Farsi and English, so a story told once can be read for generations.
Scan, label, and safely store the photographs and documents families entrust to the house — and make them searchable.
Help fund the house — research grant opportunities and help write the case for support that keeps the Canon free.
Tell us the role that draws you and a little about yourself. We'll meet for tea — or a quick call — match you to the work, and bring you in. Most roles are open to remote help, and most need no experience: only care. Every service hour is verified, and every volunteer is part of the house.
A culture loved but never kept is a culture at the mercy of memory. Bring an afternoon, a skill, or a lifetime of stories — and help us keep it.
