We would love for you to become part of our amazing community!
Teach
Are you passionate about helping incarcerated men and women transform their lives?
We are excited to welcome volunteers who are interested in sharing their teaching skills and experience.
Join our teaching staff who are current and retired college professors, public school teachers, counselors, and clergy members.
Our courses are college-level, taught in 15-week semesters, with evening classes lasting between 1 ½ and 2 hours
Our program is currently offered at Sing Sing, Fishkill and Woodbourne, but we would like to expand to other facilities if we find teachers in those areas
Our teachers are encouraged to enhance the curriculum and “make the course their own” within the required learning objectives
If you are interested in teaching:
A Master’s degree is required, and we have several teachers with doctorates. If you have a Bachelor’s degree and would like to serve as a co-teacher, we would still like to hear from you.
An Academic Committee and Academic Coordinators at each program site train and work with new teachers
Rising Hope Fellowship Program:
We are proud to announce that beginning in Fall 2026, we will launch our first-ever initiative welcoming alumni back to teach in Rising Hope classrooms.
The Rising Hope Fellowship Program is a paid opportunity that enables alumni to contribute to the community while receiving professional development and mentorship in the art and science of teaching.
Collaborate
If you cannot volunteer as a teacher, we offer other ways to make an impact.
Inside correctional facilities:
Be a mentor, supervising study sessions and helping students.
Organize a workshop for current students and alumni, topics from Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to financial literacy and everything in between.. You choose what you would like to share.
Outside correctional facilities:
Arrange a gathering at your place of worship or community organization where a Rising Hope alumnus can share his experiences with Rising Hope and its impact on his life.
Join our board:
Our board draws on the talents of individuals with a wide range of experience and interests. The collective backgrounds in education, business and commerce, spiritual development, and lived experience provide the vision and leadership to maintain and grow our mission.