The Refugee Journey

In honour of the elders returning from their summer break, I thought I would share one of my favourite video clips about refugees.  This video was produced by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), one of the national voluntary agencies (also known as VOLAGs) who resettle refugees in the United States.  Migration and Refugee Services of Catholic Charities is connected to the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Kentucky Refugee Ministries is affiliated with two different national VOLAGs: Church World Service (CWS) and Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM)...yes, we like our acronyms in refugee resettlement.

But it doesn't matter with which national acronym your local resettlement agency is affiliated; the national VOLAGs, as well as all the local resettlement agencies across the nation, work to provide the same services to their clients.  I think it's important for all of us who work in resettlement or volunteer with refugees to stop periodically and remind ourselves why we do what we do; this video provides us with the perfect opportunity to do just that:

How Five Dollars (and some change) Can Help

Yesterday, Refugee Elder Program friend Jen visited her local Target store to purchase some supplies to donate to our annual Summer Supply Drive.  I challenged her to see how far she could stretch just five dollars; since it's the back-to-school season, most stores are having some super sales!  For less than five dollars (including tax), this is what Jen purchased:

Six one-subject notebooks (a mere 15 cents each), a package of loose leaf paper (75 cents), two packages of 24-count pencils (94 cents each), and a simple pencil sharpener (69 cents)!

Of course, there are many more combinations of ways in which you can spend just five dollars and help the Elder Program: a package of Expo Dry Erase markers and two packages of paper, two packages of 24-count pencils and two binders, twenty-five notebooks and a package of 24-count pencils...the options are endless!  You could also spend all five of your dollars on something like this:

Trust me, the teachers' faces will light up with joy when they see a beautiful map of this size! 

Also, the Dollar Spot (where everything is...you guessed it- just a dollar) at Target during the back-to-school time is one of the greatest places to find some excellent supplemental teaching materials.  A few of our favourite ideas:

Basic English dictionaries.  These always come in handy!

Anything Dry Erase is great.  The elders can practice their writing over and over- without going through a stack of paper! 

We already have a few sets of these flash cards, but we could definitely use several more!  The elders really like using these, as do the teachers.

The Summer Supply Drive will continue through the end of August, but we'd love for you to donate the supplies as early as possible since the Elder Program returns next week!  Remember, you can drop off your donations at either the offices of Kentucky Refugee Ministries or Migration and Refugee Services of Catholic Charities during regular business hours.  Beginning in August, you can drop off your donations most Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10:00 am-12:00 pm at New Heights Baptist Church.

If you don't have time to shop, you can always either pick up a gift card to a store like Target, Walgreen's, the Parent Teacher Store, and the like...or you could simply click on the 'Donate Now' button on the sidebar to the right to make a monetary donation.

Jen wishes you all happy shopping for the Refugee Elder Program!

Our Newest Citizen

Today, another one of our elders took the oath of naturalization and officially became a US citizen.  Asim was sworn in with sixty-one other individuals who represented twenty-nine countries!  He has been in the Elder Program for the past few years; he is quiet, but is an eager contributor to class and an excellent student.  And watch out for his extremely firm handshake!

Asim proudly holds his certificate of naturalization.  With him are his teacher Christine, mentor Andrew, and Program Coordinator Jenny.

Congratulations Asim!  We are proud of you but will miss you dearly!

The Talents of Our Elders

Did you know we've got some talented refugee elders in Louisville?  Our elders are artists, bakers, athletes, cooks, teachers, engineers...and this:

Boi Van arrived from Vietnam in March 2010 and has been attending the Refugee Elder Program ever since; he is an absolute joy to have in our class.  He is usually one of the first elders to arrive and can be seen helping set up the classrooms.  He likes to meticulously arrange the coffee mugs for snack time, too.  I tell people that he has more strength in his pinkie than I do in my whole body...which is closer to the truth than a joke. 

Don't forget about our first ever Summer Supply Drive; it will benefit all of the elders, including Boi Van!

Summer Supply Drive

It's no secret the Refugee Elder Program has been growing, growing, growing!  We have over 70 elders actively participating in the program, and new elders continue to arrive in Louisville.  While it is wonderful to have such a successful program and to serve so many elders, it does put strain on some of our funding sources; we are constantly trying to do more with less.  In order to conserve as much money as possible, we are continually searching for donated items instead of purchasing them.  In an effort to ramp up our donations and save some money, this year we are launching our first ever Summer Supply Drive!

As the Elder Program is on its summer break in July, we will be collecting items to prepare for the elders return to classes in August.  Below is a list of items we need:

Gift Cards to Kroger, Wal*Mart, Target, and the Parent Teacher Store
     These gift cards will help us purchase supplies, including snacks for the elders, classroom posters and teaching materials, and other supplies throughout the year.

Notebooks (spiral bound preferred)

Pencils

Looseleaf Notebook Paper

3-Ring Binders

Computer Paper (for printing worksheets)

As always, we will accept monetary donations as well.  We will need to purchase another set of citizenship books very soon as several elders will be moving "up" into a more citizenship-focused class; monetary donations will help us to purchase these books as well as many other much-needed supplies. 

Please bring or mail your donations to either:

Refugee Elder Program
c/o Chris Clements
Migration and Refugee Services
Catholic Charities
2220 West Market Street
Louisville, KY 40212

OR

Refugee Elder Program
c/o Jenny Heineken Johnson
Kentucky Refugee Ministries
969B Cherokee Road
Louisville, KY 40204

You may drop the items off during regular business hours.If you have any questions about the Summer Supply Drive, please don't hesitate to contact either Chris at cclements@archlou.org or Jenny at jjohnson@kyrm.org.  Please share about our Summer Supply Drive with your friends, family, neighbors, coworkers and anyone else you think may help.  Thank you so much for your support!

Over the Past Year...

A few weeks ago, we held our first ever Volunteer Appreciation Event and during the dinner, we were able to share some of the statistics that demonstrate what Elder Program has accomplished over the past year.  I'd like to share these numbers with everyone now; please note that if you were at the volunteer dinner, these numbers are slightly different as they represent July 2010 through June 2011. 

Without further ado, here is just a little glimpse of what we've accomplished over the past year:

Enrolled 29 new elders in the program

Added two additional classes

Matched 12 elders with a mentor

Logged 1,449.75 volunteer hours (and volunteers are still turning in their hours from June)

Helped six elders obtain their US citizenship- with several more now in the process

Recognized nationally by the Center for Applied Linguistics

It's hard to sum up a year with our elders with just a few statistics.  The Refugee Elder Program is about more than just numbers.  It's about  people working together to help the elders overcome their obstacles in literacy and civics knowledge.  It's about refugees given a chance to start again in a new country- no matter what their age or skill level.  It's about learning beautiful life lessons from the elders who teach us each so much every time we meet.



Thank you to our amazing staff, teachers, and volunteers.  This program is what it is because of you!  We look forward to seeing everyone a the Elder Program when we return in August; but remember to stay in touch via the blog.  You can also 'like' us on facebook. 

Again, thanks for a great year everyone!  We look forward to accomplishing even more next year...