The Refugee Welcome Team is seeking volunteers to deliver donations to incoming refugees. Please the Church office for more information.
Our Partnership with Samaritas
AN EASY WAY TO ASSIST REFUGEE RESETTLEMENT!
We are trying something new! Sarah Martin-Fanone has created a registry on Amazon.com for our most needed items. If you purchase from the list it will ship directly to my Sarah’shome for delivery to families. Please consider sharing the list if you know anyone who might like to join our efforts. https://www.amazon.com/registries/custom/2DEQ4NSYO42CL/guest-view
If you would like to donate an item on the list, but prefer not to purchase on amazon please call the church office or Sarah directly. We hope that this is a helpful way to share the current needs for our group.
First Presbyterian Church has worked in partnership with Samaritas since 2018. Our effort started modestly, when two of our members prompted by disturbing news coverage of the Syrian refugee crisis attended an informational meeting on Samaritas’ New Americans program. Our volunteer efforts began soon after that meeting and now four years later our church is an official co-sponsoring organization, working in partnership with samaritas caseworkers. Our work has two main facets.
The first is furniture and household item delivery. Caseworkers connect us to newly arrived individuals or families who need furniture or household items. We collect new or gently used items and deliver them directly to refugees at their homes. In 2021 our church was able to deliver furniture and/or household items to 15 families! Each delivery is unique as each family has unique needs. We tried to be welcoming new neighbors for these New Americans who are starting their lives over in our state.
The second piece of our ministry is called our welcome team. The welcome team is a group of trained volunteers who work collaboratively to support an individual Refugee or family more comprehensively as they begin their life here in Michigan. We have had the privilege of serving as a welcome team three times. Each time the refugee(s) have stayed with a family in our community while members of the welcome team do the best that they can to help navigate their first months in their new home. Typical volunteer roles include teaching driving, helping to navigate the Secretary of State, providing transportation to appointments or work, helping to enroll in school or ESL courses, and other mentorship.
Understanding that a refugee made many sacrifices in order to arrive in Michigan . They have left behind their language, their culture, their country, and often close family members in order to seek safety. We want to make sure that they feel loved and welcomed in our community.
Anyone who feels that they have a heart for this ministry is welcome to join our efforts. We are always looking to add to our team. We could always especially use help with transportation and deliveries.
Current Updates
Two more families are on their way! A family of 2 will arrive on August 6th and a three-generation family of 7 will arrive on August 7th. While we have much of the needed furniture for these families, we are still looking for some items and for volunteers to greet the families with welcome meals and transportation from the airport. It is really wonderful that there are now so many opportunities to get involved locally in the important work of refugee resettlement. To keep it all organized, we now have a sign-up-genius site to list all of the needs for both donations and volunteers. You can check it out here.
Don’t forget, if you are interested in any of the opportunities that will involve working directly with refugee arrivals, please register as a Samaritas volunteer using this link. The process is simple! And our Amazon registry is always being updated with our current needs. You can use our wish list link to have items shipped directly. Finally, as more refugees arrive we would love to have more volunteers. Please consider sharing this email with a friend!
Peace,
Sarah