From: CWS Lancaster <vross@cwsglobal.org>
Date: Tue, Aug 17, 2021 at 8:53 AM
Subject: CWS August Newsletter
To: info@gehmanmennonitechurch.org <info@gehmanmennonitechurch.org>
| No images? Click here   CWS Lancaster Is Proud to Support Efforts to Bring US Allies from Afghanistan to Safety CWS Lancaster is proud to support efforts to bring US allies from Afghanistan to safety in the United States. Currently four CWS Lancaster staff have been deployed to assist in processing recent Afghan arrivals. Since 2001 thousands of Afghan men and women have worked alongside the U.S. military in Afghanistan as translators, logisticians, interpreters, clerks, cultural advisors, drivers and security guards. They have supported our troops and saved American lives, We urgently ask the administration to protect all of those still in danger. In addition, CWS Lancaster has indicated our interest in resettling Afghan Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) recipients and other Afghan refugees to the Lancaster community. We are ready to assure cases and have received an outpouring of support from staff and community members committed to welcoming. We need to work together to support these efforts. Here's how you can help: Advocate: Tell Congress to Urge the Administration to Expand and Expedite Access to the U.S. Resettlement Program for Afghan Refugees. https://cwsglobal.org/action-alerts/take-action-urge-the-administration-to-expand-refugee-protections-for-afghans-fleeing-violence-and-persecution/ Donate: When our Afghan allies and their families arrive to Lancaster they will be in need of housing, groceries, household items and more. Your financial gifts to CWS Lancaster can provide items of basic need for incoming families. https://cwslancaster.org/donate2020/ Volunteer: Afghan clients will be in need of friendship partners to show them around Lancaster and to help them integrate, they will need ESL tutors and transportation support. Will you be a part of the welcome? Apply to volunteer today! https://cwslancaster.org/volunteer/  Through Welcoming Week, organizations and communities bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity. This year's theme is 'Belonging Begins With Us.' We're excited to celebrate the diversity of our local community and explore what it truly means to belong through the following events: Neighborhoods of Welcome Conversations: A we recognize that belonging begins with us, we are getting into the neighborhoods of Lancaster City to share a meal and important conversations with refugees, immigrants, asylum-seekers and their neighbors. Is this something that you would be interested in facilitating in your own neighborhood? Email hwhitney@cwsglobal.org. Barnstormers Game Celebration: The Lancaster Barnstormers have kindly invited us to celebrate Welcoming Week with our staff and clients at a game! We are excited to share this day with new neighbors.  Amazon Wishlist Needs New arrivals mean new in-kind donation needs! Did you know that you can purchase gift cards on our Amazon Wishlist? Upon arrival, clients are required to quarantine for 10 days. During this time, our office provides groceries for the newly arrived families. Gift cards are extremely helpful at this time. These can be found on our Amazon Wishlist OR if you live locally, we recommend donating gift cards from local grocery stores; Giant, Weis, Wegmans, C-Town/Bravo, Save-A-Lot, Tabarek and Everest Grocery (on Columbia Ave). These can then be mailed to us! In addition to gift cards, we are in need of sheets, pillows and towels for when we set up homes for families. If you are interested in donating in-kind to CWS please find our Amazon Wishlist HERE or mail items to CWS Lancaster 308 E. King Street Lancaster, PA 17602. Have questions about in-kind donations? Email amashas@cwsglobal.org.  Call for Welcome Teams In the past few weeks we have welcomed newcomers to Lancaster and we are anticipating many more arrivals to come in the future. As we look forward, we are also looking to you, our incredible community, to gather together as Welcome Teams to walk alongside neighbors new to Lancaster! Welcome Teams are community groups or faith communities who collaborate with CWS Lancaster to empower a refugee family new to Lancaster by walking alongside them in intentional friendship, breaking through the cycle of isolation that oftentimes comes with being new to a community. If you think your community group or faith community would like to be a Welcome Team, we would love to hear from you! Please send a note to Andrew Mashas at amashas@cwsglobal.org.  Meet the Team! This month we are introducing you to one of CWS Lancaster's Employment Specialists, Meena Giri. Meena started working with CWS Lancaster in October 2009 as Bhutanese refugees started coming to Lancaster. Since then, Meena has supported hundreds of refugees in finding suitable employment. She develops strong relationships between clients and local employers. To the Bhutanese community Meena has always been known as "Auntie Meena." Meena came to CWS with twenty-plus years of case management experience working in Lancaster County. Meena's expertise and connections to organizations in the community are wonderful. In her role, employers, fellow staff members and community members have come to learn more about Hindu culture through Meena. Meena speaks English, Hindu, and Nepali. In addition to preparing refugees from all backgrounds to enter the workforce, Meena gets her friends involved as well. Together they have gathered donations, household items and have collected money for specific families and clients. After holidays Meena always brings different foods to share her culture with staff. She loves to host Christmas and birthday parties, baby showers and more at her house, for fellow colleagues who have become friends. She has even organized Bhutanese weddings! We are so blessed to work with such an amazing individual. Thanks for all you do, Meena! While you're here, would you make a recurring donation? We are looking to onboard Welcome Teams! Interested in learning more about this incredible opportunity to walk beside some of Lancaster's newest refugee arrivals? Let's be in touch! Are you thinking about planned giving or stock designation? We would be happy to talk.     |
