After the initial outpouring of donations from the congregation to help our sponsored family, the Refugee Welcome team decided to also join the wider community effort to help many more refugees who are living in limbo in local hotels. Weary families waiting for apartments, most with multiple children, have been trying hard to begin their new lives in Charlottesville.

A major need the International Refugee Committee (IRC) has highlighted is for *working* sewing machines. Most of the women and many of the men make their own modest, traditional clothing, yet they’ve had little access to functional sewing machines, much less to fabrics. This situation has had a serious impact on the families’ morale.

One of our Refugee Welcome planners offered to write a post on Nextdoor.com, a neighborhood-based website. She described the need and how significant it is for those who arrived in the U.S. with few if any possessions, much less a supply of appropriate clothing. On January 20, the post went city-wide, and an avalanche of kindness began. The response has been remarkable!

In several weeks, over 40 machines have already been promised or delivered to Summit House, along with bags and boxes of fabrics, sewing notions, and more. Other people have donated prepaid VISA cards so our mentors can help parents shop or order particular fabrics they may need online. Offers come through at least twice a day and congregant volunteers are busy cleaning and oiling sewing machines and sorting fabrics.

A local reporter noticed this stream of Nextdoor activity and ran a story about our effort on NBC29. Elizabeth Breeden did a great job as our spokesperson and soon we were hearing even from a few out of towners eager to help. The flood of responses has been a heartwarming reminder that UUCville is a loving community surrounded by an even larger one.

Next time, we’ll share news on our sponsored family’s progress and our mentors’ dedicated work with them.

THANK YOU for all you’ve already done. Inspired to do more? We’d be very grateful for any of the items below. Questions? Please email refugeewelcome@uucharlottesvile.org.

HOTEL REFUGEE FAMILY NEEDS

Prepaid VISA cards

Working sewing machines

Sewing notions: scissors, pins, seam rippers, etc.

Small boxes (exs: jewelry gift boxes, Altoid-type tins) for notions

The hotel refugee mentors have collected specific needs for the hotel-bound families. You can purchase individual clothing items for them using the Sign-Up Genius link below. IMPORTANT: Please add “UUCville” to your name and place your donation on the Summit House porch. We will deliver it to the hotel families.

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/30E044FABA82EA57-charlottesville

Thank you! Questions? Email refugeewelcome@uucharlottesville.org.