Welcome to Refugee Welcome!
A new outreach ministry began in 2021, when UUCville was approved by the International Refugee Committee (IRC) to sponsor a refugee family from Afghanistan. Because of your generous donations of funds, furnishings and more, our family is settled safely in their rental home. Our trained Mentors are building relationships on weekly visits and helping them budget, get to medical appointments, grocery shop, search for work, attend English classes, and more. Our Planners are coordinating the work behind the scenes. We’ll continue to update you with news, anecdotes and needs as they arise. Thank you for supporting this effort. We are very grateful! (See recent updates BELOW.)
Refugee Welcome Task Force
Planners: Elizabeth Breeden, Laura Wallace, Sandy Brooks, Kate Soderman, Susan Salko, May Guenin, Clarisse Repass, Linda Dukes, Beverly Ryan, Kay Frazier, Gloria Morgan and Linda McGee
Mentors: Cathy Lawder, Lara & Breck Gastinger, Burnie Davis, Kendall Repass, Mary Beth Wiley, Regina White, Maggie Record, Fran Clark, and Sharon Baiocco
The Afghan refugee situation in our area is really tough. As we’ve reported, with huge thanks to you, our UUCville work with the family is moving along very well. We will be at their sides for the long haul, as culture shock is real and their acclimation has so many...
Now that the family is settled and have weathered their first Virginia snowstorm (not much compared to Kabul’s, they say!) – we’ll update you on things other than “things” about the family. A big step was navigating TV and computer technology here, especially the aggravations of internet service. Thanks to...
This story reminds us of what UUCville’s Refugee Welcome outreach means. Heartfelt THANKS to so many of you for stretching your time, generosity, budgets and resources to make a more secure situation finally possible for one Afghan family. Perhaps in creating a kind welcome for them, we’re healing a bruise...
Elizabeth Breeden summarizes where our refugee outreach stands: in SUSPENSE. “The mentors are trained, we have collected an apartment’s-worth of furniture and supplies that are carefully stored. We are offering our extra furniture and supplies to other families. We have a generous amount of donated money to get us started....
They’re here! Afghan refugees have arrived and are staying in local hotels until apartments are secured; our family assignment will come soon. In the meantime, THANK YOU for your heartfelt generosity. We plan to be ready with the absolute necessities by December 1st. UPDATE – THESE NEEDS HAVE BEEN FULFILLED...
UPDATE – THESE NEEDS HAVE BEEN FULFILLED THANKS TO YOU! UUCVILLE REFUGEE WELCOME Household Donations and Furnishings List Smaller items can be left on the Summit House porch. Large items/furniture need to be scheduled for delivery to the storage unit. For these, please email details (plus photo if you can)...
The Refugee Welcome team is busy collecting furniture and supplies for the refugee family we will be hosting soon. The needs list is UPDATED HERE. Please take a look to see what you might have to share! Leave smaller items (labelled REFUGEES) on the Summit House porch, and contact refugeewelcome@uucharlottesville.org...
We’ve started collecting the donations we need to prepare a home for our refugee family. CLICK HERE for the list — imagine what you’d need to cook, sleep or relax after such a grueling and difficult transit! Our gifts plus our love and time can make a real difference. Smaller...
October 27, 2021 Dear Members and Friends: We’d like to welcome YOU to Refugee Welcome! We’re the nuts-and-bolts congregational task force behind a new outreach ministry for UUCville. Our trained Mentors will deal directly with and visit “our” refugee family, and our Planners will coordinate our work behind the scenes....
October 27, 2021 Dear Members and Friends: During an uncertain time, it’s easy to forget how many voices might be calling us to stand on the side of love and welcome. We’re excited to introduce Refugee Welcome, a new outreach ministry for UUCville! We have responded to the International Refugee...