A Bhutanese couple watches fireworks in the Cotton Bowl on their first Fourth of July since settling in Dallas. (MEG ROUSSOS/Staff Photographer)
For employees at the Dallas office of the International Rescue Committee, holidays are an opportunity to share American customs with recent refugees and help them feel more at home.
On Fourth of July, the refugees watched fireworks from The Cotton Bowl. Before Thanksgiving, local families delivered turkeys and paper bags full of food to refugees. Now, as Christmas approaches, the IRC is asking Dallas-area families to ?adopt? refugees and buy gifts on their wishlists.
These are refugees from places like Bhutan, Myanmar, Iraq and the Congo. They arrive in the United States with just a plastic bag of belongings. They live in apartments with bare, white walls and simple furnishings.
A local family gives a refugee family from the Congo supplies to celebrate their first Thanksgiving. (REX C. CURRY/Special Contributor)
?They come with nothing,? volunteer coordinator Milagros Cruz said. ?We have to help them get everything they need.?
The refugees celebrating their first Christmas in the U.S. are asking for things like winter clothing, electronics, pots, vacuums and baby supplies. The IRC recommends a minimum commitment of $100 for one refugee, $150 for a couple or $400 for a family of four or more.
So far, Cruz said she?s found donors for 40 refugee families. But the agency resettles more than 600 refugee families a year and have new arrivals daily. The IRC will be accepting gifts through the end of January with the hope that donors will help fill the remaining need.
You can find more information about the IRC?s Adopt-A-Family event here. If you?re interested in adopting a family or volunteering, email Milagros Cruz at milagros.cruz@rescue.org
sanctum the notebook duke basketball miranda july joe paterno near death joepa sc primary
No comments:
Post a Comment