Immigrant Solidarity Team

The Immigrant Solidarity Team is concerned with helping immigrants and refugees to adjust to life in the United States. We work with local organizations to achieve this goal, including the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) and RefugeeOne. We also engage in legislative advocacy and learning opportunities for the congregation. The IST welcomes all who are interested in working to build a better world for immigrants in the United States. We meet on the 3rd Saturday of the month at 4:00pm. At present we are meeting on ZOOM. Contact Maggie Wilson or Michelle Novak through REALM or at admin@ucevanston.org.

The Immigrant Solidarity Team (IST) works to establish and nurture long-term partnerships with local immigrant communities and organizations. UCE seeks to:

Provide appropriate resources for their unmet needs,
Be a useful connector among organizations, and
Educate and mobilize UCE members about immigration related events, projects and actions.

The IST has recently expanded its work to include the support of refugees as well. Here are some of our most recent projects:

In the summer of 2021 the IST encouraged UCE members to donate backpacks and gym shoes for refugee children by partnering with Refugee One.
In the fall of 2021 we sponsored a film viewing and discussion of La Bestia, a film about the dangers refugees face trying to travel from southern Mexico to the US border.
In the fall of 2021 and winter of 2022 our refugee team has raised over $10,000 to help a Syrian refugee family pay their rent. Some of the rent money was funded from the UCE Endowment.
In the winter of 2022 we have also begun to help out a family from Afghanistan as well.
Prior to the pandemic, members assisted with voter registration after citizenship swearing-in ceremonies in Chicago

Updates from Immigrant Solidarity Team

Syrian Refugee Family Update: January 14, 2022

The Bakir family continues to settle in after their arrival in the U.S. in September. The UCE community’s generous response to our fundraiser in the fall means that they have their rent paid for December-February. And the extra good news is that we received an endowment grant that will help them out with rent over the spring months as well.

We have purchased clothes for them and they received many lovely gifts from Mitten tree donors as well. The kids are adjusting to school in Skokie. The mother, Ghurfran, will soon begin learning English in an Oakton Community College class. Right now, the class is taught remotely, so she is getting a laptop and will be learning how to use that as well. But in the future, she may go to an on-campus class. The kids receive tutoring through Catholic Charities, but if anyone is interested in helping to tutor Ghufran, please email Jeanne Kerl at figkerl@gmail.com.

Aya Haj Khalaf and her husband Basil (Aya is Ghurfan’s niece and a member of our original Syrian refugee family) had a new baby in October. They also have a 2-year-old son, Keenan. Marilyn Wroblewski and Carol Nielsen will help Aya by taking Keenan to a local church’s daycare program once a week. He will get to play with other children (a rare thing during COVID) and Aya will get a little break. Aya acts as the main support for her Aunt’s family as she translates for them and helps them negotiate how to live in our culture.

Thank you so much to everyone who has given so generously to support this family. If you want to help out, email Jeanne Kerl at figkerl@gmail.com:

Let us know that you would be willing to drive a family member to a medical appointment (or to Oakton Community College or another errand.) We will add your name to our list and reach out when a specific request comes up.
Let us know if you would be willing to tutor Ghufran or if you know someone with ELL experience who might want to work with her.
Let us know if you would be willing to purchase an item for the family when a specific need arises. Sometimes they may quickly need a new pair of shoes or a new item for school and it is easier for our team, if we have a list of folks to email.This is not a commitment to purchase something, just to be asked.
If you would like to donate money for rent, visit this page on the UCE website and choose “refugee family fund.”

Thanks again to everyone for their help.

—The Immigrant Solidarity Team

January 12th, 2022|Categories: Immigrant Solidarity|

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