Refugee Initiative
*One of the girls would like to learn guitar. If you play guitar, consider giving lessons to our refugee! Contact us!*
Temple Beth-El's community is working in several areas to help with the current global refugee crisis.
Refugee Seder
To Celebrate 2017 Passover, Beth-El held a very different kind of Seder: an interfaith celebration welcoming local Christian and Muslim friends and about 50 Muslim refugees from Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan.
Here is a sample of some of the local and international coverage of this extraordinary event, attended by nearly 300 people:
Our Adopted Refugee Family
Beth-El is working with the Richmond chapter of the IRC (International Refugee Committee) to "adopt" a refugee family from Iraq, due to arrive in Richmond in late April, 2017. They are being placed in an apartment that we are working to furnish.
All household items have been collected by an outpouring of donations! However, we are still collecting giftcards from retailers such as Food Lion and Target.
We are also committing to provide various kinds of support for "our" family. For more information, please contact Beth Edelstein bethedelstein@gmail.com and Linda Price lindap36@hotmail.com.
Jobs and Professional Contacts for Refugees
As our Muslim and Christian friends learned about the rituals of Passover, we all learned about the lives of several refugees and their harrowing experiences. We also learned from our partner, Reestablish Richmond, that the most pressing need is jobs. There are many educated and experienced refugees: computer techs, procurement experts, human resource experts, journalists, engineers, stonecutters, bricklayers, builders, fashion designers, accountants, and a microbiologist. Many are working as custodians, maids, and factory workers and are not making enough to support their families. At the Seder, some of our congregants connected specific refugees with others who may help.
Do you have or know of a job opportunity for which a locally resettled refugee might be able to apply? Could you connect a locally resettled refugee with someone who would meet with them, mentor them, or make other connections?
Please send an email to Kate Ayers at kate@reestablishrichmond.
Join the Task Force
Beth-El has organized a Refugee task force, with chairs Beth Edelstein bethedelstein@gmail.com and Linda Price lindap36@hotmail.com, in order to do as much as we can to support refugees. If you would like to be a part of our Refugee Task Force, please sign up below.
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