Volunteer Summit for Refugee Cosponsors
On July 12th the New Pathways & Best Practices in Community Based Resettlement event provided an opportunity for regional volunteer leaders to learn from national experts in volunteer-supported resettlement, as we build the networks and knowledge to welcome newcomers to our communities through an evolving array of programs.
The featured speakers were
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Ann O’Brien, Director of Sponsorship, IRIS – Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services
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Jessica Chapman, Director for Community Sponsorship Technical Assistance. Church World Service
Over lunch, volunteers engaged in lively discussions, unpacking what they heard and sharing their experiences of working with refugees thus far.
Discussion notes and a recording of the speakers will be available at: https://www.welcomingcommunitiesvt.com/upper-valley-volunteer-summit
If you live in Bennington or Windham Counties and are interested in volunteering to support refugees, please contact Ursula at the Ethiopian Community Development Council unadolny@ecdcus.org .
The summit was sponsored by:
- CCL Welcome Fund and SHARe, Martha Tecca, Core Team Member
- Green Mountain Economic Development Corporation, Erika Hoffman-Kiess, Executive Director
- Ascentria Care Alliance, Greg Richane, Co-Sponsorship & Volunteer Manager
- Working Communities of Southern Vermont, Alex Beck, Initiative Director Southern Vermont Working Communities
About Welcoming Communities
Welcoming Communities is a series of initiatives and collaborative partnerships that seeks to make the region more equitable and inclusive for current and future BIPOC community members, and for foreign-born workers, and non-citizen residents. It seeks to improve the ways in which all BDCC programs serve diverse stakeholders, and launches new targeted activities through partnerships with employers and community-based organizations. The long-term goal of Welcoming Communities is to build a community and economy that supports diversity, immigration and in-migration to southern Vermont to increase the vitality of our communities and strength of our workforce. For more information please visit www.brattleborodevelopment.com
