In addition to our current collaboration with Church World Services to serve refugees in our area, a new partnership has been established that includes:

• Our church—Unitarian Universalist Community Church
• Welborne United Methodist Church
• Derbyshire Baptist Church
• ReEstablish Richmond  a non-profit organization whose mission is to serve immigrants in our community
• CrossOver Ministry health care center and provider of facilities for training

Ministers and volunteers from each organization will establish a center at CrossOver Ministry where we can teach English as a second language, financial literacy, deliver health care mentoring, job search skills, job skills training, and possibly help with the operation of a food pantry at Welborne. Key to our methodology is involving immigrants who have been in our area for a while to help newer immigrants and teach them about our community and our culture.

What a partnership! Now we just need your help.

• Are you interested in teaching English through the “immersion” method? As you start speaking in English to immigrants, you can act out what you are saying, draw pictures, and laugh together. Further, you don’t need to understand, Urdu, Spanish, Bhutanese, Thai, or any other foreign language. We will supply materials and provide a partner to help you get going. This really works!
• Are you able to help others learn about financial literacy? Immigrants don’t understand about American life insurance, the importance of a good credit rating, paying taxes at the end of the year, how our banks work, what debit cards do, and more.
• Do you have health care skills and are you willing to talk about emergency situations and how to get help, about birth control for women who want to learn, or to talk about special childhood conditions?
• Are you interested in helping with the food bank? See the link about the  Welborne  food bank—they are always looking for more volunteers.
• A special challenge to immigrants is networking to find a new job. We could help them expand their network, update a resume and improve interview skills. Are you a coach, an H.R.-type person, or do you have lots of experience looking for and finding jobs?
• Do you have other great ideas about how we can be of service? Please share them with Kathy Wimett, Refugee Project lead, at kwimett@gmail.com, with Robin Allman, Chair of our Social Action Ministry (SAM), at robinallman54@gmail.com, or with our minister, Rev. Amy Russell.

Please step forward and volunteer to help us succeed with this effort to connect refugees to life-building tools and resources. Our goal is to help them have a positive and empowering experience as they establish their new homes.