So, in the book Jen recommends under "Further Action" for possesions outfitting an apartment for a refugee family. For some reason, this really stuck with me. How must it feel to leave your home, family, friends, country and go to a totally new and extremely different place- not knowing the language or having a job lined up? The idea scares me till I'm sick to my stomach. So, I decided to see how I could help with this.
I did a little googling and found that actually there are NOT a lot of organizations that assist families with this in the Dallas area- maybe 2? But I did find that the Catholic Charities of Dallas has a ministry in this area. Now, I need to take a moment and say- I'm not Catholic (hubby was raised Catholic, but I'm not). But I have to tell you that nearly all the searches I did pointed me to the work that the Catholic church is doing for the community and internationally- not just with refugees but across the board. It was A LOT. It made me wonder why we haven't all jumped on this wagon before now. I was impressed that it seems to be a major focus of their global church, and I think we could all learn a thing or two about their compassion ministries.
I digress. So, after some digging around to different churches, sites, etc. I was pointed to Catholic Charities of Dallas. I found that they have a retail store that benefits refugees monetarily or with household items to outfit their temporary apartments while they adjust to a new life. They even pick up in my area. Sah-weet.(I still need to verify this and call for pick up when I'm done gathering my stuff- but Frisco is referenced as a pick up area). So, I will be calling them to come get the household items I'm donating, as well as a piece of furniture or two.
Also, in my digging, I landed on this page called VolunteerMatch.org. It's basically a data base of volunteer opportunities across the world. You can even plug in what you like to do, what you're good at, what pulls at your heart strings, and it will help you match up to volunteer opportunities that you might enjoy. Nif-ty! So,just based on the fact that I googled Refugee apartments Dallas (or something like that), this page came up and showed an open position with Catholic Charities of Dallas for "Apartment Set Up Volunteer". Description said something like, "Do you like to shop?" (Yes). "This position is an opportunity to assist a refugee family by shopping off a list of items (we give you the money), and setting up a new apartment- including making beds, etc." Okay. this is right up my alley. I love doing stuff like this.
So, I connected to the organization through Volunteer Match. I got an email immediately with the organization's contact info, and had an email directly from the organization coordinator within the day. I'm looking into this now, as a way to volunteer one day a week in the community. Still some paperwork, training, background checks, etc, but I'm checking it out!
My point is that I've had several girlfriends bemoan the fact that they want to DO something. Contribute something. Too often, while we as moms are raising our kids as a contribution to society- we want more. I think that's AWESOME! I know when Coen started preschool/kinder I was left feeling like I had lost some of the purpose in my day; and I've heard other friends say the same. Girls, if this is you, then here's your chance! Jump on the site, find what pulls at your heart strings and DO something! There's tons of opportunities, charities, times, and availability.
I know I'm going to have plenty of extra time this week- what with the Facebook fast and all. Yikes.
*UPDATE: Just contacted Catholic Charities of Dallas. They WILL pick up in Frisco. I am booked a week out for next Wednesday. They will take gently used furniture that is not broken, stained, etc. Also, up to 5 bags or boxes. So, now, I just need to go get this stuff boxed up.
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