How do you co-sponsor a refugee family in Greensboro?

I receive a weekly e-newsletter from Church World Service. Below is a meeting call in today’s e-newsletter for an interesting concept, process and way to foster refugees.

I am going to learn more about this sponsorship thing though I don’t intend to participate in it, at least at this point in my life. In my upcoming series on Immigration, I will make note of the various faith-based organizations in the area working with immigrants and refugees.

CO-SPONSORSHIP FOCUS GROUP

WHEN

Tuesday, June 15th at 5:30pm

WHAT

If you have ever been a co-sponsor for a refugee family in Greensboro, please come join us for this focus group. We are in the process of improving the co-sponsorship process and we would like feedback from your experience how to better train, equipment and support our co-sponsor groups working with refugees.

WHERE

Church World Service office

620 S. Elm Street, Suite 315, Greensboro

(At the corner of Elm and Lee Street downtown)

What does blogging feel like to you? Part 5

I hope you find these series topics and posts interesting. I look forward to the routine of writing, especially on the topics below that I find so interesting.

The following are topics I plan on exploring/commenting on in The Perfume Issue next:

Language
I am a language nerd. I love languages and lanaguage learning. I grew up in a bilingual household, accidently learned Spanish and just finished a couple of courses in Mandarin Chinese and Arabic in Greensboro this spring. I've come to the conclusion that "fluency" is a relative term and that, honestly, my English isn't perfect either!

Immigration
Dirty word #1. There's the line with variations that Everyone in America is an immigrant. I have a more recent immigrant history and I deal with how my experience as a second (or first?) generation American relates to immigration as a current hot-hot-hot issue. I always want to lay some thought down to what "immigration reform" means.

Food
Ok, I am fibbing here a bit or at least not being specific. I will actually focus on veganism and my preference toward a vegan diet (hmm and not necessarily a vegan lifestyle...yet). But, I feel like "vegan" is a dirty word, one that can push people away. But at the same time, it is a word that greatly attracts many other people looking for inspiration, support, information and confidence. Well, that's what I am looking for. I'll lay out my reasons for a preference for veganism (which may not be that honorable), my omnivore-licious weaknesses, and...humans.

Oh, humans.

I'm not sure yet if the series will be in the above order but it should all go down the same. ;)

Immigrant Women in America (in Greensboro)

Every Monday I receive the "FaithAction e-News" email newsletter from FaithAction International House. This week's e-newsletter highlights one of the YWCA's lunch series on women's issues:

INVISIBLE BUT ESSENTIAL: Immigrant Women in America

An Asian face, a Caribbean accent, or the echo of Spanish reveals that millions of Americans entrust their most precious treasures--their children, their parents, their homes--to immigrant women. Are they invisible to us? Do we undervalue their contribution?

Tuesday April 27th, 12 noon (no charge)

YWCA of Greensboro
4002 Spring Garden Street, Suite E
Between Wendover and Market Streets
(336) 273-3461
Look for the balloons!

Invited Panelists for this topic:
-Kathy Hinshaw, UNCG Center of New North Carolinians
-Susan Feit, Executive Director, National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ)
-Marikay Abuzuaiter, Co-Chair, International Advisory Committee
-Laura Burton, Attorney, Smith Moore LLP

Learn more about this lunch series from the post I wrote here.

I plan on being there. I'll see some people I know and get the itch to join the discussion.