News From the Refugee Resettlement Committee
In August of 2017, the Refugee Resettlement Committee (RRC) at First Unitarian Church launched the Welcome!Basket project in response to the federal government’s lowering of the refugee resettlement ceiling for 2017 from 110,000 to 50,000. The ceiling for 2019 is only 30,000 - the lowest ceiling since the refugee program was established in 1980 - in spite of the worst refugee crisis in history
Thanks to the generosity of the First Unitarian community, 40 families (241 individuals) have received an especially warm welcome to the Salt Lake Valley in the form of a laundry basket full of NEW basic household items, NEW toys for children and NEW picture dictionaries. One basket remains in storage waiting for families to arrive. 22 of the families receiving baskets were from the Democratic Republic of Congo, 8 from Afghanistan, 6 from Burma, 2 from the Central African Republic and one each from Pakistan and Ethiopia. The total value of the baskets, including the one yet to be delivered, is approximately $4500.
While the RRC is discontinuing the Welcome! Basket Project, we want to continue to provide the following five items to as many families as we can: basic tool sets ($10 at Ikea), laundry baskets, tea kettles, soccer balls, and picture dictionaries. If you wish to donate other NEW items from the list below, please leave them in the back right corner of the Little Chapel. If you prefer to let us do the shopping, cash donations can be left in the church office or given to Joe DuBray or Nancy Rasmuson.
Thank you for your support of Salt Lake’s refugee community! Refugees ARE welcome here!
|
FOR THE HOUSE |
FOR THE KITCHEN |
FOR THE KIDS |
|
LAUNDRY BASKET |
FOOD STORAGE CONTAINERS |
SOCCER BALL |
|
WELCOME MET |
COLANDER |
BUBBLE SOLUTION |
|
BATH MAT |
FLATWARE STORAGE TRAY |
SIDEWALK CHALK |
|
HAND TOWELS |
TEA KETTLE |
|
|
WASHCLOTHS |
KITCHEN TOWELS |
|
|
TWIN SHEET SET |
POTHOLDERS |
|
|
BASIC TOOL SET |
SMALL KITCHEN KNIFE |
|
|
POTATO PEELER |
||
|
KITCHEN SCISSORS |
||
|
FOR THE FAMILY |
||
|
RICHARD SCARRY’S BEST WORD BOOK EVER |
||
|
RICHARD SCARRY’S BEST PICTURE DICTIONARY EVER |
||
|
OXFORD PICTURE DICTIONARY, MONOLINGUAL, 3RD ED |
||
The Pedal Project was also launched in 2017 and since then, approximately 41 bikes, helmets and vests have been delivered to refugee families from DR Congo, Burma, Afghanistan, Eritrea, Iraq, and Ethiopia. We are still in need of bikes. WE ALSO ARE IN NEED OF BICYCLE LOCKS (last one was just given out). Please contact Chad Mullins at 455-7909 to arrange a pick up of your donated bicycle.
Lastly, if you have time, we need volunteers who can help with apartment setups where no heavy lifting is required. The time commitment is approximately five hours a month. Please contact Nancy Rasmuson if you are interested. 801-633-5666