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| We're Moving |
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On Thursday, August 10, the IRC office will close for a few days to move to our new office in City Heights. We plan to reopen for business on August 15. The new office will put us in the heart of the refugee community and make our services more accessible to refugee clients.
Our phone numbers and e-mail addresses will remain the same. Our new address is:
5348 University Ave, Suite 205
San Diego, CA 92105 |
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Map - New IRC Office |
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New IRC Program for Entrepreneurial Refugee Women |
The IRC’s Microenterprise Program recently launched its WE-Center for STAR (Support, Training and Assistance for Refugee) Women to focus on providing business development services, grants, and loans to aspiring women entrepreneurs. The Center is supported by Women’s Empowerment International (WE) (www.womenempowerment.org), a local charity with a mission to give women the tools they need to work their way out of poverty, primarily through microfinance tools.
The IRC has already helped start and expand women-owned businesses such as child care, catering, jewelry making, and truck dispatching!
The Center for STAR Women is also offering a series of free community classes that are open to all. The first set of workshops focused on starting home-based childcare, and the second set will focus on starting residential cleaning businesses. For more information, contact the IRC Microenterprise Department.
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IRC San Diego Microenterprise Department |
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| Food Security |
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The International Rescue Committee has joined forces with San Diego Food Not Lawns, a group of culinary enthusiasts, teachers, gardeners, and nonprofit workers who want to build a sustainable food system in San Diego. Our focus is two-fold: 1. guarantee that all low-income individuals, including the refugee population, can access quality, affordable, and culturally appropriate foods and 2. strengthen ties between local farmers and consumers.
In attempt to address these issues, the IRC will participate in and host events during the national ‘Eat In - Act Out’ week, an annual event from July 31st to August 6th that encourages communities to eat locally and think critically about their food choices. We invite IRC supporters to join in the festivities including a three-day film series:
Tuesday, August 1st: Earth on Edge, a Bill Moyers documentary: The Unitarian Church, 4190 Front St, (Hillcrest), at 7pm
Wednesday, August 2nd: Supersize Me!: An outdoor showing at the Adams Ave. Parks/Rec Center, 8pm
Thursday, August 3rd: The Future of Food: Kung Food, 2949 5th Ave, 8pm
For more information about Eat In – Act Out week and San Diego’s food security movement visit: www.sandiegoroots.org or contact Kate Hughes at the IRC: 619-641-7510 x244. |
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kate.hughes@theirc.org |
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Refugee Arrivals to IRC San Diego by Month |
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| Refugee Arrivals to IRC San Diego by Country of Origin (Oct 1, 2005 - June 30, 2006) |
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A Few Words on Donations |
Over the past years, IRC has enjoyed generous support from San Diegans in the form of donated clothing, furniture, and house hold items. We passed these items on to our clients. In our new office, we will not have sufficient space to store donated items.
We ask that if you have items to donate, please contact us first and we will accept the items only if we have a refugee family who is in immediate need of that item.
If you would like to help newly arrived refugee families, consider donating a gift card to Target or Kmart (gift cards don't take up much space!). A gift card allows us to buy essentials for a newly arrived refugee family in a timely manner without having to store the items in our office. Upon arrival in San Diego, a typical refugee family needs household items such as dishes, pots and pans, laundry soap, linens, and toiletries. With your support, we can buy exactly what the family needs.
Below is link to IRC's "wish list" at Target where you can buy a gift card on-line and it will be shipped directly to us. Cards are in denominations of $25 and $50.
On occasion, we may ask for specific material donations, such as kitchen items or basic furnishings, through this e-newsletter in anticipation of the arrival of a new family.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Sharon Darrough at 619 641-7510, ext. 249 or sharon.darrough@theirc.org. |
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Link to Target Gift Card for IRC |
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IRC Starts Parents as Teachers Program - You Can Help |
Thanks to funding from the San Diego Women's Foundation, IRC has recently implemented the Parents as Teachers (PAT) Program. IRC Parent Educators will use home-visits to share age-appropriate child development information with parents, help parents learn to observe their child's development, address parenting concerns, and engage the family in activities that provide meaningful parent/child interaction and support the child's development. Parent educators will also conduct annual developmental, health, vision and hearing screening for early identification of potential developmental delays and/or health, vision and hearing problems.
PAT has proved to be effective for immigrant families, greatly improving language, social development, problem solving, and other cognitive abilities in pre school aged children. for more information: www.parentsasteachers.org
We are in need of some specific supplies to conduct the home visits and provide age appropriate materials to the families. Some sample items are:
Rattles, blocks (soft), zip lock baggies, yarn, and sippy cups.
If you are interested in supporting this program, please contact Colleen Krause for more details on the items and quantity needed. 619 641-7510, ext. 242 or e-mail: |
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colleen.krause@theirc.org |
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| Padres, IRC, and a World Record? |
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On Tuesday, September 19th, the San Diego Council on Literacy (SDCOL) will attempt to make the Guinness Book of World Records for the Largest Read Aloud at the Padres Game. If you would like to join in on the attempt for a world record, please purchase a ticket and arrive at the stadium by 6:45 pm.
Tickets are $12 with $6 going to the SDCOL's Literacy Support Services which supports IRC's First Things First Program. The due date is August 15. For more information or to purchase a ticket, contact Colleen Krause at 619 641-7510, ext. 242 or e-mail: |
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colleen.krause@theirc.org |
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