Entertainment for the day from 11-7

• Enjoy a showcasing of talents from around the globe, including Nepali dancers, African choirs, and a Zumba how-to
• Learn to write your name in Arabic or get a Henna Tatoo
• Visit www.risva.org, find us on facebook, or contact Abby Sine at (804)355-4559 x22 or asine@richmonddiocese.org

Click here for Barnes & Noble voucher you can print and use anywhere in the USA on November 14 and 15

The fundraiser will benefit RIS's educational programs in Richmond, including:

• our adult ESL program, funded by the Virginia Department of Education;
• our School Liaison program, funded by the United Way of Greater Richmond and Petersburg; and
• the Virginia Refugee Student Achievement Project (VRSAP), with funds administered by the Virginia Office of Newcomer Services.

November 7th
Roanoke
Holiday Event

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke is hosting a special holiday event for refugee children. Twenty children will have the opportunity to "shop" for presents for their parents. (More)

Warm Tidings of
Comfort and Quilts

by Carol McElhinney

While enjoying fellowship with one another, The Quilters express their gratitude for God's love through sharing the warmth and comfort of their beautiful patchwork creations with those who are less fortunate. (More)

A Season for
Hospitality and
Partnership

by Suzi Smith

Embassy Suites Hotel in Hampton has been an outstanding employer for refugees. Lori Medford, the hotel's human resources director, has reached out and formed a strong partnership with HRIS by serving as a Community Board member and a volunteer as well as by hiring refugees for various positions at the hotel. (More)

Rhythm & Reading
VRSAP
Summer Program

The "Rhythm & Reading" Program was a five-week summer group program conducted by Richmond RIS, serving elementary level students living at London Towne, St. John's Woods, and Westover Hills apartment complexes. As in the past, it combined fun with learning in order to maintain and enhance English ability and social functioning. (More)

Elsa Álvarez
Steps Up

Richmond RIS Immigration Case Manager Elsa Álvarez has advanced to partial accredition by the Board of Immigration Appeals, the first step in a five-year process that leads to full accrediation. (More)

Easy Giving

This is the time of year when employers provide an opportunity for people to contribute to organizations they care about through regular pay check deductions. Small gifts of pre-tax dollars over the course of a year makes it easier to give. (More)

Do you want to
make a difference?
Do you speak English?

by Suwattana Sugg

Consider volunteering with Richmond Refugee and Immigration Services (RIS) to help newly settled families develop English language skills. Beverly Koerin, Jane Reeves, Mary Dolan, Ann Beall and Norm Kropp are retirees who teach English-as-a-Second Language (ESL) classes to adults from Asia, the Middle East and Africa. They help newcomers gain language skills needed for living and working in the United States. (More)

Immigration
Counseling
Program Report

by Marilyn Breslow

Refugee and Immigration Services, through its offices in Hampton, Roanoke, Richmond and Harrisonburg served over 6,000 new Virginians in the past year. (More)

In the Media

Roanoke Star-Sentinel writer Wade Thompson tells how Saturday soccer games put refugees into the social mix in Roanoke.

The visit to Goochland County by an Episcopal archbishop from Sudan raises awareness of the plight of this African nation's refugees, writes Ken Odor for The Goochland Gazette.

Jose Hernandez has risen from picking tomatoes as a Mexican migrant worker to orbiting Earth as a NASA astronaut , reports Associated Press writer Marcia Dunn on MSNBC.

In The Washington Post, writer Lois Romano interviews Christopher Lu, Assistant to the President and Cabinet Secretary at the White House, about the opportunities in the U.S. he has enjoyed because his parents immigrated here from Taiwan in the 1950s.

Some lawyers operate as predators who take advantage of illegal immigrants , reports Ramin Rahimian for The New York Times.

The Migration Policy Institute has data on historical trends in immigration .

One of the
WAVY-TV
"Ten Who Care"

by Suzi Smith

Santa Bir Gajmere, 30, is a classic example of someone who is very new to our country, yet is already making an outstanding effort to help his fellow man. This Hampton Roads resident is doing this totally on his own initiative and on his own time following a full day of working to support his family. (More)

The Warwick UCC
Language Lab
in Newport News

by Harlan "Bucky" Holmes

One computer provides access to the Internet. Many of the younger attendees want to communicate with their friends who are still in the refugee camp in Nepal. Because it costs money for refugee camp residents to send each message from Nepal, they send one message to their friend here, who then distributes it to a list of other friends both in the U.S. and elsewhere. (More)

Getting a GRIP
on Gangs

by Amy Wight Kube
and Thea Boland

This program hosts English as a Second Language (ESL) instruction and Citizenship classes within Richmond's refugee and immigrant community. It gives Spanish as a Second Language (SSL) classes to police officers and mental health workers. When this program funded additional police patrols in targeted Richmond areas, violent crime fell 41%. (More)

Friends of RIS . . .

Jennifer Spangler, a member of the Community Board of Richmond RIS, has created a Facebook page for Refugee and Immigration Services.
(Visit Facebook)

Thank You
from the
Bottom of our Feet

A huge THANK YOU to the First United Methodist Church of Salem, Virginia, and Miss Joan Dorsey of the Ecumenical Society for providing shoe vouchers to Roanoke refugee children. (More)

by Marilyn Breslow

It is anticipated that RIS will integrate with Commonwealth Catholic Charities on January 1, 2010. We will continue to provide a wide range of services, and our mission and office locations will not change. We will continue to partner with local, state, and national programs. Office telephone numbers will not change, but staff will have new email addresses: firstname.lastname@cccofva.org. (More)

This year, we are expecting our refugees from Bhutan, Iraq and Myanmar to entertain us with some traditional music and dancing after Santa Claus -- William Sutton -- gives all the children an opportunity to experience the Winter Holidays, American style! The Bernardine Franciscan Sisters will be there to help serve punch and cookies to all of our newcomers. (More)

Smile, Virginia

The collaboration with Smile Virginia has continued, and the dental team, saying that this was the best group of children they have ever worked with, has eagerly offered to return every two to three months to provide continuity of care for the Roanoke refugee children we serve. (More)

Medical
Interpreting --
Certifiably
Professional

by Rosemary Rodriguez

This training will count toward the prerequisites for the certification. RIS' Interpreter Services goal is to be the interpreter training service of choice in Virginia: it will align its training to meet all the requirements so that the program's current and future interpreters will be able to pass the exam and become credentialed. (More)

Celebrating
Their First Year
In America

by Abby Sine

Guests were greeted by a sea of brightly colored traditional attire and the pleasant aroma of Nepali cuisine. The event's program included entertainment from young and old. There were traditional dancers, Nepali hip-hop, singers, musicians, storytellers, artists and even a challenging game for the crowd. Refugees shared stories from the camps and pictures of friends and family still waiting to come to America. They told of triumphs of employment, education and new companions in their new lives. (More)

Short Notices

Bhutanese Festival
In September the Bhutanese community of Roanoke held a festival in honor of the god Durga. Food, music, prayers, and dancing were integral parts of this celebration. Many of the dances were filmed and posted on YouTube. They can be viewed on the YouTube website by typing in "Bhutanese Society in Roanoke".

Volunteer
Opportunities
Abound at
Richmond RIS

Flash Slideshow
by Dena Reynolds and Jeffrey Kraus

Lisa Pedraja and Ann Beall narrate a slideshow about volunteering at Refugee and Immigration Services. This work was produced by VCU journalism graduate students Dena Reynolds and Jeffrey Kraus and is hosted on Kraus' website.
(See Slideshow)

Resettling
in Roanoke

"We have really enjoyed getting to know [our Burmese] family! We have done several social things with the family and also are beginning to help out with being advocates for them in the schools their kids are in. We are hoping this grows . . . . " (More)

Q&A with
Shawn Nghiem,
Asian Network
- Capital One

Last October, Capital One donated $8,000 to RIS to support basic refugee resettlement needs. Why did Capital One choose to support RIS in its work?

Shawn Nghiem: Capital One's Asian Network is one of five Associate Networks the company developed with the common goals of recruiting, retaining, and developing associates while supporting community efforts. Last year, the Capital One Asian Network was looking to help support a community organization that shares our values, and RIS was a natural fit. Bringing refugees into America and helping them get settled into a new, better way of life is something that resonates with many members of our Asian Network, and we are proud to help support these efforts. (More)

My AmeriCorps
VISTA Volunteer
Experience

Courtesy Ace Clipart

by Karen Schomaker

As the AmeriCorps VISTA Volunteer for the Hampton Refugee and Immigration Services office this past year, I'll say this: If I had known then what I know now, it wouldn't have been nearly as adventurous, but I may have gotten more accomplished. Starting here last June, I worked part-time helping with an English language computer lab, and then I came into the office, where I started working on recruiting active RIS volunteers. Little did I know that was only the beginning . . . . (More)

Volunteer
Opportunities
Abound at
Richmond RIS

Flash Slideshow
by Dena Reynolds and Jeffrey Kraus

Lisa Pedraja and Ann Beall narrate a slideshow about volunteering at Refugee and Immigration Services. This work was produced by VCU journalism graduate students Dena Reynolds and Jeffrey Kraus and is hosted on Kraus' website.
(See Slideshow)

In the Media

July 3, 2009, article for Independence Day by Richmond Times-Dispatch staff writer Bill Lohmann:
"Immigrant families celebrate newfound liberty"

June 28, 2009, commentary by Richmond Times-Dispatch columnist Robin Beres:
"Don't Cover Our Melting Pot With Slimy Fruit Salad"

June 7, 2009, Richmond Times-Dispatch article by Tammie Smith about a disabled Burundi refugee whose family RIS resettled:
"Born without arms and legs, refugee finds new life in U.S."

U.S. Asylum
and Gratitude
in Hampton

My name is Juan Rosado. I was born in Honduras. Because I had criticized the corruption of my country's government and its militarism, police and traffic in narcotics, my oldest son was murdered. Then I became the object of threats. This situation forced my family and me to flee from Honduras two years ago.

Our time in America had its problems until we finally experienced good fortune. I still remember the first day that I went to Refugee and Immigration Services in Hampton. It was February of 2009. I met the director, Karen Kurilko. She listened to our case, giving us hope again for our lives. That same evening, RIS provided my family with a comfortable apartment to live in. (More)

Links to Africans

by Vickie Johnson-Scott

Developing and strengthening its international bonds with Africa, the Commonwealth Chapter of The Links, Inc., has established a partnership with Refugee and Immigration Services (RIS).

The International Trends and Services Program of The Links helps orient immigrant families to life in the U.S. Its efforts have focused on a family of nine that has found refuge here after leaving their native country of Burundi. Located in the Great Lakes region of Eastern Africa, Burundi was torn by a civil war from 1993 to 2006. Still, peace agreements have not been finalized, and violence continues to daily threaten the lives of Burundi citizens. (More)

World Refugee Day

Thank You for
2nd Collection
Donations

During Mass in the first weekend of May, a number of parishes throughout the Catholic Diocese of Richmond held a second collection for RIS. Bishop Francis DiLorenzo approved these second collections in recognition of World Refuge Day. Several priests and parish staff members participated in their churches' planning for this. The many generous donations received from parishioners will support RIS' efforts helping refugess who come to Virginia. Thank you very much!

RIS has a Page

Jennifer Spangler has arrived in Richmond and jumped into action by creating an RIS Facebook page.
(Visit Facebook)

YouTube Video
About RIS

by Dena Reynolds and Jeffrey Kraus

This video produced by VCU journalism graduate students Dena Reynolds and Jeffrey Kraus explores RIS activities.
(See Video)