Roncesvalles Refugee Relief has had a wonderful summer as we await the arrival of our families.
At our June meeting it was determined that we had raised enough money to sponsor two families. Soooo, a Group of Five was struck to apply for another family! We're excited and anxiously await meeting them - we hope before the New Year but we expect that early 2017 the Federal slow down will open up again. We remain strongly committed and have found some positive things to do in the meantime. View our special events below;
RRR held a Winter Clothing Distribution Centre on Thursday, November 10. We assisted 55 families.
Roncesvalles United Church generously donated the space. Master Mechanic, at the corner of Howard Park Ave and Dundas, gave us a donation which allowed us to give a $10.00 Walmart gift cards to each family. Students from the Forest Hill Montessori School gave us an enthusiastic helping hand. Clothing racks were donated by Tricon Films
Nadeen Abu Shaban, a program worker at CultureLink, raised the concern of lack of appropriate winter clothing with RRR, and worked tirelessly connecting newcomers to this event.
There were translators (through CultureLink, RRR and UofT) and volunteers from across the city to assist each family as they shopped. Food and beverages restored flagging energy.
Thank-you to all who made this event a huge success.
And we even got some thanks:
I want to extend thanks to the Roncesvalles Refugee Relief Committee. I attended the Winter Clothing Centre today with two Syrian families from Thorncliffe Park. The event organisation was remarkable. In assigning each family a volunteer to help them shop and having plenty of translators on hand, you created an environment of dignity. Our families left with lots of winter clothing (and skates for the kids too). Heartfelt thanks to all of you. Deborah Reid
RRR Autumn Banquet Everyone had a great time and made new friends at our neighbourhood pot-luck banquet for our local refugee families! Thank you Stephanie and Joanne and all the cooks and volunteers.
Bikes and Sewing Machines Look! We collected 110 bikes for kids and adults as well as 60 sewing machines. People were very generous and thank you to Murray and his family for getting them all in tip-top shape. We worked with CultureLink at Dundas and Bloor and regularly walked bikes up to there for distribution to happy kids and families.
Playdates and Shared Meals are always a highlight
The Smiles are the best!
And RRR Meets a lot - in our co-chair's home:
Here's some fun shots from the Photo Booth at our February GALA
And the Capucci haircut fundraiser was a success and everyone looked great!
And we love just having a visit! Say hello to Rachel and Blessing.
Swimming Lessons!
Read along and play!
What we're looking forward to: Children’s books are needed. As are volunteers to teach English. Contact us if you're interested.