Happy New Year!January offers a new opportunity to set our intentions for the next 365 days. And as immigration continues to dominate national headlines, we invite you to resolve to spread compassion and hope for our neighbors in need. Now, you can help provide a warm welcome to individuals and families seeking safety at our southern border by joining Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service’s new Fresh Change program! |
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Pack a bag with a fresh change of clothes, add a note of welcome, and be part of an immigrant’s journey to a new life. When immigrants are released from Customs and Border Protection custody, it is often with nothing but the ill-fitting, government-issued clothes on their backs. In partnership with Border Servant Corps, the LIRS network welcomes them with dignity, offering a place to stay, a warm meal, and, with your help, a fresh change of clothes. Our Fresh Change program offers an opportunity to welcome immigrants with a bag of new clothing—but don’t wait! This pilot phase will only last until 1,000 bags are sent, so be sure to download the toolkit today and get packing! |
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Questions? Visit our website at lirs.org/FreshChange or email outreach@lirs.org. When you’re done, don’t forget to contact your local legislators, urging them to restore and rebuild a just and humane asylum system. LIRS makes it easy—just click here! |
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| Tessa is a member of Grace Lutheran Church in Des Moines, WA. As a member congregation of LIRS’s Circle of Welcome, Grace Lutheran co-sponsors a newly arrived Afghan family. Tessa met the family of 11 after they had spent a year in a refugee camp in Qatar, and she quickly learned that welcome is a two-way street. “Tea?” the father asked, upon her first visit. It would be the first of many visits and many cups of tea. Apartment set-up, tea. Enroll the children in school, tea. Decipher mail using Google Translate, tea. Doctors' appointments, winter clothes, English classes, tea. Strangers became friends, and friends became family—and it all started with a cup of tea. You can read Tessa’s full story in her words here. Want to join the Circle of Welcome? Check out our locations to find out if we have a resettlement office near you! |
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A Final Note
However you decide to make a difference, don’t forget to tell us about it by emailing outreach@lirs.org and using the subject line Volunteer Vista. Blessings,
Christina Iwuagwu
National Volunteer Action Coordinator |
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