February 17, 2009
Save the Date!
The 23rd Annual Spring Carnival Ball will be Saturday, April 25th from 8 pm-midnight at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet.
Please call 784.8634 for more information or visit www.iiri.org
Free Tax Assistance
IIRI staff and volunteers are currently providing free income tax preparation for low and moderate income families. Visit www.iiri.org for more information.
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International
Institute of Rhode Island's mission is to enable all area residents, especially
immigrants and refugees, to become self-reliant, invested participants in
our communities, while fostering respect and understanding among all people. Read more
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Introducing Mary Ellen Lynch, new Refugee Resettlement Volunteer & Donation Coordinator at iiri
We are pleased to introduce Mary Ellen in the newly created position of Volunteer & Donation Coordinator for Refugee Resettlement. Mary Ellen comes to IIRI with many years of experience working with immigrants and refugees. She holds a BA in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island and an Ed.M. in International Educational Development from Boston University.
In her new role, Mary Ellen will be reaching out to work with community, business, faith based and other groups and individuals who are interested in volunteering their time and talents or contributing needed household items to set up apartments for the new arrivals.
“It truly takes a village for a refugee resettlement program to be successful,” says Mary Ellen. IIRI is the only agency in Rhode Island to accept “free case” refugees. Free case refugees do not have anchor families here in the U.S. to provide them with an immediate support system or integration assistance upon arrival. IIRI relies on the community for a variety of support activities to help the new arrivals be successful.”
Mary Ellen is currently looking for assistance with the following activities:
- Volunteer mentors are needed to work with refugees on literacy, language, and job skills development.
- Groups are needed to help clean and set up apartments for new arrivals.
- Volunteers are needed to donate household items including furniture, bed linens, kitchen and cleaning supplies needed for apartments. For a list of items please visit our website.
For information about volunteering or donating to the refugee resettlement program, contact Mary Ellen Lynch at 401-784-8649 or melynch@iiri.org or download a volunteer application on our website.