The Refugee Crisis: How Can I Help?

The Brattleboro Area Interfaith Initiative is hosting an event to raise awareness of the plight of refugees around the world. This free public gathering will take place on April 2 at 7:00 PM at the Centre Congregational
Church, 193 Main Street, Brattleboro.

Sami Abdallah and Jennifer Silverstone from Eyes On Refugees will speak about their recent volunteer experience at refugee camps in France. They will be joined by Inga Paluch, who will give an overview of the work of Carry Me Home, a disaster relief organization based at the Centre Congregational Church. This initiative is run entirely by volunteers who collect children’s clothing, baby carriers, and small toys and ship them to refugees along the Balkan route.

Sami, a software engineer, and Jennifer a nurse, are Massachusetts residents who found each other through a mutual friend, and decided one Saturday afternoon inDecember 2015 to travel to France to aid refugees. They provided on-the-ground assistance to refugees at camps in Calais and Dunkirk. Their presentation will include a brief video and overview of the crisis they witnessed and will outline the efforts they’ve made to provide assistance since returning home.

Both Eyes on Refugees and Carry Me Home provide opportunities for individuals who want to provide
direct material aid to refugees, whichwill be detailed at the presentation. Both organizations are volunteer-run, so 100% of all donations go directly to refugees. 

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