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December 2016

Opening Doors News
Special Acknowledgements

The Table UMC
Congregants of The Table United Methodist Church have committed to co-sponsoring one of our refugee families!  They have donated time and countless resources to ensure that this family is settled into their new home in Sacramento! Thank you for all you have done for Opening Doors and the families that we serve.

Interested in learning more about co-sponsoring
a refugee family?  
Email us: [email protected] 
Donate a Welcome Kit!  

The Davis LDS Church & Westminster Presbyterian Church
We are grateful for your abundant Christmas gift donations to the refugee children and families that we serve.  Your generosity will support these families in a difficult transition! 
Sacramento Bank of Commerce  
Thank you to Pam Halperin & Sacramento Bank
of Commerce for your generous donation to our 
Prosperity Project financial capabilities program!
We are grateful for your support and look forward to growing our partnership.
Success Story: Raghe

Raghe is one of many refugees served by Opening Doors.  After Al Shabaab took control of Kenya and began persecuting Christians, Raghe fled to Kenya from his home in Somalia. In Kenya, he was imprisoned because of his faith. After waiting more than two years seeking refugee status from the United Nations, he found his way to the United States and Opening Doors.  After only two months, Raghe already he feels optimistic.
 
"My vision for the future is to be stable in life, to make America my home, and to help the persecuted people in the world."

Help us continue our work to help others like Raghe, and survivors of human trafficking, immigrants, and underserved Sacramento residents.

Year in Review,
A Message from our CEO

As we enter the Holiday Season and approach the end of 2016, it is a time for reflection about Opening Doors' growth and contributions over the last year. We played a significant role in making Sacramento home to the largest population of Afghani refugees in the country -- those who helped our government and military despite risk to their lives and their families. Our legal services program prevented the deportation of many DACA youth who arrived in the US as children and have never known a home other than the US.

We provided microloans to emerging small businesses, refugees, immigrants, and new entrepreneurs.  We celebrated a milestone of lending over $2,000,000 to businesses in our region.

We supported over 50 women, men, and children in their transformation from victims of human trafficking to survivors. Although we are at the threshold of a new period in history -- with much uncertainty for the families we serve -- Opening Doors is committed to our mission to empower refugees, immigrants, human trafficking survivors, and emerging small businesses.

We are grateful for our Board of Directors, volunteers, and donors that have helped us over the last year.  And I know that you will be with us as we face challenges that lie ahead.  Opening Doors will enter 2017 more committed and focused than ever because of your support.  Please consider Opening Doors in your planned giving this holiday season.

Best wishes, 

Deborah Ortiz
Chief Executive Officer 
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Thank you, Sacramento Region Community Foundation!

 

Our Refugee Resettlement Program now has a conveniently located storage unit to store household donations for our refugee clients!  This project is funded by the Immediate Needs Grant Program of the Sacramento Region Community Foundation (SRCF).  

The Sacramento Region Community Foundation is an advocate for quality of life, dedicated to connecting people who care with charitable causes.  An effective steward of the region's charitable assets since 1983, the Foundation's mission is to transform our community through focused leadership and advocacy that inspire partnerships and expand giving.

If you would like to donate household goods or Welcome Kits to our refugee families, contact us to schedule a time to drop off your donation to our new storage space! 
Food for Thought
Voices that need to be heard -
Human trafficking in the Sacramento Region


In honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Month (January) and Lions Worldwide Week of Service to Fight Hunger and Poverty, the Sacramento Rescue & Restore Coalition and Sacramento Metropolitan Lions Club present: Food for Thought.

Food for Thought is a free event that includes a resource fair and panel discussion to raise awareness about human trafficking as a national issue and its presence in our region. In addition, the Sacramento Metropolitan Lions Club will be holding a nonperishable food drive. All food donations will be donated to the Sacramento Food Bank.

When: Saturday, January 21, 2017
Where: Parkside Community Church
5700 South Land Park Drive, Sacramento, CA 95822
RSVP HERE  

 

For more information about this event, contact L. "Rico" Ozaki at [email protected] or (916) 492-2591 ext. 229.
As we look forward to 2017 and anticipate new beginnings, new challenges, and a greater need for service, please consider donating to Opening Doors. Survivors of human trafficking, immigrants seeking new lives in our country, small and emerging businesses that rely upon our microloans - and, of course, refugee families fleeing violence who hope to make Sacramento their home - are welcomed and served by Opening Doors.