Written Dreams in Paper
Suenos Escritos en Papel
Samaritas celebrates the creativity of the refugee youth in its care and raises funds to support them with an annual online art show. The title of this year's show is: “Written Dreams in Paper/Suenos Escritos en Papel,” and is presented by DTE Energy and Delta Dental of Michigan.

The 2021 collection was unveiled at noon on Monday, June 14 and includes information on how to purchase items from the Samaritas Youth Art Shop.
Proceeds from the art sale will benefit Samaritas programs. 

Support from partners like Tabooli (both Lansing locations), Social Sloth Café & Bakery and the Allen Neighborhood Center will allow art lovers to see other Samaritas art pieces in-person.

More information about other participating organizations is available at Samaritas.org/YouthArtShow.
World Refugee Awareness Week ran Sunday, June 13 through World Refugee Day on Saturday, June 19.
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The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates that 79.5 million people worldwide have been forced to flee their homes.

“Since the 1950s, Samaritas has resettled thousands of refugees who’ve fled their native homeland because they could be persecuted for their race, ethnicity, religious or political views,” said Kevin Van Den Bosch, COO, Child & Family, Samaritas.

Two years ago, Samaritas had enough housing to meet the needs of all new refugees. For 2022, its expected that Samaritas will need five times that number, or 120 homes or apartments, in East Michigan alone to meet the needs of the anticipated 500 refugees who’ll arrive between Oct. 1, 2021 and Sept. 30, 2022.
Crisis At the Border Continues
Young refugees will also need community support. UNHCR reports that 40% of the world’s displaced people are children -- with 153,300 unaccompanied and separated children recognized globally in 2019 alone.

Samaritas is at the forefront of this challenge. Through its affiliation with Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), Samaritas is one of approximately 30 organizations nationwide designated to take care of unaccompanied children and unaccompanied refugee minors in the U.S.

“We’re especially proud to be one of the few programs in the U.S. to serve unaccompanied children and unaccompanied refugee minors,” said Kevin Van Den Bosch, COO, Child & Family, Samaritas. “However, we’re at a crisis, and desperately need more Michigan families to get licensed to temporarily take in these kids and serve as mentors to other New Americans in our program.”

If you are interested in getting involved in directly touching the lives of the refugees and their families, Samaritas you can consider making a monetary donation at samaritas.org/refugee-crisis.

Donations to support Samaritas New Americans and Refugee Youth Services programs can also be accepted via text message.

Just text “RefugeeYouth” to (855) 450-0515 to donate and share information about this important topic.
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In-Person Events Are Back!
Be the Rock
Under the Stars

Monday, September 13 
LMCU Ballpark, Comstock Park
Join us and help knock our fundraising goals out of the park to support the programs benefiting the families, children, seniors, and New Americans we serve in West Michigan. 

Click Here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Fielding
Hope

Thursday, September 30 
Jimmy John's Field, Utica
You won’t want to miss your chance to be together again, and with an entire outdoor baseball stadium to socially distance, you can feel confident in indulging in the evenings activities. 

Click Here for more information and to purchase tickets.
Governor Whitmer ended the COVID-19 restrictions requiring masks and social distancing, effective June 22. As such, it is "full ripples ahead" for our in-person events scheduled for this summer and fall.

Scheduled to take place at the Detroit Golf Club, June 28 to July 4, 2021, this year’s all-star lineup includes Phil Mickelson, Rickie Fowler, Bryson Dechambeau and more! One hundred percent of donations go back to Samaritas.

Kicking off our in-person event season, is Samaritas' participation in the 2021 Rocket Mortgage Classic, Birdies for Charity Program.



SPREAD THE WORD! While we might give time, money and in-kind when we can, the power and impact of the Samaritas Nation also thrives in the form of engaging our personal networks live-and-in-person and digitally with the knowledge we have about the populations we serve. Click the facebook, instagram, linkedin and twitter icons below for content you can share.
Why Host A Refugee Roundtable?

Refugees of all ages have been through traumatic experiences before arriving in the U.S. and often encounter additional challenges when they resettle.

To aid awareness, Samaritas hosted a free town hall this month to celebrate the contributions of refugees, talk about the needs of the individuals Samaritas cares for and how the community can help.

Moderator Doug Tribou, host of “Morning Edition” on Michigan Radio was joined by:

TUNE IN!
Host Margaret Trimer, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships for Delta Dental of Michigan, hosted Samaritas’ own Vesna & Edin Cizmic on her new Podcast GRIT - stories of grit and greatness from the streets to the suites.

Vesna and Edin shared their personal life’s journey from Bosnia to Michigan, making the difficult decision to leave their home country, fleeing the devastations of war and resettling here in America to become thriving citizens. We are proud of our ROCKstars!!
  
Share the link to the digital issue of Our Hands via your email account and/or social media channels to help spread the word about the great work we do!