Dear OpenArms,
Spring is a time for new growth! When our first class of Open Arms toddlers graduated in 2018, there was no Early Years Program to continue onto. This is how the dream and vision of Open Arms long term program began. It is extra special to see our first class of toddlers after the Pandemic seamlessly (and joyously!) graduate and join the ‘big kids’ in the Early Years Program at CW on Tuesday evenings. A special thank you to Dee Dee and our dedicated team of volunteers as they helped them learn English and see the world as a bigger place for the first time.
We are also thrilled to expand other programs this spring as we grow with our kids; we have a new Early Teens Program at SMW and one at MJ for our graduated Primary kids. Most volunteer programs at welfare homes in Korea are conducted at their homes and there are few opportunities for children from different welfare homes to intermix, so we are delighted to announce our once a month joint MJ & SMW Early Teens Program at Dulwich College Seoul! We are extremely blessed to have this opportunity not just for ourselves but for the children. It speaks volumes about the solid relationships we have built with the welfare homes and our partners Seoul Foreign British School and Dulwich College Seoul for which we are so grateful! All this is made possible by the unrelenting passion of Open Arms management and volunteers who continue to dream big and push boundaries.
We love our new and refreshed website theopenarms.org! Thanks to our volunteer Kara who spent months working on it. Please visit and check it out! We are also testing a more streamlined newsletter format. Please let us know what you think and PRESS the READ MORE buttons to read full sections. Also, Sally who continues to be part of the Newsletter Team from Canada YAY!
A special thank you to our partner Fur All Dogs whose therapy dogs bring unconditional love to the children.
Our first OA Volunteer Training session with special guest Director Park of SMW was a great success. Thanks to Katy and SFBS for organising this and providing the space for our learning.
Open Arms will hold our Annual General Meeting on Saturday April 20 for all registered Volunteers. Please come and take part in discussing and approving the direction of Open Arms. We will vote for our new Executive Director, and the OA executive committee warmly recommends Inger Winther Johannsen for this role. We will conclude the meeting with dinner so please plan to join and meet our amazing OA community. Can't wait to see you in person!
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