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March 2024 Newsletter

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!

Thank you all for being part of our mission to allow the children to realise their self-worth and reach their full potential,



Barbara

Founder/Newsletter Editor

Guided by the belief that all children have equal value, Open Arms provides English education to children in South Korean welfare homes. 

 

Our strong community of support empowers them to realise their self-worth and reach their potential socially, emotionally and academically. In addition to providing a personalised learning program throughout their childhood, our dedicated team of diverse volunteers also connects the children to a more global world view.

NEWS & EVENTS

Website New Look Updating the website was necessary to reflect the way we now do on-boarding of volunteers and making it easier to setup donation via PayPal. But most importantly, it was a chance to reflect on our use of language...

OA Social Dinner OA is growing! It is important that we also strengthen our community of volunteers. Our Social Committee is working hard to plan events for OA volunteers who volunteer at different welfare homes so we can get to know each...

Volunteer Training Our first OA Volunteer Training session was led by Katy with special guest Director Park of SMW. Learning the needs of the children and how to serve them enables us to grow the safe space we have created for the children...

Upcoming Events Mark your calendars for the AGM on April 20! (registered volunteers only) This is an important meeting where we will celebrate the stellar achievements of the past year, officially vote in our Executive Director and plan for the future. We will conclude the meeting with dinner so please plan to join and meet our OA community...

We have lots of great news and upcoming events! Please click on the READ MORE button below to read about what we have been up to and what is to come!

READ MORE

EDUCATION PROGRAMS

Volunteer Sign Up All volunteers must apply and now sign up for up to 6 months in advance. Application form is found here and program sign ups on Signal...

Toddler CW Our toddlers have graduated and moved on to the Early Years Program! No new Toddler Program for the time being...

Early Years & Primary CW Tuesday/weekly 5:30-7:00 pm

Primary DTV Thursday/weekly 5:30-7:00 pm

Primary DTV @ SFS Thursday/monthly 5:30-7:00 pm

Primary & Early Teens MJ Saturday/monthly 10:00-12:00 pm

Early Teens SMW Saturday/monthly 10:00-12:00 pm

Early Teens MJ & SMW @ Dulwich Saturday/monthly 10:00-12:00 pm

Fur All Dogs Rotating CW, DT & MJ/monthly 10:00-12:00 pm

Open Arms is growing with the children! We are thrilled to announce the start of 3 new programs for Pre-Teens! Please click on the READ MORE button below to read about how you can volunteer and what we have been up to in our programs.

READ MORE

Marta

Malin

Anne

Zahra

Nancy

Open Arms is a volunteer-based organisation, where every aspect - from planning our English education programs to fundraising - is handled by our volunteers! You are the heart of our organization and therefore it is important that we all share the ownership of Open Arms! Please click the READ MORE button below to read about our incredible volunteers!

READ MORE

Thank you to all the volunteers for contributing photos and reports. If you have any questions or ideas for upcoming newsletters, please DM or email Barbara or Sally at info@theopenarms.org. It's a joy to bring you the latest news!

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ph. +82 10 2716 5644 (eng)
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