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summer 2024 newsletter

Dear Friends,


As many of you go on your summer breaks, it is time for my family and I to say goodbye to Korea and to the adults and children connected to Open Arms. I will be heading to Almaty, Kazakhstan, for new adventures and experience. It will be sad and strange not to return to Seoul after my vacation this time around.


My first session for Open Arms was in February 2020, which was immediately followed by the closure of all programs due to COVID. During this time, I realised the amazing ingenuity and dedication of our team members and volunteers to keep OA moving forward in this testing time. 


The children involved in the Myeongjin Program will always hold a special place in my heart. Starting in the midst of the pandemic, it was a learning experience for me  as much as for the children. It was chaotic and difficult at the beginning. However, over time, with the children's growing trust and their understanding that they can rely on OA, something vital to our little organization, we are going from strength to strength. From April, we split the program in two, with the Primary and Teenager sessions. This has meant we can ensure our goal of allowing children to stay learning with Open Arms until they age out. 


Open Arms have built a good relationship with Myeongjin and this has led to being able to get the teenagers out of the welfare home once a month. Thanks to our partnership with Dulwich, we can add a little variety to the children's lives and open up new opportunities for them, as well as interact with children for Shinmangwon Welfare Home.


Being a part of Open Arms will be something that will be hard to replace in life, but I am grateful for having the chance to grow as a teacher and person with the organization. I know that OA will continue to enrich the lives of children living in welfare homes. I thank everyone who has supported and helped me over the years. I'd like to say 'see you later' rather than goodbye as I know our paths will cross at some point in the future.

FAREWELL MESSAGES

Best wishes and warmest regards,


James Loft

Academic Team Leader

Our vision is a community where children are acceptedvalued and unconditionally loved so they can grow into adults who will contribute positively to our society.

news & events

AGM. A big thank you to everyone who attended the 2024 AGM at the amazing RTR Lounge and Justin for organizing the event. The Executive Committee shared updates from the past year and strategy going forward. An important part of the AGM was exercising members’ right to participate in important organizational decisions. We are grateful for your votes and questions and are excited to officially welcome Inger as Executive Director. Thank you Vineworks for the generous donation of wine!

OA Mascot Project. OA is getting a new mascot inspired by our children! The Mascot Project is being led by Wain Choi with Disney animator Jin Kim who will develop the final design. We hope to empower the children by helping them realize that dreams really do come true with hard work, perseverance and community support. The mascot will be that symbol. OA is for them and we are grateful that they can also contribute to its development.

SIWA/OA Coming Together. It was a dream come true to have an offsite event for 45 children who live at CWWC. The Coming Together event hosted at Seoul Foreign British School on May 5 was the perfect Children’s Day celebration despite the rain. Organized by SIWA, the event brought together diverse volunteers from SIWA, SFS students, Changemakers, Dwight International School, Kilogram Tribe and OA. 

OA Social Picnic. The OA Social Club arranged a lovely picnic to enjoy the summer in good company. Even though there were not many people, it was a lovely evening. Giving more opportunites to socialize with your fellow volunteers is something we will be working on even more in fall and we hope many of you will join!

Upcoming Events. Mark your calendars for the September 28 Social outing! 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!

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fundraising & advocacy

AWC Donation. At the AGM, AWC Korea presented a donation of 15,000,000 KW from their Annual Charity Gala 2024 held on January 13. We are beyond excited and grateful for their ongoing partnership and support. Thank you Betty Chung and Sandy Rhee for joining our AGM.

SMW Mangwon. Every year SMW hosts their biggest and most meaningful event called ‘Mangwon Festival’ (the nickname of Shinmangwon). They invite sponsors, volunteers, school teachers and friends, neighbors and aged out young adults from SMW and prepare food, performances and fun activities for the 250-300 people including their kids and staff. OA was invited to attend and provided fruit cups and served slushies on April 27.

SFS International Fair. OA had a table at SFS International Fair on April 27. It was a great opportunity to represent OA, which SFS has supported for many years. Our volunteers are international and some had double duty at their country tables like Erika from Hungary. Thank you Katy, Erika, Sunny, Nikki, Junhwan and Inger for attending!

Dwight International Fair. Open Arms had a table at the Dwight International Spring Fair on April 18. Thanks to Yolekha, Sunny and Erika for enthusiastically representing OA and providing valuable information about our work to the community. Also, entertaining the children with fun activities!

Please click on the READ MORE button below to read the full articles and see the wonderful photos.

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education programs

SUMMER BREAK

No classes During July

Volunteer Sign Up Every quarter we send out rota to signup for program attendance for the volunteers. It is very important that you let us know if and when you can join so we can plan accordingly

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

Early Years CW Tuesday/weekly 5:30-6:15pm

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

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

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

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

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

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

Fur All Dogs Rotating CW, DT & MJ/monthly

Open Arms is growing with the children! Please click on the READ MORE button below to read about what we have been up to in our programs.

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Reflections from Current Volunteers:

richard

sanjana

erica

~

Farewell and Thank You:

ingrid

anna

lauren

malin

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! We are thankful for the wonderful and generous volunteers who contribute in many meaningful ways.

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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 at info@theopenarms.org. It's a joy to bring you the latest news!

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CONTACT US

#2173, 20th Fl, 149, Sejong-daero, Jongno-gu, Seoul, 03186 South Korea

info@theopenarms.org

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