In Fulton and Montgomery counties in upstate New York, long-term recovery following 2011’s Tropical Storm Irene was floundering until four members of the Fulton Montgomery Long-Term Recovery Group took the CWS Recovery Tools and Training workshop. The group didn’t exist before Irene. After the storm, it took a long time to get organized. A small group limped along for a …
A Day in the Life of a CWS Intern
Casey Smith | July 20, 2013
As originally published on http://cwsrdu.org/2013/07/16/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-cws-intern/ Today’s guest post comes from Casey Smith, CWS-Durham’s summer case management intern. Casey recently graduated from East Chapel Hill High School where she assisted with day camps for refugee children, events for refugee awareness, and worked to tutor refugee high school students. She will be attending Wesleyan University this fall. We are grateful for her …
Put the SNAP Back into the Farm Bill
Rev. John L. McCullough | July 19, 2013
Right now, 45 million people in the United States are hungry. In fact, we can count in weeks the amount of time before even more of our nation’s most vulnerable people – seniors, children, the working poor – face the prospect of going to bed hungry. I have a hard time getting my head around this, because it just doesn’t …
Immigration Reform: How Will the House Represent American values?
Rachel Pizatella-Haswell | July 17, 2013
On June 27, the Senate passed The Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act with a bipartisan majority of 68 votes for and 32 against. This bill includes a fair pathway to citizenship along with other measures to ensure that individuals have the opportunity to become American citizens. If enacted, this bill would help strengthen communities and create a …
CWS Kits and Blankets Newly Deployed in Five States
Recent shipments of CWS Kits and Blankets mean practical comfort for survivors of flooding in Ohio, wildfires in Colorado, tornadoes in Oklahoma, Superstorm Sandy in New York and a series of disasters in West Virginia. Materials sent by request of local service providers include: 200 CWS Emergency Cleanup Buckets, going to First Christian Church in Mansfield, Ohio, for distribution to …
Nigerian Church of the Brethren Leaders Assemble CWS Kits
July 16, 2013
On July 11, 2013, six church leaders from the Church of the Brethren in Nigeria assembled CWS Kits at Salem Church of the Brethren in Englewood, Ohio. Partnering with the Disaster Ministry Coordinators from the Southern Ohio District of the Church of the Brethren, they assembled 96 CWS Emergency Cleanup Buckets, 150 Hygiene Kits and 64 Baby Care Kits. The …
Celebrate Mandela Day: Engage with the World
Angela Rupchock-Schafer | July 13, 2013
The call to action is simple and compelling: “Whether as an individual, community, business, non-governmental organization (NGO) or a government department, all you have to do on July 18 is donate 67 minutes of your day to doing something good in any way you can. Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life to the struggle for social justice. Can …
Failure Is Not an Option: A Migration Story
Robin Stephenson/Bread for the World | July 12, 2013
As originally posted on Bread for the World’s Bread Blog:http://blog.bread.org/2013/07/surviving-is-not-an-option-the-migration-story.html My dad was a born a migrant. He likes to talk about the storm that was raging the night of his birth, but there was an even greater urgency than finding shelter from pounding rain that evening: hunger was pushing his family west. In an abandoned shack, having gone without …
Rep. Gutierrez, CWS’s John McCullough Discuss Immigration Reform
July 11, 2013
Congressman announces immigration tour in Republican districts and advocates give overview of actions across the country to build pressure for reform. Washington, DC – This week President Obama is meeting with Democratic members of the House of Representatives and Republican members are meeting to determine the party’s stance and path forward on immigration reform. Meanwhile, immigration advocates have held events …
Rep. Gutierrez, Immigration Reform Advocates See Path Forward
Download a recording of today’s call. Washington, DC – On a call with press today, Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez (D-IL) joined immigration reform advocates to discuss this week’s meetings and the path forward for immigration reform in the House of Representatives. “Everyone knows the votes are there in the House if democracy rules and the majority rules. There are dozens …