Innisfailians have already opened their hearts to one Syrian refugee family and can now look forward to welcoming a second.
Welcoming Communities, a newly formed local committee, has been hard at work over the past several weeks coordinating efforts to sponsor a second refugee family, a process that is in the early organizational stages and could take several months to become reality. Last month, Innisfail welcomed its first Syrian refugee family. The Kahwate family has quickly settled in the community to rebuild their lives.
The committee is holding its first fundraiser entitled Sharing Our World on March 19 at the Innisfail Royal Canadian Legion from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
“The goal of this (fundraiser) night is for us to share what we are doing as a committee, as well as a fun evening out with friends,” said Erin Falk, chair of Welcoming Communities.
The evening will include music, a raffle draw, desserts, coffee and tea and will feature entertainment by Potter's Clay Quartet (with members from Bowden, Red Deer, Trochu and Rimbey) and the Sweet n' Sours, an Innisfail women's singing group.
“Admission for the evening is by donation,” said Falk. “With that donation you can enjoy the music as well as a complimentary dessert table with coffee, pie, cupcakes, squares and all different kinds of desserts.
“We've had different businesses from Innisfail and area donate all kinds of amazing prizes for the raffle,” she said, noting there will also be a raffle table with dozens of prizes available.
Fellow committee member Evelyn McCrackin said there has been overwhelming response from the business community.
“It has been amazing. People are more than willing to support (the fundraiser) and donate items,” said McCrackin.
In addition to making a donation at the door and buying raffle tickets, guests can also help sponsor a variety of items for the refugee family.
“If people want to personally purchase swimming lessons for the kids, they're going to be able to do that as a gift to the family,” explained Falk, noting other things such as helping with utility bills, school supplies or winter clothing. “We're going to have various items of that nature and we're going to have a few different ways that people will be able to participate and get involved,” she added.
During the evening event members of the Welcoming Communities Committee will be sharing about the committee and its goal of sponsoring a Syrian refugee family.
“Bud Sargent will be our spokesperson for the evening and he's going to share a little bit more about what our group is doing and why we're doing it,” said Falk. “And about different ways that people can get involved.”
Falk noted how pleased the committee is with the way things are coming together.
“There's a lot of people with a lot of skills in different areas that are helping make this successful. Not just the fundraiser, but also the process of bringing a Syrian refugee family into Innisfail, getting them settled here and integrating them into our community,” she said. “We are all really excited and optimistic about this process.”
Falk said the Sharing Our World theme for the fundraising event reflects how the committee views sponsoring a refugee family and their approach to the process.
“We want to look at them as our new neighbours who are coming to join us,” said Falk. “We don't own this part of the world. They are welcome to come here.”
Erin Falk
"There's a lot of people with a lot of skills in different areas that are helping make this successful. Not just the fundraiser, but also the process of bringing a Syrian refugee family into Innisfail, getting them settled here and integrating them into our community."
