Ithaca Welcomes Refugees (IWR) is reopening its refugee and immigrant childcare program, Global Roots Play School after it closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic and is holding a special fundraiser from August 19-29 to support the program. Donations can be made at https://www.givegab.com/campaigns/back-to-our-roots.
With generous community support, IWR launched Global Roots Play School in 2017 in partnership with adult English as a Second Language (ESL) programs in Ithaca. Refugee and immigrant parents of children ages 18 months to 5 years old can send their child to Global Roots and then attend their nearby English classes at Open Doors English, Tompkins Learning Partners, and BOCES.
Global Roots has provided early childhood education to nearly 60 children, with families from countries such as Afghanistan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Ecuador, Indonesia, Taiwan, and Korea. Because many students are refugees or at the very least have moved from one country to another, teachers practice trauma-informed care and come up with creative ways to communicate in the absence of shared language. The school uses a sliding scale of tuition according to family income, and no family is turned away because they cannot afford it.
As Global Roots Play School continues to support more refugee and immigrant families, IWR is asking for help to cover the difference between the per-child cost of operations and the affordable tuition contributions from families. Contributions made during this annual campaign will ensure that low-income families can afford to send their children to Global Roots Play School and attend adult English classes.