IWR depends on donations to provide refugees with important items when they arrive in our community, such as furniture or computers. Contact Programs Coordinator Leigh Bacher at leighb@ithacawelcomesrefugees.org if you are interested in making a donation.
Warm winter clothing
A refugee family is in need of the following items. Please get in touch if you have any of these to donate:
- Men’s winter coat – medium
- Men’s winter gloves – medium
- Women’s winter hat (not beany style)
- Women’s winter gloves
- Children’s coats — one boy size 14/16 – and one teen that could be upper Boys or small Men’s
- Gloves – two pairs for teenaged boys
Families’ needs lists
Check back soon for a list of household items needed for a newly arrived family!
General Needs
Children’s clothing: You can donate gently used baby and children’s items to the Mama Goose & Jillian’s Drawers store on Clinton Street and ask them to add any store credit to IWR’s account. From this account, we give vouchers to refugee and immigrant families with children.
As the holiday season approaches, please consider this way to support IWR families if you are sorting items your family has outgrown! Our Mama Goose account is currently low and access to kids’ clothing makes a huge difference now that we are heading into winter. Check the Mama Goose schedule for drop off dates.
Volunteers
IWR is seeking volunteers for the following positions. If you think that your background and experience would make you a good fit for one of the following roles, please indicate your interest by completing this form.
Welcome Home Team
Welcome Home volunteers focus mostly on the pre-arrival period for newcomers to our area, helping to coordinate donations of furniture for a family’s apartment and other apartment setup activities, and helping with ongoing donation drives as needed, for items such as diapers or winter clothing.
Response Team
IWR provides assistance to new families or individuals through Response Teams: groups of 2-4 volunteers who are focused on long-term support for families and tailor their support to each family’s specific needs. Response Teams provide a flexible range of services such as helping with job searches, arranging for interpretation, accompanying newcomers to appointments, filling out forms, and school enrollment for children.
Housing Committee
Housing is one of the biggest obstacles to refugee resettlement in Ithaca. If you are a landlord, a realtor, or have some other expertise or interest in the local housing environment, please consider joining IWR’s Housing Committee. The committee will be working to cultivate local landlord relationships and helping families find apartments they can afford.
Events Volunteers
IWR is looking for events volunteers who can assist IWR’s Events Team with things like tabling at area festivals, helping promote events through social media, event set up and clean up (only 1-2 per year), pick up and distribution of auction items, and more.