SCAM ALERT- PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD

Transcription

1 SCAM ALERT- PLEASE SPREAD THE WORD EMBARC received information that there is a woman (she may have friends working with her) who is targeting refugees from Burma and asking them for money to donate to a children s charity. This charity - is not real! The woman has a badge and a brochure, but again - her charity is not real. She has learned a few key phrases in Karen and Burmese and has been seen at Laurel Village, Douglas Terrace and outside of Walmart. As the Holiday season apporaches many organizations ask the community to support their work. Places like the Salvation Army and Toys for Tots set up donation boxes outside of many popular places like the grocery store and Walmart. Unfortunately, there are some individuals who take advantage of people s kindness. Please spread the word to all of your networks - LET S STOP PEOPLE FROM TAKING ADVANTAGE OF OUR COMMUNITY.

2 HIGHLIGHTS November 20, 2014 Refugee Health Navigators EMBARC is ready to launch a Refugee Health Navigator Project thanks to grant awards from Telligen Community Initiative (TCI) for $41,500 and United Way of Central Iowa for $26,250. EMBARC speaks the following languages: Karen Dalia: Karenni Maria: The Refugee Health Navigator Project seeks to increase refugees' access to health care by empowering, engaging and training leaders within Central Iowa's refugee community from Burma to provide much needed education, resources and support to their peers. Chin & Burmese Abigail Sui: Main Office

3 EMBARC receives the Dan Chavez Organization Award EMBARC was honored to receive the Dan Chavez Beyond the Horizons Organization Award at the 2015 Iowa Culture and Language Conference last Wednesday in Coralville. This award recognizes an organization that promotes and advocates for the development of policies and procedures that are supportive of new Iowans in an area of need such as social services, education, workforce development, or housing. Special thanks to Loren Bawn for this nomination! EMBARC is so proud to receive this award. EMBARC also participated at the ICLC with a panel presentation titled Burma to

4 Iowa: Perspectives from Refugees. Aung Han, Thway Paw, Thla Sui, and Maria Boemeh shared their powerful stories and Donna Wilkin moderated. EMBARC is honored to participate in the Iowa Culture and Language Conference! Seven Community Navigators Certified in Medical Terminology! Seven of our community navigators and our Community Navigator Manager have officially completed their 8-week Medical Terminology course at Broadlawns Medical Center and passed their certification! This modern medical terminology course has increased their knowledge and their ability to communicate with physicians and other health care professionals. Congratulations to Aung Han, Tin Moe, Maria Boemeh, Thla Sui, Lweh Moo, Iris Tun, They Blay Paw, and Jeanna Bauer!

5 Maria Boemeh Receives Resilient Youth Award! Congratulations to Maria Boemeh, EMBARC s Community Navigator, for being selected as one of twelve recipients for Polk County Decategorization's Resiliency Rally on November 1st! The Resiliency Rally recognizes and celebrates teens ages who have demonstrated great resilience in their lives. Maria is a Karenni refugee youth from Burma. Maria joined EMBARC during the summer as an intern through the Youth Employment Program and is now EMBARC's lead community navigator, providing direct services and support to our community.

6 Holiday Charity Garage Sale Thanks to everyone who donated, volunteered, or attended our holiday community garage sale on last Saturday, November 15th. 197 individuals from Burma were able to receive much needed items! We also raised over $700 for our youth education programs. Special thanks to Vineyard Church for generously hosting the sale and Maria Downs, our long time volunteer, for her help with planning and coordination! PROGRAMS

7 Refugee Youth Navigator and Parent Navigator Projects Many thanks to DECAT for awarding EMBARC two mini-grants to launch our Refugee Pilot Youth Navigator Project and a Parent Navigator Project in Polk County! And big thanks to Wells Fargo for funding the financial literacy component for both projects! Youth Navigator Project: Six youth navigators from Burma, ages will receive hands-on training by content matter experts to increase their knowledge in personal financial management, post-secondary education, work readiness, and how to access and utilize existing resources and services in Polk County such as General Assistance, health services, and more. They will then teach their peers and provide direct services on those topics. Parent Navigator Project: This project taps into the leadership potential of refugee women to increase their skill, knowledge and confidence in navigating unfamiliar Western parenting norms and expectations. Participants, or 'Navigators' will attend six three-hour parent-skill building trainings and will spread knowledge through small group learning circles and provide direct services and referrals.

8 SPARK Tutoring Our middle school reading program will start back up next month on Thursday, December 11th. The program will be held after school from 3 PM - 4 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays at Meredith Middle School, 4827 Madison Avenue. The elementary math program on Saturdays will transition to READING next Spring. The reading program will begin in February and run every Saturday from of 9:30 AM - 11:30 AM at Polk County River Place, 2309 Euclid Avenue. We need more volunteer tutors for both of these programs to give each child the special attention he/she deserves. Community Resources DMACC Urban Campus Non-credit ESL Courses for Spring Term (Registration Information) DMACC Urban Campus will have open testing times for the spring term ESL Non-credit classes (January 12th through May 7th) at Urban Campus on November 21st, On or

9 after November 21st, please direct potential Non-credit ESL students to and click on the Urban Campus button at the end of the page. Please see attached flyer for more information Holiday & Winter Assistance 2014 (VNS Thanksgiving Meals and Food) There are several businesses and organizations offering free or discounted meals for Thanksgiving. Please see the attachment for a list of Thanksgiving meals and food events Free Meals at the New Life Center (Dinner Flier) Every Monday and Wednesday night, there will be a free dinner served for families and individuals of all ages. Dinner will be served between 5:30pm-7:00pm on Mondays & 5:00pm-6:30pm on Wednesdays. For more information, please call Operation Santa Program - Toys for Tots Operation Santa Program through Saint Vincent De Paul is a Toys for Tots program for children 14 and under. Contact Melissa McCoy to sign a child up! Melissa S. McCoy, CRS, CIRS Certified Information & Referral Specialist (p) (f) Melissa.Mccoy2@redcross.org YouthBuild Program (YouthBuild Flier) (YouthBuild Application) YouthBuild is a paid program through DMACC for young adults ages 18-24, without a high school diploma, who are interested in learning construction skills and helping the local community by building houses for Habitat for Humanity. Call or stop by the Evelyn K. Davis Center for Working Families (across from the DMACC Urban Campus next to McDonald s) 801 University Ave to fill out an

10 application. Interested individuals and their families are invited to join us for one of the following community information meetings: Thursday December 11th, Tuesday December 16th, Thursday January 8th, Wednesday January 14th, Two sessions each day -3:30 and 6pm at the Evelyn Davis Center for Working Families, YouthBuild Classroom, 801 University Avenue, Des Moines, IA Pi Pi 515 provides an afterschool class that educates refugee 7-12th grade students on basic computer coding (programming) with an emphasis on tackling world problems as well as get them prepared for higher education and careers. Contact Nancy Mwirotsi for more information: Contact EMBARC if you need help accessing any resources! Volunteers Needed! Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much. Helen Keller Transportation volunteers needed to assist as drivers to transport students to after school and weekend programs as well as to transport clients to appointments Advocacy volunteers to help refugee families access services and provide

11 support and guidance for community navigators Tutors and mentors for youth and adults in math and reading programs Writers, graphic designers, media whizzes to help raise awareness and build community support Contact Ngan to volunteer for one of these positions or to learn more about how you can get involved! or call Main: Fax: Euclid Avenue, Des Moines, Iowa : Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center, All Rights Reserved unsubscribe from this list update subscription preferences