You don’t need an invitation to do the right thing
There's still time to get tickets for our upcoming Drive-Thru events! At each event, refugee cooks and WNSTL volunteers will prepare your meal and deliver a 6-course international lunch directly to your car.
90% of proceeds go back to our refugee cooks to set them on a path of greater independence and confidence in their lives here in in the USA.
πΈπΎ SYRIAN MEAL πΈπΎ
Join us Saturday, October 15, from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm at STL Foodworks for a 6-course Syrian meal delivered right to your car!
π¦π« AFGHAN MEAL π¦π«
Join us Saturday, November 12, from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm at STL Foodworks for a 6-course Afghan meal delivered right to your car!
π Click the link in our bio to purchase tickets! π
A BIG thank you to @helloneighborhq for awarding Welcome Neighbor STL $500 for our interpretation and translation needs. π
This will be a huge help as we translate and interpret important information for our refugee and immigrant neighbors!
Our ESL program is meeting students where they are π
Pictures from our latest Super Club Event!
Meet Laura and Samiya! Laura is one of our volunteer ESL tutors and Samiya is her student! They have a beautiful story. Laura wrote out some of their story, read it below!
Whoever said, βit takes a village,β knew what they were talking about.
In addition to the ESL tutors, there are many generous, kind, hard-working people in our community who Iβve joined forces with to help my wonderful student, Samiya Issa, and her family.
Samiya and her Kurdish family (her husband and three daughters) had to flee Syria. Many of her family members were killed. They left their homes, business, and family and fled to Iraq where they lived in a refugee camp for 8 YEARS. They came to St. Louis in Nov. 2021, and since then, have been living in a 2-bedroom apartment.
After meeting Samiya, I learned that she was 6 months pregnant, her husband works over 12 hours every day at a factory, her three daughters go to school to learn English (and everything they missed while in the refugee camp).
Samiya is one of the kindest and most generous women Iβve ever known. We clicked right away, and Iβm thrilled at how hard sheβs working to learn English. When I come to tutor, she's always has her homework finished and has a new cake or Middle Eastern dish for me.
I focus on ESL, while Samiyaβs family partners have done EVERYTHING ELSE to help the family get food stamps, baby items, get to the doctor, get their driverβs permits, etc. etc. Iβve been blown away by their generosity and hours upon hours of work.
Unfortunately (I know they all hated being away!), they were out of town the week that Samiya was due. When Samiya has to be induced, I was honored she asked me to stay with her while she had her beautiful baby boy, Milad.
Thanks to Samiyaβs two friends who speak Kurdish who were with us; and the fact that HOO HOO HEE is basically universal; both mom and baby Milad were perfect.
The icing on the cake was when Samiya asked me if I would be Miladβs βGrandmotherβ. I told her that I never want to take the place of her mother, but I would be honored a βGodmotherβ to her baby.
Once again, βit takes a village,β and Iβm honored to be one of the members of that village.
Delicious food, supporting our refugee neighbors, and a fun event! Whatβs not to love π
Meet the Alrefai family! This Syrian family of six arrived to the USA in 2017, and in the past 5 years, have moved 5 times! The kids are very excited for this school year, it will be the first time they are returning to the same school!
Read their full story, including fleeing Syria and living in Jordan at the link in our bio
π Save the Date! π Our next virtual volunteer orientation will be on Wednesday, October 5 at 7pm.
Click the link in our bio to join the Zoom call.
Joining our orientation is not a commitment to be a family partner, but an opportunity to learn more about the program. We hope to see you there!
Tickets for our upcoming Drive-Thru events are now available! At each event, refugee cooks and WNSTL volunteers will prepare your meal and deliver a 6-course international lunch directly to your car with a wide smile and heartfelt thank you.
All proceeds go back to our refugee cooks to set them on a path of greater independence and confidence in their lives here in in the USA.
πΈπΎ SYRIAN MEAL πΈπΎ
Join us Saturday, October 15, from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm at STL Foodworks for a 6-course Syrian meal delivered right to your car!
π¦π« AFGHAN MEAL π¦π«
Join us Saturday, November 12, from 11:30 am - 12:30 pm at STL Foodworks for a 6-course Afghan meal delivered right to your car!
View the menus and purchase your meal tickets at the link in our bio!
We were gifted $430 in gasoline gift cards! These will be so helpful for our families, especially in emergencies π
Our Family Partnering Program is the best π
Meet Sara and Fatima! Sara is one of our incredible volunteer ESL tutors and Fatima is one of our incredible students! Sara and Fatima have a beautiful story (that includes embroidery, metalsmithing, and cooking!). Sara wrote out some of their story and is allowing us to share it! π Read it here:
Today was a beautiful day. I taught Fatima the words, βcool breezeβ as we sat outside at the Botanical Gardens. πΈ A cool breeze blew over us, cooling Jalal and Elisa playing in the shade.
I started tutoring Fatima in May. The day we met, she showed me pictures of her family, the home she left, and some ornately embroidered dresses that she designed and made. π§΅πͺ‘ That evening, I realized I had been paired with a fellow artist. She is creative, kind, an amazing cook, and now, 3 1/2 months later, my friend.
For the past two years, regular life sometimes felt overwhelming for me and encountering stressful or overly critical people seemed to be happening more often. I felt the need to initiate some positive change. Volunteering with Welcome Neighbor STL gave me that opportunity. Partnering with their experienced organizers would allow me to volunteer, but still have time for my work and family. π
When I started teaching Fatima, I immediately realized the gift of return. Her children have grown to love me! I get to play with them and teach them English too. My 10-year-old daughter is learning about Afghan culture; playing and reading books to the kids; and hearing their stories. Fatima is teaching me to cook her delicious food. π₯ Sara, her daughter has come to my jewelry studio over the summer and has begun to learn the basics of metalsmithing. What fun to see her swing a hammer! βοΈ Our families have gone swimming together and celebrated birthdays together. And as Fatima and her family rebuild their lives, we feel privileged to be making new memories with them.
Today Fatima and I were two mothers walking through the flowers, describing the world around us, and learning words as the children played. Our small acts came together, filling our hearts and minds with joy. π·
___
To sign up to becoming an English tutor, click the link in our bio!
Saturday was a special day, it was our first training class with our new Afghan Chefs! π We discussed the Welcome Neighbor STL cooking rules and listened to their questions and needs.
Many thanks to everyone who contributed and helped make the class successful, including:
π½ Our Welcome Neighbor Family partners for supporting, giving rides, and taking care of kids
π½ @stlfoodworks for the commercial kitchen
π½ Nikki Lopresti / @allaccessinterpreters for translating our cooking guideline to Dari and Pashto
π½ Our translator Sajida for translating during the class
π½ And our new Afghan chefs for sharing about their dreams, lives, and needs π₯°
Schedule a Supper Club event with one of our amazing cooks at the link in our bio!
We are looking for people who want to develop a lasting friendship with a refugee family!
β
If this is you, join our virtual volunteer orientation on Thursday, Sept 8 from 7-8pm for information on becoming a family partner.
β
Click the link in our bio to join the zoom call.
β
Joining our orientation is not a commitment to be a family partner, but an opportunity to learn more about the program. We hope to see you there!
Our two interns, Sarah and Maclean, just finished their internship! Thank you both for interning with us, it has been a joy working with you!
We are now looking for interns for this fall! π
An internship with Welcome Neighbor STL is a professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work related to a studentβs field of study or career interest. An internship gives a student the opportunity for career exploration and development, and to learn new skills.
If you're interested in applying, click the link in our bio to fill out an application form!
A big thank you to @caleresinc for gifting our families 30 $100 gift cards to Famous Footwear! We were able to get 13 families shoes for school!
The kids are so excited about their new shoes! π€©
A HUGE thank you to the amazing volunteers who served with us at the Festival of Nations over the weekend! We are so grateful for this community π
This is such a thoughtful gift! Thank you, Susan!
Since Supper Club began in August 2017, we have:
π Served 14,587 people
π Raised $364,147
π Had 191 total events
Thank YOU for supporting refugees in our community! Proceeds from Supper Club events directly benefit our refugee cooks.
To learn more about Supper Clubs or to schedule a Supper Club event, click the link in our bio!
We're looking for one or two interns for this fall! π
An internship with Welcome Neighbor STL is a professional learning experience that offers meaningful, practical work related to a studentβs field of study or career interest. An internship gives a student the opportunity for career exploration and development, and to learn new skills.
If you're interested in applying, please click the link in our bio and fill out the form at the bottom of the page!
We are constantly amazed by this community! Thank you, Mrs. Hilda Lowell, for such an incredible gift to the Abid family!
School is right around the corner! Can you help us provide school supplies for the refugee children in our community?
π
Click the link in our bio to view our Amazon Wishlist.
π
Thank you! We are SO appreciative of any donation you make from our list!
We are so excited to share that @craftsmenutilitytrailer has committed to donate TWO washers and TWO dryers from @slymanbros every month to a refugee family! π€©
This will be SO helpful for our families, thank you! π
We are looking for someone who can help us translate a one-page document into Pashto and Dari.
βοΈ
This is a very important document for our cooks. It will allow our new Afghan refugee neighbors to participate in Supper Club events and make money for their family.
βοΈ
If you are able to help, please email [email protected]