PHOENIX, December 11, 2020 - For 20 years, the Phoenix College (PC) English Department has coordinated the campus-wide Adopt-a-Family effort. This year, families from the Catholic Charities Resettlement Agency were selected. The exact number of families will depend on the extent of the campus involvement in this project. This effort brings us together as a family to help refugee families that have resettled in our community. The goal is to assist these families with necessities as they begin their new life in the U.S.
"Starting a new life away from their native land is quite challenging for many refugees, especially for those that resettled during the COVID-19 pandemic and job crisis. Within the past 12 months, unfortunately, a good number of these families have been housed within our College footprint. Through its 20-year Adopt-a-Family tradition, the Phoenix College community is stepping up again to welcome these new families and lend them support as they adjust to a new way of life in the U.S.," says Joseph Kimbuende, Program Coordinator.
Phoenix College supports these families by donating gift cards to any grocery or department store. Joseph Kimbuende and Pam Duty organize this initiative to bring our neighborhood college even closer to our surrounding community. Joseph said, "In the PC Bears spirit, let us support these new neighbors, some of whom will end up enrolling at PC."
In the current COVID-19 environment, we take the following measures to maximize sponsors' and adopted families' safety.
Identification of families by a local Refugee Agency
No physical contact with the adopted families
No material donations. Only gift cards or cash will be accepted.
No group delivery of gift cards to the families
The last day to donate or support Adopt-A-Family is Friday, December 18th. Contact Joseph or Pam to join this cause.
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Please contact Meagan Young for media inquiries at: meagan.young@phoenixcollege.edu or at 785.248.1050.