Last week we heard from Lutheran Social Services (LSS) that they needed urgent help setting up an apartment for a recently arrived Afghan family of 8, 2 parents and 6 children between age 6 and 17. Kate Lang coordinated several WES members to work together with members of River Road UUC over the weekend to move in furniture and household supplies to the 3 bedroom apartment in the Maple Ridge complex in Landover, to get it ready for the family who moved in today (Thursday, Oct. 21). Many thanks to those who were able to contribute to this effort on very short notice!

WES has also signed up with LSS to have a long-term co-sponsorship relationship with a refugee family. We hope to be matched with a family in the coming weeks, and we would then sponsor that family for a year, providing English language learning, transportation, benefit application assistance, job assistance, financial support, and cross-cultural mentoring. This family will probably be different from the family who is moving into the apartment we helped set up today.

We will need many WES members to be part of this sponsorship team – please contact Kate Lang at klang20910@yahoo.com if you would like to participate. While we are waiting to hear from LSS about being matched with a family for sponsorship, there is now an opportunity to help LSS at their office (3799 East-West Hwy, Hyattsville, MD 20782), as they get ready to move from that location shortly. They are looking for volunteers who can help them organize and pack up all of the household goods that have been donated. If you are interested in this opportunity at LSS, please contact Kate Lang or Maceo Thomas, WES membership coordinator, maceot@ethicalsociety.org.