A Big Catholic Charities Thank You

As the holiday season winds down, Catholic Charities Refugee Resettlement would like to give a big thank you to those who helped give our families a taste of the holidays. In November, Gail Kingsley of St. Mary’s Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception organized a donation of baskets filled with household items such as kitchen items and linens for our families. These beautifully made baskets have been used as welcoming gifts for our new arrivals as a way to make their new apartments feel more like a home.

In mid-December, we were given three pallets full of boxes containing jackets, sweatshirts, hats, gloves, socks, and blankets from Zumiez. This donation enabled us to provide warm clothes for all of our families in need, from those that have been here for a few months to those we just picked up at the airport.  Everyone is now ready to face the winter. With the unusually cold weather that started off this season, we are extremely grateful for this donation.

Also, right before Christmas, we were given a huge donation of toys and stuffed animals. KPTV FOX 12 Oregon’s Toy Drive donated over twenty large bags of toys which we were then able to pass out to the children of our families. The brand new toys have already helped the children fill their time during the long meetings their parents must attend, and to provide a sense of normalcy in this stressful time of adjustment. 

Molly Burtchaell from All Saints Catholic Parish coordinated the adoption of one of our newest families and arranged the purchase of individual gifts for all of them. This Somali family of twelve received new clothes, a video game system, and all kinds of other gifts from their holiday sponsor. It was a great way for the family to get some of the things they needed, as well as a way for the children to receive new toys. 

The Enriquez family with the Abdi family

Finally, a local family who arrived as refugees many years ago from Cuba adopted two of our current families. These two families, numbering twenty people total, were asked to make a wish list and the Enriquez family delivered coats, blankets, toys, and food to the families. One of the many high points of the day was when the fathers of the two families were each given the one thing they both wished for:  a new suit. The men told Catholic Charities that they wanted a suit jacket to start the New Year off right, but what they each got instead was a brand new suit. The Enriquez family brought photos of their family on the day they arrived in Portland as refugees and were able to talk to the two families about their shared experiences of being resettled in Portland.

The staff of Refugee Resettlement would like to extend a very large thank you to all of these wonderful people for their time and generous donations. Their kindness meant a lot not only to us, but also to our clients who are the ones that truly benefit. Thank you all for making this holiday season a great one.