Hmongtown Marketplace has been an important destination for the more than 100,000 Hmong people in the Twin Cities. As a central meeting place, it has served to preserve tradition and foster community. It's founder, Toua Xiong, a refugee himself, created this market space from the ground up. He's been able to persevere because for Toua, the challenges of building a business pale in comparison to some of the challenges he's been through. After he made is safely to Minnesota, he had a vision to not only to create a space that Hmong people could call home, but also a marketplace where first generation shop owners could start a livelihood and thrive. Now is a pivotal time for the marketplace, as many shop owners are thinking about passing down their businesses to the second generation. There’s a desire to reach out and invite in a broader community to learn and celebrate this culture and help preserve its legacy. So Alight decided to bring 30 guests to come and experience the … [Read more...] about Welcome to Hmongtown Marketplace
Campaigns
Keeping Cozy
For many of the newly resettled refugees in Minnesota, this will be their first experience of a bitter cold winter. As you can imagine, winter can be shocking for new arrivals, especially if they don’t have the right gear to stay warm. So partnering with the International Institute of Minnesota (IIM), we put a call out for donations of winter gear to bring some warmth and comfort for these families experiencing the cold for the very first time... And boy were we amazed by the response! Donations came in from all over the Twin Cities – some people brought in their gently used things, and others purchased brand new gear on our Amazon wish list. In just a short amount of time, we gathered dozens of winter items: coats, snow pants, gloves, and hats. They're going to families who are new to this area - now they'll be better prepared to handle the months ahead. We were inspired by the generosity of so many Minnesotans. Jesse and Kristen recently moved back to their home state … [Read more...] about Keeping Cozy
Leave the Hard Stuff to the Grown Ups
International Institute of Minnesota (IIM) helps hundreds of individuals and families every week that are in need of citizenship applications support, English-learning classes, skills trainings, and more. But mothers and fathers tend to be limited in the time they can spend there or the type of support they can receive - they need to take care of their children. So when we gathered volunteers to support individuals with their citizenship applications, we wanted to make sure that those parents could give their full attention to the process. The quick solution? Setting up a kids' play room! We brought toys, coloring books, and games to entertain the kids while their parents worked on the long and detailed process. Corleen, who has worked at IIM for over 20 years, explained how valuable this was for the session today. “We don’t usually have this," she said. "It allows parents to focus on the important things while the kids have their own space.” We had a group of volunteers … [Read more...] about Leave the Hard Stuff to the Grown Ups
A Guide Along the Way
The International Institute of Minnesota (IIM) is an incredible resource for permanent residences in Minnesota, seeking to become U.S. citizens. These are individuals and families who love this country and want to contribute. But the process can be confusing. So IIM offers free appointments for people to receive guidance and support through all the complicated steps. In a typical session, they have 3 or 5 volunteers helping individuals with their application. While this makes an incredible difference for those they are able to help, there are many more families on the waitlist - and they're at risk of missing their window of opportunity to apply. So we decided to help IIM do the doable. We put out a call to our own network, and over 40 volunteers signed up to help! On a Saturday no less! Danielle and Michelle have been friends since middle school. Each of them married a non-U.S. citizen - Danielle’s husband is from Mexico, and this last February he finally received his … [Read more...] about A Guide Along the Way
A Clean Slate
When we sat down to chat with the Refugee Coalition of East Africa (RefCEA) one of the things they brought up time and time again was being able to hold trainings at their house. Even though some LGBTQI refugees still hope for resettlement, many have been living in a country like Kenya for years now and believe that they’ll be staying put for a longer period of time. They want to do all they can to make their stay sustainable and meaningful, and find work if possible. They now have desks and chairs that they can use for their trainings, but they also needed a board that the person conducting the training would be able to use. So today, we’re helping RefCEA get a whiteboard, and plenty of whiteboard markers for their future trainings! This way, whether they’re hosting more workshops related to jewelry-making, grant-seeking, or something new, their instructor will have a better space to teach - and the students a better space to learn. Although they're stuck in a bit of a … [Read more...] about A Clean Slate
Safe to Drink
We're back for another day with the Refugee Coalition of East Africa (RefCEA), doing the doable with this group of amazing individuals supporting LGBTQI refugees across Nairobi. Today, we’re working especially with Craig, the Executive Director of RefCEA. Craig was previously a part of another organization for LGBTQI refugees called Team No Sleep, but has since decided to dedicate all of his time to the coalition and their efforts. Craig is warm and welcoming, as well as hard working, timely and reliable, so people tend to gravitate towards him. One of the things that Craig mentioned needing for RefCEA and their space was a water dispenser. Tap water isn’t safe to drink in Nairobi, so in order to provide water for guests and members, the group would either have to continually buy water bottles or get a water dispenser. Not only is the latter cheaper, but it’s also more environmentally friendly and saves on lots of plastic. When we decided to do this, Craig — a natural … [Read more...] about Safe to Drink
Help from a Friend
The Refugee Coalition of East Africa (RefCEA) has a lot of needs - and a lot of dreams. Yesterday, we started to meet them where they're at by helping the group get desks. Naturally, that meant buying some chairs that people could sit on while working at those new desks! We were able to find some chairs that would be both comfortable and durable, due to the help of one person in particular - Danniel! Danniel is a central part of RefCEA, and comes to the group representing independent LGBTQI refugees. As the founder of Independent Refugees Association, Danniel works hard to make sure that LGBTQI refugees who are not a part of an organization or group have their voices heard and their needs met. He's an inspirational go-getter. We knew this already by the way that he supported other refugees, and it was only reinforced when we were searching for furniture. He was pivotal in helping find both desks and chairs, and we were so grateful for his enthusiasm! … [Read more...] about Help from a Friend
So More Can Learn
Hello! Today, we’re back in Nairobi, spending time with the Refugee Coalition of East Africa (RefCEA). RefCEA is a coalition of ten community-based organizations that specifically consist of LGBTQI refugees. By creating a coalition, the group has been able to better advocate for and support more individuals, becoming stronger together. The coalition was formed in April 2018, and only just moved into their office space a couple of months ago. They have big dreams of spaces for livelihoods trainings and a computer lab, but they’re also trying to make the office feel more like an office and a little less like a partially empty building. One of their needs was a little more space to work, and to make the dream of a computer lab a little more real. As we sat for our meeting, the whole group was around one desk, and didn’t have much independent working space. The natural first step? Desks they could work on! We made sure the desks were multipurpose and could be used for meetings, … [Read more...] about So More Can Learn
Sparking Creativity
On our last day with FLBQR, we wanted to end on a fun note...something that might continue to spark the creativity of our new friends. We already know that the FLBQR community has a knack for crafts and creating beautiful things. So why not add to their stock of tools with a boost in bountiful art supplies? When we showed up with the supplies, everyone was so excited. "We had been thinking about buying some yarn just like this but couldn’t!" said Ethelene. "I already have a project in mind!” While we were sad to say goodbye to the group and had such a wonderful time with them, we were also happy to know that we were leaving them in a good place - with the creativity flowing and energy sky high! Meet Sam! Sam developed an interest in forced displacement, food insecurity, and identity while working on her master's degree. She’s now using this knowledge to support Changemakers 365 across our country programs. When she’s not off on a work trip, she’s busy … [Read more...] about Sparking Creativity
We’ve Got Them Covered
I’m back with Dhalie and Ethelene from FLBQR today, doing the doable together! The Foundation for Lesbian, Bisexual and Queer Refugees (FLBQR) has done an amazing job of providing a safe home and strong community for fellow queer women and their children, and it’s been such a pleasure for us to get to support an effort like this. Yesterday, we bought them some basic supplies—like pasta, oil, soap and sanitary pads—to tide them over for the next month, so we also wanted to make sure that their other basic need was met: an apartment, with warm, running water, a gas stove and a safe space to share. Having the peace of mind that this month's rent will be paid is no small thing. Building out their jewelry-making business will be first on the list, now that they have some mental space to focus on other priorities. This month, we've got them covered. Meet Sam! Sam developed an interest in forced displacement, food insecurity, and identity while working on her … [Read more...] about We’ve Got Them Covered