A few days ago, we started on our journey to become Alight. And what better way to celebrate, to come together and start anew, than by giving to others? And especially to the community of organizations that call Minnesota home, too.
Most of our programs support people where they are – before someone is resettled to another country.
But the International Institute of Minnesota comes in on the other side of the coin. They support refugee families (less than 1%) who are resettled in another country, and who are now building their new life in Minnesota.
The folks at IIM are SO busy, all the time. Everybody knows the feeling of being so overwhelmed that even the seemingly simple things can feel impossible. So today we’re helping them make a small change that will just feel so much better when it’s done – organizing their inventory!
IIM gets lots of donations from people all over the state, wanting to lend a hand in helping families get settled in their new homes. But many of these donated items weren’t getting sorted, making it tough to find things when they needed them.
Enter the Alight team! We dove in, equipped with some organizing bins and labels, and got to work.
“It was overwhelming at first,” said Bekah from Alight. “And it was all hands on deck. But soon things started to take shape! And just like that we had made a difference.”
Over the course of a few hours, what was piles of jackets, mittens, shirts, pants, and more became neat and organized bin, making it easy access for the IIM staff.
“This took us 15 people over a couple hours,” said Daphne from Alight. “How would they have found the time? It felt like we were doing something worthwhile.”
“This was such a great opportunity to strengthen the connection between our organizations,” said Ryan from Alight. “I’ve referred a lot of people over here, so seeing the space and meeting the people gave me a deeper understanding of what they do. And they do so much! They have their hands in so many facets of the community.”
“Starting by giving with IIM, and doing it together, as a group, was really special,” said Daphne. “It was bonding. What a great way to start Alight!”
