A Safe Haven at Singing River Farm
Donation protected
GREAT NEWS! The Safe Haven here at Singing River Farm has finally been completed and is now occupied by an asylum-seeking family!
The transformation of these dilapidated rooms took longer than expected, but thanks to the work of skilled volunteers and the support of generous donors of money and materials and furnishings, the living space is now attractive, energy-efficient, and safe.
As our nonprofit organization Community Asylum Seekers Project, Inc. (CASP) has grown over the past year, we also learned a lot about how to locate a suitable family. Through extensive networking we've been in contact with many groups around the country who visit and assist immigrants, including asylum seekers, detained in prisons. That networking paid off when we recently received an email from a group working with inmates at the prison in Karnes City, Texas. There was a Mexican family there seeking asylum who had passed their credible fear interview and were eligible for release if they only had a place to go and people to support them.
After talking with the mom by phone, we invited them to move here, and she and her two children (aged 10 and 6) took the bus from San Antonio, arriving in Vermont on October 18th. They are settling into their new life with lots of excitement, a little trepidation, and much gratitude. The children have now started school and the mom is taking English classes. Laurel and Steve are delighted to share their home with these warm and friendly people, and they in turn are immensely grateful for the safety and security your generosity is providing them.
It turns out that the renovation of the safe haven was less expensive than we estimated, and we've revised our fundraising goal down to $12,500, just under the amount we've actually had to spend. Many of you have already donated generously, but if you're able to help us finish covering the costs, it will help us be able to move forward without lingering debt from creating the safe haven. If by chance we raise any funds beyond what we actually spent in fixing up the space, we'll use the excess for direct support of our asylum-seeking family.
Please, donate as generously as you can, and encourage your friends to help as well. We understand the convenience for donors of giving online through this GoFundMe site, but if you're willing to mail us a check instead, it saves us about an 8% service fee. Checks may be made out to "Singing River Farm" and mailed to 2128 Brockways Mills Road, Rockingham VT 05143, USA. GoFundMe allows us to acknowledge offsite donations here on this site and add them to the total raised, without paying a fee. So if you write us a check, please let us know if we may use your name or if you prefer to be listed anonymously. If you need the tax deduction for your donation, please consider giving directly to the Community Asylum Seekers Project, Inc. (CASP) instead by mailing a check made to CASP to our address or going online to www.caspvt.org.
Feel free to be in touch with any questions or comments. We look forward to hearing from you, and if you live close enough, you are welcome to come by and meet the family. They are very outgoing and will be glad to meet you.
On behalf of this family that needs the safety of the home we are providing with your help, thank you so much.
Laurel and Steve
The transformation of these dilapidated rooms took longer than expected, but thanks to the work of skilled volunteers and the support of generous donors of money and materials and furnishings, the living space is now attractive, energy-efficient, and safe.
As our nonprofit organization Community Asylum Seekers Project, Inc. (CASP) has grown over the past year, we also learned a lot about how to locate a suitable family. Through extensive networking we've been in contact with many groups around the country who visit and assist immigrants, including asylum seekers, detained in prisons. That networking paid off when we recently received an email from a group working with inmates at the prison in Karnes City, Texas. There was a Mexican family there seeking asylum who had passed their credible fear interview and were eligible for release if they only had a place to go and people to support them.
After talking with the mom by phone, we invited them to move here, and she and her two children (aged 10 and 6) took the bus from San Antonio, arriving in Vermont on October 18th. They are settling into their new life with lots of excitement, a little trepidation, and much gratitude. The children have now started school and the mom is taking English classes. Laurel and Steve are delighted to share their home with these warm and friendly people, and they in turn are immensely grateful for the safety and security your generosity is providing them.
It turns out that the renovation of the safe haven was less expensive than we estimated, and we've revised our fundraising goal down to $12,500, just under the amount we've actually had to spend. Many of you have already donated generously, but if you're able to help us finish covering the costs, it will help us be able to move forward without lingering debt from creating the safe haven. If by chance we raise any funds beyond what we actually spent in fixing up the space, we'll use the excess for direct support of our asylum-seeking family.
Please, donate as generously as you can, and encourage your friends to help as well. We understand the convenience for donors of giving online through this GoFundMe site, but if you're willing to mail us a check instead, it saves us about an 8% service fee. Checks may be made out to "Singing River Farm" and mailed to 2128 Brockways Mills Road, Rockingham VT 05143, USA. GoFundMe allows us to acknowledge offsite donations here on this site and add them to the total raised, without paying a fee. So if you write us a check, please let us know if we may use your name or if you prefer to be listed anonymously. If you need the tax deduction for your donation, please consider giving directly to the Community Asylum Seekers Project, Inc. (CASP) instead by mailing a check made to CASP to our address or going online to www.caspvt.org.
Feel free to be in touch with any questions or comments. We look forward to hearing from you, and if you live close enough, you are welcome to come by and meet the family. They are very outgoing and will be glad to meet you.
On behalf of this family that needs the safety of the home we are providing with your help, thank you so much.
Laurel and Steve
Organizer
Steve Crofter
Organizer
Chester, VT