CoFiA is saying goodbye to our summer intern, LeAnne Drum. A rising sophomore at Providence College, LeAnne worked with us through the summer and left us with very useful products.
For one thing, she surveyed social service and other agencies throughout the county and took careful note of which provided services to undocumented immigrants. This not-very-long list is now available from CoFiA in both English and Spanish in a brochure entitled “Community Resource Guide” or “Guia de Recursos.” To receive an electronic copy just sent an email to us at info@communityof friendsinaction.org.
In addition, she did research on other Immigrants Rights or immigrant-sympathetic organizations that we can recommend to our immigrant friends. This list is also available from our email address and includes familiar names such as the National Day Laborers Organization, Immigration Advocates Network, United We Dream, American Friends Service Committee, ACLU, KIND (Kids in Need of Defense), Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS), and the Women’s Refugee Commission Inc.
LeAnne also attended many CoFiA meetings, including the Saturday night gatherings of the “delegados”, which has been meeting at St. Michael’s Church; Tuesday staff meetings; some wage-theft committee meetings, and others. She has also taught the ESL intermediate class at the library; we don’t usually offer ESL in the summer, but we found that several of the students were interested in continuing and with her help we were able to offer these Tuesday night sessions.
LeAnne also worked closely with Angelica, helping her with transportation issues and learning a lot about the needs of the Guatemalan community in the Palisades Park area. We will miss her and appreciate her smarts and her willingness to lend a hand wherever needed.