Hello Friends of the Al Alloun Family,
 
We’re putting together the schedule for July and August.  The last day of school for the older kids is next Wednesday so after that, we’ll have a full house!  As many of you know, the family has been very receptive to our visits and really look forward to learning new things, practicing, speaking and writing in English and playing.  Please know that you are already making a difference in their lives.   
 
Below is a chart to let us know your availability for July and August.  If you indicate when you’re available and send it back, we’ll put together a schedule and get a copy out to all of you.  It seems to work best if there are 3 people per session so we’ll try to assign times accordingly.   This time I’ll try to make it easier to understand by showing both the morning and afternoon in the same block.  (You can thank Dick for suggesting a better format – even I got confused looking at the old schedule!!) If you have other days of the week that work better for you, let us know and we can see if we should add or change the scheduled days.  We know that commitments change over time so if you can’t make a scheduled session, just let us know.
 
We have a few new volunteers who are joining our team so we’re looking forward to having them on board.  
 
We want you to know how much we appreciate all the time and effort that you have given to this “leap of faith.”   We hope you have been as enriched by this experience as we have been.    Feel free to let us know if you have any suggestions or concerns.  We really want to make this as positive as we can for all.

If your schedule doesn’t allow for on site visits at this time, please keep this family and all refugees in your prayers.
 
 
July 2023

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the outpouring of support you have shown for the Al Alloun
Family who have made their home in the former convent of Our Lady Queen of Peace.
Parishioners (and non-parishioners too) have been generous in sharing donations of goods,
services and time to help welcome the family of 11 to their new home. Donations of a television,
freezer, dinner, toys, books, bicycles, games of all kinds have been coming in steadily. We are
just so heartened by the number of you who have reached out to help. As the saying goes, it
takes a village and what a village you’ve become.

We have a number of volunteers who come over on a regular basis to help the family by joiningReply
them to read, practice writing the alphabet, learn games, songs and practice sounds and English
words. We’ve even learned a couple of Arabic words and phrases! It continues to be an
evolutionary process as we become more familiar with types of lessons which work best with the
different skill levels of family members.

The school age children are quickly learning as we hear more and more English words and
phrases entering their vocabulary. The second grade boy recently attended an orientation
session at French Road school with his mom and an interpreter. It was very sweet when he asked
his mom if he could join his friends up on the school stage and wonderful to see how many of the
other kids said “Hi Ali” as they passed him in the hall.

Over the summer, we plan to organize a couple of activities for the family to show them around
Rochester – maybe a trip to the zoo, a picnic in a local park. We’ll keep you posted on plans.
Again, we thank all of you for opening your hearts to welcome this family to our community. I
know they are grateful for all they have received. If you’re interested in joining the group of
volunteers who visit the family or would like to help plan an activity, contact me or the parish
office. And please keep this family and all refugees in your prayers.

Meeting Notice – April 27^th 7:15 PM
 
The Syrian family has been here for a month already and they are settling into their new life and routines.  They enjoy getting out and seeing the sights of Rochester, especially the array of places to shop for food – both American grocery stores and the International Food Store where they can find some of the foods from their native Syria.  We plan to take them to the Rochester Public Market soon.
 
The kids are friendly and so interested in learning new things, from hooking up the internet connection to how cordless screwdrivers work.   It is great to see them all jump in to help by carrying in groceries, cleaning up after dinner, vacuuming the floors.  They enjoy being busy.
 
Many of you have asked how you can get involved.  We’ve scheduled a meeting for Thursday, April 27th at 7:15 PM at Our Lady Queen of Peace to outline ways you can help. We will be arranging times (once or twice a week, 1 – 1.5 hours) when small groups of people can visit the family and help them learn and practice English.  We are in the process of pulling together resources/lessons that can be used during these sessions.  We will have group leaders who have been registered with CCFCS as volunteers to be present so other volunteers, not registered, can participate. Christina Krewson, CCFCS Volunteer Coordinator, will also be there to provide additional information about th and answer questions. 
 
If you’re interested in volunteering but can’t attend the meeting, just let us know and we can meet with you at a different time. 
 
In addition, we’ve put together a “wish list” of items that would be nice for the family to have.  If you’re doing spring cleaning and have any of the following items you’d like to donate, please let us know.  We can arrange for pick up or drop off.  If there are extras, donations can be made to Saint’s Place or  Rcommunity Bikes to share with others in need.
 
Wish List
           Bikes
                Boys small (Ages 5, 9, 11)
                Girls small (Ages 6,7)
                Big Wheel (Boy 3)
           Helmets
           Scooters
           Toys
                 Dolls and doll clothes
                 Children’s books
                  Legos, building blocks
                  Toy cars and trucks
                  Puzzles – letters, numbers, states, animals etc
                  Simple board Games
                  Talking toys
                  Coloring books, crayons, writing/drawing paper
 
           Outdoor toys 
                  Soccer balls, t-ball bats, balls, mitts
 
We are grateful for your continued interest and support and look forward to having you meet this wonderful and loving family.  
 
Feel free to invite others to join us and let us know if you have any questions and most importantly, please keep this family and all refugees in your prayers.
 
Gail Kindlon and Dick DellaPorta