From Volunteers to Friends through Welcome
Volunteers Nancy Montgomery and Peter Jennings share their journeys as active World Relief Triad partners working to build relationships with Afghan immigrants through producing a message of holistic, sustainable change and welcome to their community. The Journey to Volunteering For Good Neighbor Team members Nancy Montgomery and Peter Jennings, they can trace their desire to…
Read MoreStewarding God’s Grace: Q&A with Andrea Sheldon Tshihamba
“Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.” — 1 Peter 4:10 When Andrea first arrived in Durham with her husband four years ago, she left behind a career as an ESL teacher. Burnt out and looking to apply her…
Read MoreA Reflection During Volunteer Appreciation Month
Along with the coming of spring and the celebration of Easter, April is when World Relief celebrates National Volunteer Appreciation week. A week when we recognize the profound impact of volunteers and the lasting change they bring to our communities.
Read MoreAlexis Dubreuil: Intern Reflection
I’ve always considered it a blessing to have been raised in an environment that exposed me to different types of peoples and cultures. I am one of a lucky few to have this blessing; the potlucks at my churches always presented a beautiful array of food originating from the Middle East, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean,…
Read MoreImpact Report: Key Metrics from the 2021 Year in Review
This year, the World Relief Chicagoland community continues walking alongside immigrants and refugees throughout Chicagoland by providing vital services through a community of staff, volunteers, church partners, grant funders, business leaders, and other individuals. In 2021, we remembered the African proverb: To go fast, go alone. To go far, go together. These words inspired the…
Read MoreFrom DRC to the 253: A blacklisted, exiled journalist hasn’t given up working for a better Congo
At his newfound home in Tacoma, Washington, Antoine Roger Bolamba has watched Chris Cuomo criticize Donald Trump on live TV. Seven years ago, working for Radio-Télévision Nationale Congolaise, the national TV station of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he could not have dreamed of criticizing his president. “In my home country, you will not…
Read MoreFrom Welcomed to Welcomer
At the end of April, World Relief will celebrate National Volunteer Appreciation Week, a time to recognize the impact and power of volunteers to “tackle society’s greatest challenges, build stronger communities and be a force that transforms the world.” Last year, World Relief engaged 8,430 volunteers and 873 church partners in the U.S. to welcome…
Read More14 Years of Volunteering
When Karen first heard of Word Relief in 2008, she thought to herself, “What is that?” Once she realized there was a need for donations, she gathered some towels and home goods left over from her move and brought them to the agency. Karen drove a Volkswagen van. The man who met her at the…
Read MorePartner Spotlight: Greg & Olivia Evans on “Who is my neighbor?”
When their children were school-age and began attending the neighborhood school right around the corner, Greg and Olivia Evans quickly realized something. The students their children were sitting next to in class did not look like them. From a distance, they watched school counselors and teachers meeting the needs of recently resettled refugees. They saw…
Read MoreStarting Small
It’s Volunteer Appreciation Month! Here’s to our dedicated volunteers and all the work they do to make a difference in our community. A new role When Leah Lesh learned about the many refugee families living in the Quad Cities through an event at her local church, she realized she needed to help these families any…
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