The Welcome Center operates 7 days a week, requiring a community of volunteers to assist guests in the various areas of the facility operated by the International Rescue Committee. Volunteers are needed on Sunday mornings from 10:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. and on Thursdays from 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. – with additional positions opening up this summer.
Over 3,500 refugees have been served at the Center halfway through the month of April. Volunteers help distribute clean clothing, are attendants outside the shower area, serve meals, stock food service areas, and clean, clean, clean! It is bustling, 24/7. Contact with the guests arriving at the center is limited, simply because life at the center is ever-evolving, with guests arriving and leaving, sometimes on the same day. The work is rewarding, thank-yous are abundant, and hope permeates the air.
For more information contact Pat Riemer, Becky Klein, or Rich Doerrer-Peacock (contact info available through the SWC).
Items needed at the Welcome Center:
*Light jackets for children, men and women
*Large bags with handles
*Black and white shoelaces
*Disposable razors, combs
*Small, clean stuffed animals - especially Beanie Babies
*Over-the-Counter medicines (Advil, Pepto Bismol, Children’s aspirin)
Clothes:
*Men: jeans sizes 28-38, pullover short sleeved shirts (small, medium, large), new underwear (small, medium, large), sport socks
*Women: jeans or leggings (small, medium, large), short sleeved shirts (small, medium, large), bras (34-38), new underwear (5,6,7), socks
*Children: clothing sizes 5-16, new underwear (small, medium, large), socks
These items can be dropped off at Desert Palm UCC and will be taken to the Center on Fridays by their volunteers.