World Refugee Day Brainstorming

In 2016, Rocktown Rallies hosted a potluck to honor the courage and struggles of millions
​of refugees who are displaced worldwide.
Potluck attendees brainstormed together to answer two questions. Here is what your friends and neighbors think:

What can we do to make our community more welcoming for newly resettled refugees? ​

  • Help refugees plug into existing agencies, such as Skyline Literacy
  • Share the "good news" about refugees
  • Host and invite refugees to regular community and church-based potlucks. Plan a potluck picnic with soccer during the spring/summer.
  • Host an entry-level job fair
  • Get involved in the Refugee Resettlement Office's Linking Communities program and/or volunteer to partner with refugee families for mentoring
  • Participate in a "phones for refugees" effort to donate old phones and money with newly resettled refugees
  • Help develop volunteer organizing efforts at local universities to connect volunteers with service opportunities
  • Host local TED-style talks on issues pertaining to refugee experiences
  • Include refugees in the WMRA StoryCorps
  • Support local policies that benefit refugees
  • Develop microbusiness and "busines incubator" programs for refugees
  • Volunteer to make Harrisonburg welcoming for immigrants and refugees through the New Americans Project
  • Encourage property owners to provide low-rent accommodations for refugee families
  • Use social media to spotlight individuals and organizations making a difference for refugees
  • Open our homes to provide temporary (or even permanent) housing for refugees
  • Seek out ways to help refugees tell their own stories, rather than relying on impersonal data
  • Volunteer to teach, transport refugees, or provide child care for diving education classes
  • Volunteer to tutor children after school through the refugee resettlement office
  • Support local schools, and pressure City Council to provide expanded pre-K and bussing for after school programs
  • Help the refugee resettlement office transport clients
  • Encourage Massanutten Technical College to expand courses and certification classes 
  • Vote for Medicaid expansion in Virginia through the Affordable Care Plan
  • Donate working cars to the "Way to Go" program that provides cars for people who need them to get to work
  • Lobby state government to provide more staff for local Health Departments
  • Lobby state government for increased mental health services geared toward trauma
  • Support proposals to increase the number of family doctors, PAs and nurse practitioners that accept Medicaid
  • Support City Council initiatives to increase bus routes/frequency and taxes for public transportation
  • Encourage local DMV to provide materials in more languages and provide interpreters
  • Encourage the local Registrar to actively and openly encourage and support people who are trying to register to vote
  • Create a "home buying" program/workshop to help refugee populations and non-English speaking people learn how to finance a house
  • Donate money to local initiatives that support literacy and interpretation services
  • Volunteer to teach a class that focuses on cross-cultural cooking experiences
  • Develop a packet with local resources and Medicaid services for newly arriving refugees 
  • Develop a list of local restaurants and grocery stores that have food and ingredients from refugees' home countries
  • Develop a culturally-sensitive training about Western/American domestic practices to familiarize refugees with equipment and products they are likely to encounter in their new homes
  • Assist refugees in quickly establishing a bank account, and provide financial education workshops
  • Encourage the police department to prioritize community policing and cultural sensitivity
  • Invite people of different cultural backgrounds to lead the invocation at City Council meetings
  • Encourage City and County Schools to collaborate on best practices for supporting refugee students

What can we do to make a difference nationally or internationally in the global Syrian refugee crisis?

  • Vote!
  • Send money to reputable international aid organizations
  • Support supply drives that directly benefit refugees or people internally displaced in their countries
  • Seek out innovative partnerships, such as The Compassion Collective
  • Do research on best practices for making a difference
  • Be willing to speak up and challenge people's perceptions of refugees that are inaccurate and/or based on fear
  • Set up a pen pal/translation program through schools so that children can write supportive messages to refugee children in camps
  • Be willing to lobby policy makers and peacefully protest on behalf of refugees
  • Seek out partnerships with local colleges and universities with programs that have national/international reach
  • Host fundraisers that benefit international charities/organizations
  • Seek out opportunities to volunteer abroad with programs that support refugees
  • Be a savvy shopper and support companies that are refugee-friendly, i.e. Chobani
  • Support supply drives that benefit people living with refugee status abroad
  • Volunteer to register voters and lobby on behalf of policies that lower barriers to voting 
  • Educate ourselves abut foreign aid, trade, and immigration policies and they impact refugee populations