Community Engagement
“Thanks for the opportunity. I felt so much healing and support within the room, I feel truly blessed.
Intercultural Awareness, workshop participant
The community engagement team aims to connect newcomers to communities and social networks. Programs include the Canada Connects matching program, group activities, conversation groups and mentorship, which allows participants to acquire knowledge and connections in the local labour market.
To foster more inclusive communities, we delivered intercultural awareness and anti-racism response workshops for schools, businesses, community organizations and the public. Amongst other community events, we collaborated in offering Cultural Cafés, a multicultural market, the Winter Carnival, World Refugee Day and CommUnity Power of One, held annually in commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination.
Volunteer engagement is crucial to our success. We are deeply grateful for the time and energy our volunteers contribute to supporting our organization and clients. Their dedication allows us to deliver these essential programs and create more welcoming and inclusive communities for everyone.
Youth Settlement
“The great thing about SNAP is how many different languages you hear and cultures you see. Some yours and some different. That is what makes it amazing.
Program,
Settlement Worker in Schools (SWIS) program offers a variety of services to help newcomers smoothly transition into school and the community. Settlement Workers assist newcomers by connecting them to social, cultural, and community services, providing orientation and information, and promoting cultural diversity and inclusion.
• Assist with school registration and orientation
• Provide educational information and guidance to students and parents
• Facilitate communication between parents and school staff
• Promote parental involvement in education and community engagement
SNAP offers a welcoming and safe environment for young newcomers to share their adjustment challenges and receive support. We recognize that settling in a new country presents unique challenges for youth, who balance the culture of their parents with that of their peers. Our program aims to help youth achieve a healthy adjustment and integration into Canadian society. We emphasize creating age-appropriate and enjoyable activities.
• Weekly after-school programs
• Special events and drop-in activities Summer program
“Red Deer Local Immigration Partnership was pleased to host Welcoming Week Red Deer in partnership with The Central Alberta Crime Prevention Centre and with funding from the City of Red Deer. Numerous events were held that allowed Newcomers to learn more about Indigenous relations, frauds and scams and participate in curling. We look forward to hosting Welcoming Week 2024.”
Dieulita Datus-Hall, Program Manager, RDLIP Red Deer Local Immigration Partnership continues to grow and build capacity for its partners. The RDLIP team has hosted numerous events in partnership or collaboration with other organizations including Community Power of One, Canada Day Citizenship Reaffirmation Ceremony, Welcoming Week 2024, and Indigenous Newcomer Dialogues. Red Deer Local Immigration Partnership continues to collaborate on research projects focusing on mental health, settlement, rural literature review and access to services for newcomers. The team looks forward to continued growth and expansion in the future.
Message from the Executive Director and Board of Directors
Canada continues to be one of the leading countries in attracting and welcoming newcomers. Besides offering safe harbour to some of the world s most vulnerable people, our country needs newcomers to support socio-economic growth projections for the coming years. The same is valid for our region, which creates an interesting competitive environment. Why would newcomers, whether with permanent or temporary work or student visa, choose Central Alberta?
We believe this to be a whole-of-society” task, involving all levels of government, both the private and public sectors as well as civil society.
Three years ago, we changed our name from Central Alberta Refugee Effort to Care for Newcomers, to better reflect and promote our purpose and scope in this environment.
www.carefornewcomers.ca
403.346.8818
We have again experienced a growing need for settlement and integration support and provided direct services to a new record number of newcomers. This annual report will show some key achievements in our ESL, Youth Settlement and Community Engagement programs.
Besides providing these direct services, we continue to maximize our contributions to creating a more welcoming community. Our leading involvement in the Red Deer Local Immigration Partnership is one of the core avenues for this.
We sincerely thank all staff for putting their skills, hearts and souls into providing the best possible services in their roles. Respect, Inclusion, Transparency, Collaboration, Encouragement and Innovation are our core values, guiding how we successfully execute our jobs.
And we thank all of you very much for your continued passionate support, whether as volunteer, Board, funder, sponsor, or partner in the community!
In total, this will help achieve the Care for Newcomers vision, that newcomers feel valued as contributing members of an inclusive Central Alberta.
Sincerely,
Frank Bauer Executive Director
Jessica
Legacy
Chair,
Board of Directors
Thank you to our funders and supporters and all other contributors.
