Dear Friend of RT,
Thank you for being a part of Refugee Transitions' community. We are thriving thanks to all the amazing support from our donors, community partners, dedicated volunteers, refugee interns, staff and board members. Over the last two years our budget has grown 30 percent, and we have tripled the number of students served. This year alone, 620 low-income refugees and immigrants from over 25 countries have received individualized home-based tutoring, classroom instruction, family support, or leadership training.
Just last night at our monthly training for our ten Community Navigator Interns I was so impressed as I listened to all the work our interns are doing to support other newly arrived refugees who have limited language skills. Soe Reh, a Karenni refugee who just one year ago was living in a refugee camp on the Thailand Burma border, is now receiving stipends through our internship program. He is developing skills that will enable him to become a teacher, interpreter, or family advocate.
Of course, we would not be able to serve individuals like Soe Reh and their families without the generous support from people like you. Please join us at one of our fall fundraising events. We will be holding a luncheon at the City Club of San Francisco (near Montgomery BART) on Wednesday, November 3rd and a dinner on Wednesday, November 17th at the Adobe Lodge at Santa Clara University. I promise that you will leave feeling inspired!
 | | Staff with Community Navigator Interns |
Once again we'd also like to take this occasion to thank all of our supporters and to honor the partnerships that have grown over the years between RT and socially-conscious individuals, communities, organizations, and businesses in the Bay Area. Thank you!
Sincerely,
Laura VaudreuilExecutive Director |
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Save the Date:
World of Difference Fundraising Events 2010
Refugee Transitions is thrilled to announce our Annual World of Difference events for 2010! Both events are coming up in November and constitute our largest events of the year, with over 300 guests in total attentance. We hope to see you there! We are excited to be holding our Benefit Luncheon at The City Club of San Francisco, and our Benefit Dinner in the South Bay, at Adobe Lodge - Santa Clara University. Please see below for details about each event, and how to RSVP.
 World of Difference Benefit LuncheonDate: Wed, November 3rd, 2010 Time: 12:00 - 1:00 pm Location: The City Club of San Francisco RSVP: Online or call 415-989-2151 Come join Refugee Transitions at our 6th Annual World of Difference Benefit Luncheon at The City Club! This is our largest fundraising event of the year, with over 200 guests expected to attend. Complimentary lunch will be served.  World of Difference Benefit DinnerDate: Wed, November 17th, 2010 Time: 6:30 - 8:00 pm Location: Adobe Lodge - Santa Clara University RSVP: Online or call 415-989-2151 Please join Refugee Transitions in the South Bay at our 2nd Annual World of Difference Benefit Dinner at Adobe Lodge in San Jose. Last year's first dinner was a great success, with close to 100 guests in attendance. Complimentary hors d'oeuvres and dinner will be served. A special thank you to CVPartners and the Presbytery of San Jose for helping sponsor our 2010 events:
Founded in 2001, CVPartners, Inc. is the Bay Area's largest search firm focusing on both direct hire as well as consulting placement.
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Seeking Additional 2010 Event Sponsors
 Please consider sponsoring one of our 2010 World of Difference events. These events bring together our wonderful volunteers, clients, staff, board members, donors and supporters as we share the highlights of our organization's work and plans for the future. The Benefit Luncheon in San Francisco and the Benefit Dinner in the South Bay constitute our two main fundraising efforts for the entire year, and without the support we receive from our generous donors at these two events, we would not be able to maintain and improve our programs for refugees and low-income immigrants in the Bay Area. Event sponsors will be recognized in our printed program, on our website and on our online invitations, which will be sent to over 1,500 individuals. There will also be a special tribute to event sponsors during the luncheon and the dinner. If you know of a company or firm that would be interested in participating as a sponsor for one or both of these events, please let us know by contacting Sandy Naing at sandy@reftrans.org or 415-989-2151. |
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Windmill Giving Circle
The Windmill Giving Circle was started in 2006 and is a group of mostly young professionals interested in learning about various local non-profits. Windmill Giving is based in Mountain View and hosts one non-profit organization each month to speak to its members about its work in the community.
It was a great pleasure for us to meet the members of Windmill Giving and share our mission and our work, specifically in the South Bay. Windmill member Jennifer Pence says, "It was an extremely educational experience; we learned so much about refugees in general in addition to RT's work in particular. Clearly, we could have had a talk three times as long and not exhausted the topic."
Thank you Windmill Giving for the opportunity to become involved with your wonderful group and for your generous donations. We look forward to working together in the future!
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Volunteer Insight: Paula Ciobanu
 | | Paula and Ranjana on the day of the wedding |
As an immigrant to this country myself, I found joining RT to be an amazing opportunity to give back to the community. I was extremely lucky to be assigned to a family from the same part of the world as me - Russia. My little tutee Sevda, 11 years old, brought only joy to my life. To this day I get tears in my eyes when thinking about her. Her family moved to Ohio a few months ago. What really struck me about her was her dedication to learning and to her family, her sense of humor, her love for her little brother and much more. I have high dreams for her, but most importantly she has high dreams for herself. We keep in touch to this day, and she will be in my heart forever.
Once Sevda and her family moved, I was assigned as a tutor for another family. They come from Nepal and have beautiful customs. I was very lucky to be invited to the wedding of my tutee Ranjana's sister. The whole festivity was at Ranjana's family's home. All of us girls helped with the preparation of the bride. The clothes that everyone wore were colorful and just beautiful. Everyone brought gifts and was served traditional Nepalese food.
Ranjana and her family are a blessing every time I go to their home. We usually do homework or read, but quite a few times I've taken either her or her parents to the beach, shopping, or just out and about. Her parents remind me of my own parents because they spend all of their free time together. And again, I'm being introduced to a new culture and I couldn't be more grateful. |
Bhutan: A Journey from Conflict
The "Inside Bay Area" section of The Oakland Tribune this month has several fascinating media pieces on the topic of Bhutanese refugees in the United States, and specifically the Bay Area. This resource is useful for any donors and volunteers who would like to learn more about the population that Refugee Transitions serves. Currently, over 10% of our clients originate from Bhutan. Please click here to view videos, slideshows, articles, and other media available on the "Inside Bay Area" website! |
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Join Our Donor Circle
Refugee Transitions would like to express heartfelt appreciation and gratitude to our donors and supporters. If you'd like to join our donor circle, please click here.
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Thank you to our 2010 foundation, government and corporate sponsors!
 | Larry Page from Alliant Credit Union Foundation with RT's Executive Director Laura Vaudreuil
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Click here to view a complete list of our generous 2010 sponsors. |
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