GEARING UP FOR OUR BIG FUNDRAISER

We're excited to report CRCKY will again be part of the GoodGiving Challenge this year! The challenge starts on Tuesday, November 28th (Giving Tuesday) and ends on Friday, December 1st. This is our main fundraiser so we're counting on our supportive community to help us raise the funds we need to continue to operate. Look for our emails and texts in the coming days.

If you are in a position to do so, could you commit to making a monthly pledge? Even $5 a month can help. Your monthly donation allows CRCKY to plan and budget assistance. To donate online using a credit card, bank account, or PayPal click below.

To donate through Paypal, click below

Checks can also be mailed to:

CRCKY

153 Patchen Dr.

Suite 39

Lexington, KY 40517

COMMUNITY PARTNER UPDATES

One of our former clients, Alona (pictured above) offered to volunteer at CRCKY. Thanks to Alona's efforts, we are digitilazing all our record. That's close to 1,300 files that need to be scanned, uploaded, and shredded.



A big thank you to the wonderful volunteers at Berea College's "People Who Care". This group of student volunteers made food deliveries for us on a Saturday in October, giving our regular volunteers a day off. This is the most organized group we've ever worked with, they came prepared with background checks before we even could ask them for one. We hope they will want to volunteer for us again!

We have had so much support from the Jewish Community this fall, it has been inspiring.

Thank you to the Jewish Federation of the Bluegrass. Their JFB Giving Circle donated $3,600 to an emergency fund for Breckinridge Elementary families working with CRCKY and Breckinridge families. A special thank you to our Board member and Breckinridge FRC Coordinator, Mindy Woodall.

Not to be outdone, Temple Adath Israel's Social Action Committee donated an additional $2,000 to the Giving Circle Fund. They also gave and additional $2,600 for two months of rent for a family who is awaiting work authorization.

Many of our clients recently arrived to the U.S. They come to us with summer shoes and no coats. Though we don't have much of a selection, we try to keep coats on hand for clients who have none. We had almost none left, so we reached out to the Fayette County Sheriff. Particular thanks to Scooter Stein, who gave us a trunkful of coats while we collect more from donors.

A final big thank you to the Hartland Association's very generous contribution of gift cards for our clients. Due to their generosity, we received $850 in gift cards. These gift cards will go directly to clients in urgent need of food.

CRCKY PRO SE

LEGAL PROGRAM

CRCKY is very proud to have just begun a "soft launch" of its Pro Se Program for defensive asylum seekers. Our program will help clients who have defensive asylum claims, something that is desperately needed in Kentucky right now.

Asylum seekers come to the U.S. because they have a genuine fear of being persecuted in their home country. Many of them have come through the Southern border, entering the country after turning themselves into border patrol. They deserve to have their case heard and to obtain legal representation.

Unfortunately, with currently over two and a half million immigrants awaiting their day in US immigration court, there are not enough immigration attorneys to represent them. This is tragic because a client who has legal representation has five times the chance of winning his or her case as does someone who is unrepresented.

In Kentucky, no immigration clinics are taking new cases: the immigration system is simply overwhelmed. This leaves immigrants who need representation with only private lawyers to turn to, and they are costly. An average case costs between $4,000 and $8,000 here in Kentucky. That's a lot of money for someone who is not allowed to work until six to eight months AFTER their asylum application is submitted!

In response to this, Pro Se programs are sprouting up across the U.S. CRCKY is not a legal clinic, but our Pro Se program is training volunteers to help clients fill out their own forms, under the supervision of immigration lawyers. SERVICES ARE FREE to our clients, unless they are the rare case who has a job (and then they are charged on a sliding scale fee.)

During this soft launch period, only our Board members and staff will be working to submit asylum applications and employment authorizations, under the supervision of attorney Kirby Fullerton. Starting this spring, we hope to train community volunteers to do this as well. if you are interested in becoming a Pro Se volunteer this spring, please email [email protected].

We do want to give a very special thank you to Kirby Fullerton, without whose guidance and support we could not have launched this program now.



WE ARE IN NEED OF...

Many of our clients arrive in our office with little but the clothes on their back. We always need the following items:

• boots
• sneakers
• coats
• hats, scarves, and gloves
• twin size sheets,
• twin size blankets and comforters
• cutlery
• dishes
• glasses

Right now, we are in particular need of gently used men's coats and boots.

If you would like to donate any of these items, you can drop them off at our office on Fridays between 10:00 am and 12:00 pm. If you would like to drop them off at another day or time, we ask that you send an email to [email protected] to arrange a meeting. (We have a small staff and cannot accept donations when we are meeting with clients.)