International Social Service-USA (ISS-USA) Awarded Two Grants from Jessie Ball duPont Fund to Reunite Separated Families Across Borders and Aid U.S. Citizens Abroad

International Social Service, USA (ISS-USA) has received two grants totaling $81,000.00 from the Jessie Ball duPont Fund . The Jessie Ball duPont Fund is a private organization that focuses its work on increasing equal access to opportunities and resources for those individuals who have been historically marginalized. The generous grants are particularly beneficial as families worldwide are faced with extreme uncertainty due to an unprecedented pandemic. The first grant will facilitate social services needed to reunify families separated across country borders and the second will assist U.S. citizens who are stranded overseas due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The first grant will be directed towards expanding the reunification of families in Guatemala and Honduras. Thanks to previous funding, ISS-USA has been able to provide social services to more than 30 reunited families in Guatemala, and continues to receive numerous requests for social service assistance.

The second grant will allow ISS-USA’s local partners to assist U.S citizens unable to return to the U.S due to the coronavirus pandemic. They will receive virtual assistance in order to gain access to services such as housing, food, medicine, healthcare and mental health services where possible.

View the full press release regarding the grants here .

ISS-USA Welcomes New Board of Directors Member, Alen Amini

ISS-USA is happy to welcome Mr. Alen Amini to our Board of Directors.

Alen Amini is currently a management consultant at the Bridgespan Group , a nonprofit firm that provides advisory services to philanthropies and nonprofit organizations. He also currently serves as the executive director of Wisconsin Microfinance , an NGO based in Madison, Wisconsin that provides microloans to entrepreneurs in the Philippines and Haiti. A former Fulbright scholar, he previously served as a high school math teacher and vice principal in Southeast Arkansas through Teach For America. Alen is a recent graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, where he served as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper and was the student body president, and the Dartmouth College Tuck School of Business.

To view our full Board of Directors, click here .

ISS-USA Welcomes New Fund Development and Communications Intern, Hannah Gallagher

ISS-USA welcomed a new Fund Development and Communications Intern for the Summer of 2020, Hannah Gallagher. Hannah is a recent graduate of Towson University , where she received her Bachelors of Science in Mass Communication with a track in Strategic Public Relations and Integrated Communications.

Graduating in the midst of a pandemic, Hannah is eager to utilize her degree in order to assist those most in need. Hannah plans to pursue her master's degree in Communication Management next Spring.

ISS-USA Bids Farewell to Fund Development and Communications Intern, Morgan Drayton

Earlier this month, ISS-USA bid farewell to  Morgan Drayton , who has completed her Fund Development and Communications internship. Morgan is currently working towards her J.D. at the  University of Baltimore School of Law and will begin a policy internship this Summer .

ISS-USA believes that being creative in a crisis will allow more cases to move forward even when we cannot be physically present. 

ISS-USA has developed guidelines for conducting remote assessments, including home studies, community surveys, and post-placement reports. If you have cases that need immediate attention, please send a referral to us at [email protected] or refer the case on our website . 

If you would like additional information about our process, please email Dr. Felicity Sackville Northcott, Director of External Partnerships and International Services, at  [email protected] . 

ISS-USA  has been accepted as an official charity partner for the  TCS New York City Marathon  on Nov 1, 2020 and has  five guaranteed entries  available for runners interested in raising funds for our cause. If you are a runner or know a runner interested in running the marathon for donations to benefit cross-border children and families, please email  Marie Blum, Senior Development and Communications Officer.

Here is a link to our website where runners can get basic information about Team ISS-USA. Thank you and we hope you can join us in running the marathon to benefit vulnerable children and families! 

Four ISS-USA interns are graduating this semester with master's degrees from the University of Baltimore - Hannah Pursley (top left), Alanna Hays (top right), Ema Makas (bottom left), and Tracey Fann (bottom right). The staff at ISS-USA could not be more proud of their accomplishments.

Attention social workers in NH, ME, VT, and Upstate NY : we want to hear from you!

 

ISS-USA is looking for social workers to complete occasional assessments with families in your state. We will provide you with guidance throughout the work and you will help us directly serve families who are seeking to care for their relative children in another state or country. Check out the description  here . Please contact Felicity Sackville Northcott at [email protected] for more information.

International Social Service is recruiting new partners! Visit the ISS website for more information or email [email protected] to express interest. Join our 90+ year old network of cross border experts!