NEWS AND UPDATES JUNE 2021
$9k raised during Ramadan to provide meals for newly arrived Muslim refugees and their families
Thank you for joining us to support refugee families during Ramadan, giving them the opportunity to worry less about affording food and more about continuing traditions and building memories in their new home.

Because of you, $9130 worth of $50 grocery vouchers were distributed to 36 families (183 individuals) this spring during the month of Ramadan.

THANK YOU!
Opening Doors' winter Afghan Women's Wellness Program
continues to grow, serving more women
Opening Doors is pleased to announce that the Afghan Women's Wellness Program continues to grow, expanding into two separate weekly groups for the Winter 2021 session and supporting more than 40 women through the 12-week program.

These sessions are designed to address social isolation, destigmatize mental health, increase empowerment, and focus on wellness in all areas of life.

Program successes include:

  • 41 women participated in the program

  • 21 women successfully completed the program by meeting attendance requirements and achieving the goals set at the beginning of the program

  • An additional 8 women achieved their goals

  • 12 women enrolled in ESL classes at Highlands, a free public ESL school for adults

  • 4 women enrolled in classes at American River College

  • 1 woman referred to Opening Doors' Economic Prosperity program to launch her own small bakery business

  • 4 women began one-on-one counseling with Opening Doors licensed therapist

  • 5 women without healthcare coverage referred to Shifa Community Clinic for vaccines and other medical services

In addition to the weekly sessions, Opening Doors health programs team hosted an additional 5 workshops on topics especially relevant to the program participants:

  • Lead poisoning
  • Online safety
  • Early child development
  • Social isolation during COVID
  • Mental health during Ramadan

To learn more about the Afghan Women's Wellness program please contact Health Programs Manager Hibatallah Hummadi.

Stories of Success from the Winter 2021 AWWP session:

“I’m thankful [to] Opening Doors for providing services for our family. I was able to accomplish my goals. I obtained a driving license and sought mental health help through their counseling session. I was going through family crisis and this program helped my family through it. I have so much good things to say and we wouldn’t have time to finish it all.” - MW

“Joining this program helped with my anxiety and feeling unsure about life. I had very difficult relationship with my daughter and this program and the help they provided helped me fix that relationship with my daughter. Due to COVID I lost my job and was lost on how to get help and connected to the right resources.” – SF

“Guidance received from this program allowed me to get my driver’s license and be able to get a job!” - NA

“In the 12 week’s program, I have learned a lot about how to handle my stress. I have been living in the States for less than a year. I felt isolated and felt like I didn’t fit in this community. This program helped me understand how to manage stress and care for my family. Also, I was able to provide for my family due to the food donation this program had.” -SA
Opening Doors invests in improving operational capacity
to expand and deepen our client services
We are excited to announce the newest addition to the Opening Doors team!

Amanda Taylor has been appointed as Opening Doors' new Development Manager. With twenty years in development, Amanda will be heading up Opening Doors' fundraising efforts and individual donor campaigns. As the agency continues to grow, Amanda will play a key role in helping us expand and invigorate our development program.

Amanda has been a development officer for Planned Parenthood Mar Monte, and, most recently, was the Program Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Greater Sacramento Area. As a volunteer, Amanda has served as a Board Member for Sacramento Employment and Training Agency (SETA). Please join us in welcoming Amanda to the team!
Stand with Sacramento's newcomers on World Refugee Day
June 20th is World Refugee Day, an international day designated by the United Nations to honor refugees around the globe and celebrate the strength and courage of people who have been forced to flee their home country to escape conflict or persecution.

We would like to invite you to stand with refugees by making a gift to help support refugee families. Your generous financial support will help provide resources and services for our refugee clients in the Sacramento area. It will allow us to assist in housing, food, health services, and several programs that focus on transitioning and succeeding in the US.

  • A $50 gift can provide an emergency meal for a family struggling to make ends meet.
  • A $100 gift can provide cookware, dishes, towels, or other essential household items for a family arriving with only a suitcase full of belongings.
  • $250 can provide employment training for a survivor as they work toward a life of stability and self-sufficiency.

A gift of $500 or more can make a real difference for refugee family who needs urgent support – like, help to pay rent or utilities, putting food on the table, traveling to medical appointments.
 
We invite you to walk alongside refugees, asylees, and immigrants working every day to make Sacramento a safe, peaceful, and hopeful place to call home.
Social Media Spotlight:
Opening Doors & Food Literacy Center share the gift of food
with healthy Ramadan-themed food recipe and demonstration

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