The Office of Community Partnerships has compiled a list of Local Relief Efforts for Haiti and Support for Afghan Refugees with up-to-date information as of 11:00 am on August 26. Please note that donation information is changing rapidly so for the most up-to-date information, please visit the organizations' websites or contact them directly. The Office of Community Partnerships does not have any additional information other than what is listed on the sheet.

If you know of any additional efforts to include on this spreadsheet, please email details to partnerships@montgomerycountymd.gov

The eighth annual Montgomery County Friendship Picnic will be held on Sunday, September 19 from noon to 5 pm at the Wheaton Regional Park, located at 2000 Shorefield Road. The picnic brings together people of diverse cultures and faiths to make new friends and to discuss ways to build a stronger community. See flyers for information and registration in English and Spanish.

The Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center is reopening its offices on September 7, 2021! The Center provides resource information and referrals for immigrants and families who need assistance in Montgomery County. The service is available by phone at 240-777-4940 and in person starting on September 7 at the locations listed here. Appointments (240-777-4940) are highly encouraged, though not required! Note that English (ESOL), citizenship preparation, and computer classes will remain online this fall.

Online registration will begin soon for the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center's Fall 2021 FREE online computer classes.

Please continue to check the website for the link to the application form or call 240-777-4940 for more information about these and other classes.

On Saturday, August 21, Montgomery County Public Schools organized its Back to School Jam at the Westfield Wheaton Mall. The Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center participated and shared information with many families. (See photo, left). Special thanks to MCPS for inviting us!

Find us on Facebook at GilchristImmigrantResourceCenter

Asian Pacific American Legal Resource Center is not currently scheduling any in-person citizenship application workshops. However, APALRC has access to a safe and secure web platform, CitizenshipWorks, which applicants can use and get free help from an experienced attorney in reviewing and drafting their citizenship application. Click here for more information.

The Maryland Bar Foundation's Pro Bono Program provides free legal services to low-income county residents in civil cases. Click here for more information.

HIAS Asylee Outreach Project offers free help connecting Maryland asylees (and T visa holders) with the resettlement resources and benefits available to them in the state of Maryland. Click here for more information.

Montgomery College (MC) offers free citizenship preparation classes online via Zoom. In partnership, Catholic Charities Immigration Legal Services offers help with the N-400 application for naturalization. For more details, please email

citizenshipprogram@montgomerycollege.edu or visit the website.

Quick Topics Training— Immigration Litigation, Significant Case Law, and Other Developments in the Field

September 8, 2021, 12:00 pm -1:00 pm (Online)

Introductory Training - Representing Children in Immigration Matters

September 23, 2021, 9:00 am - 11:00 am (Online)

Click here for more information and registration.

FIRN Inc. a Department of Justice (DOJ) accredited non-profit organization located in Columbia, Maryland, is currently accepting intakes for individuals residing in Montgomery County who need representation in their removal proceedings. Click here for more information.

The Language Access Program at Ayuda provides professionally trained, trauma-informed interpreters at no cost. Please email interpreterbank@ayuda.com with "Maryland Victims" in the subject heading to learn more and to add your organization to the list of those that will receive services.

CASA, in partnership with Montgomery County, is offering financial assistance to those who are eligible to apply for citizenship but cannot afford the application fee. Click here for more information.

MCASA's Sexual Assault Victim Advocate Fundamentals Training is an online training for advocates who work directly with sexual assault survivors in Maryland. The training covers introductory and advanced topics to provide a foundation for best practices in the field of sexual assault services. Live webinars will take place daily from September 7th - September 17th. This training series also includes self-paced online learning courses. Registration is free and open to all advocates and service providers. CEU credits are available. Please email info@mcasa.org with any questions. Click here to register.

Catholic Charities-Montgomery County is seeking skilled, self-directed volunteers who are willing to commit to one half-day a week for a year in critical behind-the-scenes roles to add additional capacity to their current staff. The roles might be organizing and managing projects in areas such as marketing or volunteer management, or helping to enrich programs for adults and children with developmental disabilities. The current volunteer recruitment period ends on September 15.

Catholic Charities will require all volunteers to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by September 19, 2021. For more information, please click here.

Molly Callaway will be retiring at the end of September after 35 years with Montgomery County Government. She was instrumental in nurturing and growing the Volunteer Center into what it is today — the county's central destination for volunteerism. Molly is highly regarded in the county as a expert on all aspects of volunteer management. She is the consummate connector, committed completely to strengthening the community and does so with grace and kindness. READ MORE

African Affairs Advisory Group will meet on Thursday October 14, 2021 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. For details and virtual link please email Harrieta.Shangarai@montgomerycountymd.gov.

African American Advisory Group -- For more information, contact

Asian Pacific American Advisory Group will not be meeting during the month of September and will reconvene in October. If you have any questions, please email Mr. Yi Shen at yi.shen@montgomerycountymd.gov.  

Caribbean American Advisory Group will meet virtually on Tuesday, September 9, 2021 from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. Members will be discussing current issues, including strategies for promoting Covid-19 vaccination and to fight hesitancy in the Caribbean community. A prospective CAAG member, William Montier, will attend as part of the requirement and to fulfill the prerequisites before being granted full member status. For more information, please email Rodrigue Vital, Caribbean American Liaison at rodrigue.vital@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Latin American Advisory Group -- For more information, please email Jessy Mejia Terry, Latino Liaison at jessy.mejiaterry@montgomerycountymd.gov.

Middle Eastern American Advisory Group will meet virtually on Wednesday, September 22, 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm. All are welcome. Please contact OCP Middle Eastern Liaison Arwa.ElBoraei@montgomerycountymd.gov for the Zoom link,

In 2008, Montgomery County was the first in the nation to proclaim September as African Heritage Month. (African Union Day is also celebrated in September). The 13th annual Proclamation of African Heritage Month will take place virtually on September 2 at 7:00 pm. The keynote speaker for the evening is Hilda Suka Mafudze, the African Union Ambassador to the United States. Click here for flyer.

The Ethiopian Festival, an annual event that draws thousands of community members, will be held on September 5 from 11:00 am to 9:00 pm at 1 Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring.

Festival activities will focus on the Covid-19 vaccine, testing and education. The Ethiopian community is the largest Continental African community in Montgomery County and continues to enhance its diversity through a wide range of cultural and economic contributions. Click here for the event flyer.

The Montgomery County Branch of the NAACP will hold its 46th Annual Freedom Fund Celebration on Sunday, September 26 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Martin's Crosswinds in Greenbelt. Click here for more information.

Vietnamese American Services (VAS) is hosting its 2021 Maryland Mid-Autumn Festival on Sunday, September 19, from 4:00 pm to 7:00 pm at 12621 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904. For more information, please see the Facebook event link. To reserve a table, please fill out this Google form. For sponsorship opportunities, email info@vasusa.org

For the past 20 years, the Korean American Association of Washington Metropolitan Area (KAGW) held an annual Korea-US Festival (a.k.a. KORUS Festival) in Northern Virginia to celebrate the strong bond between the Republic of Korea and the United States. KAGW is expanding this free public event to Montgomery County on Saturday, September 25 and Sunday, September 26 at the Westfield Montgomery Mall's Sears parking lot. For details, please visit the KORUS Festival webpage. Click links for sponsorship information and booth reservations.

Conflict Resolution Workshop for Spanish Speaking Youth & Families

Mondayt, September 20, 2021, 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm. See flyer for more information.

Healthy Living for Your Brain and Body

Friday, September 24, 2021, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm. See flyer for more information.

Dr. Amena Johnson, LGBTQ Community Liaison, was a speaker at the Montgomery County Women's Equality Day Centennial Closeout Commemoration on August 26. The virtual event marked the conclusion of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th Amendment, guaranteeing and protecting women's constitutional right to vote. Watch the program here.

Fully vaccinated MEAAG members and friends held an outdoor potluck in Rockville Town Square on August 1st. It was great to assemble in person, particularly for members who were appointed earlier this year to become better acquainted with “older” members.

To prepare the county’s welcoming of Afghan citizens recently evacuated during the U.S. military draw-down, MEAAG members have helped gather useful information and identify non-profits that support refugees and asylees.

Click here to read more about MEAAG's current and upcoming activities:

Check out the first issue of MEAAG’s e-newsletter. Please feel free to share your news and upcoming events for spotlighting in future e-newsletters!

Kate Chance is the new Faith Community Outreach Manager for the Office of Community Partnerships. She comes to this role with extensive experience working with faith leaders and houses of worship on a wide range of issues with a focus on interfaith initiatives. Kate earned her Master’s degree from the University of Oxford in the Study of Religion, with concentrations in Islam and Hinduism. She has a Bachelor of Arts from Flagler College, with degrees in Psychology, Philosophy and Religion. READ MORE

Please join U.S. Senator Ben Cardin for a virtual conversation with Montgomery County's

Interfaith Community on Wednesday, September 1, 2021 from 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm. Register here.

The Faith Community Advisory Group is calling on the interfaith community to express their willingness to help ease the suffering of so many. Refugee organizations in our area have great expertise in addressing such circumstances, but they will need resources of all kinds –– financial, human resources in the form of volunteers, food, shelter, clothing, mentoring, etc. Please read this message to learn more.

Follow the Faith Community Advisory Council on Facebook and Twitter.

U.S. Census Bureau is Hiring Field Representatives — Are you available for part-time work? Do you enjoy meeting people? Check out the Census Bureau! Become a Field Representative in YOUR area!

To help combat soaring unemployment due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Thrivers On The Move is seeking unemployed and underemployed sexual and gender-based violence female survivor immigrants from the Middle East and North Africa who live in the USA for a new intensive incubator program. This program is free of charge for participants.

Grant Management Training Online Workshop will be presented in partnership with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments and other regional partners. This program will be presented online, September 27-28, 2021 with on demand replay anytime through October 28, 2021.

On October 2nd, Montgomery County will host the inaugural "MOCO MusicFest." Performance and event information will be available soon. For latest details, please visit https://www.mocomusicfest.com/.

To submit your news and events of interest to those serving Montgomery County's emerging communities and neighbors in need, email complete details and/or a news release to the OCP Newsletter.