CIES Joins The City of Calgary's Volunteer and Donation Management Committee

As part of the Syrian Refugee Project’s ongoing work with the Calgary community to support the successful settlement of Syrian refugees, CIES is currently sitting on the Volunteer and Donation management coordination committee. Joined by a a number of other community minded organizations, such as Immigrant Services Calgary, the Calgary Food Bank, 211 Alberta, Centre for Newcomers, Calgary Catholic Immigration Society and the City of Calgary, and Chaired by Calgary Neighbourhood's Alison Kent, the group is working together to develop a community-wide process for improved coordination of offers of support. This support will come twofold, both in the form of volunteers and in-kind donations, to ensure organizations can 1) more fully leverage these opportunities in support of refugees and others in need and 2) that staff aren't overwhelmed trying to manage it all.

The hub for this information will be 211 Alberta, where one can dial 211 to speak to an Information & Referral Specialist, or search our online community resource directory.  With a shared document already in place, coordination and collaboration is already improving and changes and adjustments will be ongoing in order to fine tune the information shared amongst service agencies here in Calgary. CIES is proud to work together with our fellow community investors to work towards getting information and services to those who need it most. More updates to come next month!