Refugee Sponsors on Vancouver Island
900 Vancouver Street V8V 3V7 Victoria, BC, Canada

Our friends at HERE Magazine are offering their annual Employment Opportunity Exchange to newcomers next Tuesday, November 17th from 9:30am to 12pm. Newcomers will enjoy meeting potential employers from a variety of sectors and will be able to discuss the challenges and hopes of finding sustainable and meaningful employment in Victoria. Interested persons should register below to receive the online link for the Tuesday event. It is free, safe and a great opportunity to connect with other newcomers and future employers. https://www.constructionfoundation.ca/we/#

IRCC is launching a new program for skilled newcomers to built a pathway to professionals in their fields of experience or interest. Participants will need to have intermediate English skills and will need to register by November 13. After registering, participants will be matched to a local professional who will speak with them concerning their job skills and how to navigate pursuing their trade or skill. Please visit https://snapp.peacegeeks.org/ to register and learn more.

A beautiful documentary of newcomers settling in New Foundland. Although set in another part of Canada, the stories are very familiar to newcomers here on Vancouver Island. A beautiful reminder of why we continue to welcome families here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSCet8BhzyM

We are honoured and extremely thankful to the The Victoria Foundation for recently awarding us the Community Recovery Program Grant. The Refugee Sponsorship Program offers hope when none can be found. We have seen families wait and then we have seen them come. We have seen mothers weep and then we have seen them rejoice. This work is not our own. But it is a joint effort of those that believe in the power of reconciliation, of healing, of dignity, and of hope. Thank you, Victoria Foundation.

The Gordon Head Refugee Sponsorship Group is fundraising for their support of a multi-generational family of eight living in Jordon. Locally designed and printed, this beautiful t-shirt and canvas tote reflect the unity of caring for one another as demonstrated by Dr. Bonnie Henry's response to the pandemic. Please visit the group's page for more information (http://www.ghrscg.org/home/) and shop (https://gherkins-care-2020.myshopify.com/) to support refugees.

To all parents, Vancouver Island Counselling Centre for Immigrants and Refugees - VICCIR is offering a new parenting workshop series on how to navigate parenting in a new culture amidst COVID-19. Currently the workshops are only offered in English, with Arabic and Spanish workshops to be led in the future. Please contact Ana Pavon if interested.

Back to school means back to learning! Sharpen your computers, because RSTP is opening registration for their online course entitled Introduction to the Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program which begins September 14, 2020. If you've done 20 sponsorships or none, I highly encourage you attend and learn what the process really looks like. You must register with RSTP before you can sign up for the course. It is also free! https://etraining.rstp.ca/