Would you like to be a part of a refugee sponsorship group?
The Qualicum Refugee Sponsorship Group (QRSG) is holding a public meeting June 14 regarding the possibility if a second refugee sponsorship in the area. The meeting will start at 7 p.m. at the St. Mark’s Anglican Church in Qualicum Beach
The purpose of the meeting is to answer any questions from those who may be interested in being involved in a sponsorship effort.
Carol Doering, QRSG chair, said when the group first started its sponsorship effort last year, it provided a questionnaire asking how many people wanted to be involved. She said a number of people wanted to help at an organizing level.
Doering said since it’s been more than a year since that questionnaire, members from the group phoned all the individuals to see if they were still interested in sponsoring at an organizing level.
Doering said there’s certainly enough interest to hold a meeting.
“If this is going to happen we need to have a core group of people to take charge,” Doering said.
She said it’s fine to have a whole community involved, but sponsoring a refugee family takes a certain amount of work from a small group of people. A few hours a week, she said, is not enough.
“If half a dozen or eight people say, yes, they are willing to make that level of commitment, then take they can take that ball and roll with it,” Doering said. “We will act as mentors.”
The core QRSG is currently fully committed to the Johdee family who arrived in Canada last year from a refugee camp in Thailand.
Doering also said if people are unable to attend the meeting, they can contact her at chair@qualicumrsg.org.