Vassar College Groups to Host Meeting on Assisting County Refugees

From Vassar College:

Vassar Temple in Poughkeepsie is hosting a meeting for interested faith-based and other community groups to learn more about refugee resettlement on Sunday, June 5 from 2-4 p.m.

“We want to help the wider community and other faith-based groups become involved in the effort to assist refugees in Dutchess County,” said Maria Hoehn, professor of history at Vassar College and the founder of the campus initiative, Refugee Solidarity. Hoehn started the group as a way to help students become involved in this growing humanitarian issue.

Rabbi Leah Berkowitz of Vassar Temple is proud that the temple joined the initiative. Jews, she said, have known exile, oppression and persecution, and her congregation wants to be part of the proud American tradition of “welcoming refugees and giving those who flee persecution the opportunity to build better lives here in the United States.” Now, she insists, “it’s our turn to welcome the stranger.”

Other organizations involved with this effort include Poughkeepsie’s Christ Episcopal Church and Masjid al-Noor Mosque in Wappingers Falls.

“Collaboration between a college like Vassar and local faith­-based institutions is a great first step to develop a larger initiative to help refugees,” said Hoehn. “We look forward to hearing from the community at this forum.”

The meeting will be held at Vassar Temple, located at 140 Hooker Ave. Further information is available through calling (845) 454-2570.

Vassar College Refugee Solidarity is a student and faculty-run initiative to support refugees, mobilize the Vassar community and its neighbors and increase overall education and awareness about the refugee crisis. Additional detail is available through the Refugee Solidarity web page.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.