Last week, I got to bring my Upstanders together for the first time in person since COVID, at the Mosque of Mercy, to meet and welcome the Al Taha family, who the kids and I first connected with in April 2021. There is so much awesomeness to this story, almost too much to put in one post! First is the fact that the Al Taha family is here, they have arrived to safety (a huge thank you to Grace United Church for their work on this), and we got to meet them. Also in attendance at this amazing evening were the youth from Temple Israel and the youth from the Mosque – our coalition of awesome kids who joined forces with us to fundraise and support the Al Taha family, representing kids from all different religions, kids who don’t identify with any organized religion, and LGBTQ+ kids, showing the world that none of these differences really matter. What matters is seeing each other at the heart level and supporting each other where we can. And then, Ash from the CBC was there to interview all of us and tell this beautiful story. Stay tuned for more on when and where this story is available! This evening will forever be one of my favourite memories. I am so grateful that I get to do this work.
We are still fundraising for the Al Taha family to make sure that they are very well supported for their first year here. You can check out our Go Fund Me here. World Refugee Day is Monday, June 20 – making a donation of any amount (every little bit helps) would be a great way to honour this day.