Hello from your friends at Claremont Canopy!
We have been growing at exponential speed! Our canopy now extends even further throughout Southern California. We now are helping over 30 new arrival families resettle in the Inland Empire! That is over 100 people!
BIG Canopy news, we heard back from the IRS (after some delay with the government shut down) and Claremont Canopy is officially a non-profit 501c3 corporation! We are thrilled to have this very big milestone checked off the list!
The support we continue to receive from our community is AMAZING! In March, the Claremont United Church of Christ dedicated a weekend of their March Mission Madness program to support Claremont Canopy. The congregation generously donated supplies for the Yalla Baskets that we will deliver to our families at the beginning of Ramadan!
And just last week the Claremont Faculty Association awarded Canopy with the “EPIC Humanitarian Award” for our impact on the Canopy kiddos that attend our local schools.We are so lucky to live in a community that supports our mission.
We have had some tremendous family wins as of late! One of our families, after we helped them find steady employment, was able to save enough money to travel and be reunited with their adult daughter, who they had not seen in 7 years since they all fled Syria. On this trip, they were also able to meet the grandchildren they had never met in person. The pictures and video of the reunion had us all in tears. We are so happy to have played a part in this well-deserved reunion!
We also had our first Claremont Canopy wedding, the eldest daughter of one of our families got married last month. The reception was beautiful and the bride was absolutely stunning. It was a wonderful time and a real treat for us at Canopy to take part in traditional Syrian wedding festivities.
A big part of our mission is to network on behalf of our families and in January we saw firsthand how using our network can have a profound impact. One our families has an adult son that needed some assistance finding the right resources, he wants to get into the work force and also wants to find an educational setting that will fit his needs. We were able to use our network to get him a meeting with the local Department of Rehabilitation office and he was accepted into their program! He will be well on his way to his dream, finding a job and giving back to his new country. His family was absolutely thrilled and we all feel grateful to have found each other.
Our Canopy kiddos continue to thrive, two of our little ones were just recognized at their elementary school. One was named student of the month for her class and her sister was named most improved student for the month. Another one of our middle schoolers, who has become very active in after school activities and successful in her studies, was just recognized as student of the month for her 7th grade class. We could not be more proud.
The last 6 months have been a whirlwind of growth and opportunity. We continue to solidify our mission and try to reach as many new arrival families as possible. We simply could not do this without your support. On behalf of everyone at Claremont Canopy, we extend our deepest gratitude for standing with us as we help our new arrival families thrive in the United States.
Yalla!
Christy
Director and Founder of Claremont Canopy
