End of Year Giving: DWCC East

This Christmas season we remember that Jesus, Mary, and Joseph were refugees, fleeing for their lives. The Christmas story was literally born amidst a refugee journey, so surely there can be good news for us today among our refugee neighbours who have also fled for their lives.

Sam and Ruth Rodas-Kamminga, DWCC Neighbourhood Developers, are living as neighbours with newcomers in our East Downtown Community, a hot spot for both refugee and migrant settlements.

Refugees face immense challenges: adjusting to a new culture, dealing with trauma, leaving behind their community support systems, coming with no possessions of their own, or least of all transportation. Imagine how refugee families must feel when they enter our country with no guaranteed support for each of these challenges.

Sam and Ruth hear from newcomer neighbours that they miss the community they had in their home countries, they want to build that sense of community here in Windsor. 

Let’s give the gift of community this Christmas!

At DWCC, we are committed to creating a place of community for our refugee/newcomer families, alongside long-term Canadians.

Over the last year, Sam and Ruth have helped our refugee neighbours with resume writing, workplace preparation, educational tutoring, and relational support. 

They have made an impact on the community youth through the Youth Power Project (YPP), introducing youth all across the neighbourhood to become a community that supports each other. Transportation improved when Windsor Bike Kitchen provided each YPP youth with a bike, helmet, and lock, helping them get to school, visit the park, and shop for their families. A Block Party, in partnership with a Windsor Police initiative, SNAPP, brought neighbours from different cultures together for the sole purpose of connecting with their community.

Watch the video below
Sam & Ruth talk more about the community that surrounds them at DWCC East!

We need your support to help us continue making Downtown Windsor a good place to grow up and a good place to grow old for the refugee and newcomer families in our Eastside.

This Christmas, think of the refugee/newcomer families in our neighbourhoods. Give the gift of community this Christmas, with your financial support to our DWCC East initiative.