Members of the Portsmouth Abbey School Human Rights Club spent a day in Providence to visit Dorcas International, an organization that provides a multitude of service to refugees and immigrants in Rhode Island. Club members met with Shanice Goncalves, Volunteer Coordinator, and Katie Rose, manager of Volunteer and Employee services. Ms. Goncalves and Ms. Rose spoke with the students about the clients at Dorcas: where they come from, why they have left their homes, what their needs are and what Dorcas and their partner agencies do to assist them. They provided both a global look at the refugee crisis, as well as an intimate look at the personal stories of refugees who come to Rhode Island. They also spoke at great length about what students and teens can do to be of help, from the simple act of raising awareness by sharing both stories and factual information about refugees and immigrants in Rhode Island, to running collection campaigns for household items and books.
One of the services Dorcas provides is access to a clothing collaborative. While the clothing collaborative collects and distributes clothing for men, women, and children of all ages and sizes, they have a particular focus on providing work-appropriate apparel for low-income adults seeking employment. The Human Rights Club members, along with a number of faculty and staff members, collected clothing prior to their visit. In total, they gathered over 25 bags of clothing to donate to Dorcas.
