Front Row: Swedini Halliday, Norma Steven, Darlene Irvine, Ted Rickard, Allan Crowe & Christa Grillmair.

Back Row: Rev. Clare Holmes, Gerry Laporte and Patrick Maguire.

You can also visit us on facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/TrinityCARESNanaimo/timeline 

UPDATE - 1 JULY 2019

Dear Members of Trinity Catholic and Trinity United Congregations:

It has been a year since our newcomer family arrived on July 5, 2018. During this time, we have welcomed Azzam, Jorjet, Diana and Loland into our church, homes and hearts.

Because of your financial generosity, members of Trinity CARES were able to meet the family’s basic needs for the past year. In a spirit of solidarity, the Church of the Ascension Refugee Committee contributed $10,000 to help our family pay off the government travel loan. We also applied those funds to the purchase of a car and paid their car insurance for a year.

The family was learning English, Loland got a job as a barber at MVP Modern Barbers on Turner and Diana was attending classes at VIU. Then Jorjet became ill. We prayed for her recovery and supported all the medical efforts to fight the cancer, but on June 9^th, she lost the battle. The remaining members of the family must now carry on without her.

Jorjet’s funeral was held on June 13^th, followed by a reception. The Ministry of Social Services paid the basic cost of the funeral. With your kind your donations, all other expenses were covered. We provided a video of the funeral for their extended family and installed a plaque in Jorjet’s honour in the memorial garden.

On July 5, 2019, we reached the end of our official sponsorship. Our funds are now fully disbursed with the remainder given to the family to help them through this very difficult time. Although we will no longer be financially responsible for the family, they are a part of our parish community and they will continue to need our prayers and support.

Thank you and God bless you for your generosity.

Trinity CARES

UPDATE - 17 March 2019

Trinity CARES, a joint Nanaimo Ecumenical Centre committee with members from Trinity United and Trinity Catholic, was formed in 2015 to start the three-year process to bring a refugee family to Canada. The committee prepared all the necessary paperwork for the 12-month sponsorship, participated in various training programs, organized the fund-raising campaign, secured accommodations and furnished it with the help of members from both congregations. ALer a long wait, the Alsmeanee Family, father Azzam, mother Jorjet, daughter Diana and son Loland finally arrived in July 2018 and have become active members of the Trinity community. For the past six months, the newcomer family’s primary focus has been to learn English by attending classes at the Central Vancouver Island Multicultural Society and at Vancouver Island University to prepare them for life as new Canadians.

Christa Grillmair for Trinity CARES.

UPDATE - 24 JUNE 2018

TRINITY CARES:  Thank-you

Thanks to your generous donations,

we now have a new home ready and waiting for our family’s arrival. 
 
Come and join us on July 8th from 4-6 pm,  in the Hall to welcome our newcomer family. Snacks and refreshments will be prepared by Brad Luoma and provided courtesy of the Knights of Columbus.  
   And, if you are still interested in adding your name to our list of volunteers, please contact Sarah at the parish office at 250.390.2612. 

UPDATE - 17 JUNE 2018

TRINITY CARES: A few Items Needed       
 
Because of the very generous donations of our parishioners, we are almost ready for our family’s arrival but there are a few things we still need. 

In the foyer, next to their photo, is a list of needed items. 

Please take a few minutes to look over the list and if you can provide any of the items, please place your name next to the item and either bring it to church next weekend or call Ted  or Gerry  for pick up.   
 
Join us on July 8th from 4 from 4 from 4-6 pm in the HALL, 

to welcome our newcomer family. 

Snacks and refreshments will be provided courtesy of the Knights of Columbus. And, if you are stll interested in adding your name to our list of volunteers, please contact Sarah at the parish office at 250.390.2612.

UPDATE - 10 JUNE 2018

SAVE THE DATE
Our family is arriving July 6th and

we are planning a welcome celebration for them

on Sunday, July 8th from 4-6pm in the Lounge.

Snacks and refreshments will be provided

courtesy of the Knights of Columbus.

Come and join us and meet the family.
Thank you to those of you who have responded by
adding your name to our Volunteer List.

If you are still interested in adding your name

to our list of volunteers,
please contact Sarah at the parish office
at 250.390.2612.

 UPDATE - 27 MAY 2018

TRINITY CARES: Found a Home  Great News! 

We have secured a home  and are now in the midst of planning for their arrival  on July 6th by reviewing our to-do lists and checking our current list of donations (i.e., furniture, household items) to see what we could use to get the three-bedroom apartment ready for our family. 

We will keep you  updated. 

If you are interested in adding your name  to our list of volunteers,

please contact  Sarah at the parish office at 250-390-2612.

 UPDATE - 20 MAY 2018

 Our family is scheduled to arrive in Nanaimo  on July 6  and we are in the midst of finding  suitable accommodations.  Our budget is $1,500 and we are looking for  a 3-bedroom home. Any leads are welcome.  Please contact Gerry Laporte . Thanks to those of you who attended our  Volunteer Information Session last Saturday.  If you could not attend and would like to add your name to our list of volunteers, please contact Sarah  at the parish office at 250-390-2612. 

UPDATE - 29 APRIL 2018

After waiting for more than two years, our family
has received their permanent resident visa
and we expect their arrival within 4 to 8 weeks.

Many of you have asked, “How can we help?”

Now is the time!

The core Trinity CARES committee has done all the
preliminary work but we cannot do it alone.
We need YOU.

We have developed a Volunteer Information Program

that will help answer the questions you have asked.

Questions such as: who is our family;
what are the responsibilities of our sponsorship;
how do we manage expectations and what are some
of the potential roles for volunteers to help the family
establish in their new home.

The session will be held on
Saturday, May 12th, from 9:30 to 12:30 in Room 213
and is open to anyone who is interested in being part
of this community effort.

To register, please contact Sarah in the parish office at 250.390.2612

UPDATE  - 14 JANUARY 2018

Thanks to your generosity, our family received the
package of Christmas cards and they thank you for your
cards and prayers. We have now waited almost two
years for the Canadian government to grant them the
visa to come to our community and we are still hopeful
that they will be with us this Spring. The Trinity CARES
committee continues to prepare for their arrival and will,
over the next few months, be adding more volunteers.
Orientation and training will be provided. If you are
interested, please contact Christa Grillmair.

UPDATE 17 NOVEMBER 2017

TRINITY CARES COLLECTING CHRISTMAS CARDS

Last November, we collected Christmas cards from you to send to our family. This small gesture gave them hope and they thanked us for the many greetings and prayers.  Unfortunately it is now one year later. We have all done everything we can: all the necessary paperwork has been completed and the family had their interview with the Canadian embassy in Ankara. We continue to wait. To show them that we are still here for them, we are again setting up a box in the lobby to collect your Christmas cards and we hope to have a very large package of love and hope to send to them on December 11^th to ensure they get it by Christmas. Please write to Azzam (father), Jorjet, (mother) and their children Diana and Loland and continue to keep them in your prayers.

UPDATE 26 OCTOBER 2017

Members of Trinity CARES, with the help of our  translator, Feras, video conferenced with our family in Turkey. They had a successful interview with the  Canadian embassy and they thanked us for our  continued support and prayers and hope that they will be with us by Spring. We will keep you updated as we continue to plan for their arrival. If you have any  questions, please contact Christa . 

UPDATE 20 OCTOBER 2017

Here’s an update on our family: they had their first  interview with the Canadian Embassy in Ankara and from all accounts, it went very well. Based on this, we can anticipate their arrival in about 3-6 months. Now starts the hunt for accommoda9on and furniture. If  anyone knows of a three-bedroom apartment/ townhouse/house to rent that would accommodate a family of four (parents and their 19 and 21 year old young adults) we would appreciate if you would let us know.  We hope to find something for them at a  reasonable rate ($1200) so that once our 12-month  support is over, they will be able to sustain their home. Once we have secured a home, we can start collecting furniture and other items to prepare for their arrival. Our fundraising efforts continue. Although we’ve achieved our initial $45,000 target, prices continue to climb. If you’ve been waiting to contribute, please pick up an envelope in the lobby and drop it off in the parish office, or put it in the weekend collection.  We will keep you updated and ask that you please keep Azzam, Jorjet, Diana and Loland in your prayers.

UPDATE - 15 SEPTEMBER 2017 

Great News! Our family has now been called for an  interview on September 25th at our Canadian embassy in Ankara, Turkey. This is the next step in their application for refugee status. The process will  take a few more months, but we are gettng to the ‘home stretch’. Please join us for a Prayer Vigil for our family on Monday 25th   September at 7pm in the Sanctuary. Our fundraising efforts continue. Although we’ve achieved our initial $45,000 target, prices continue to climb. If you’ve been waiting to contribute, please pick up an envelope in the lobby and drop it off in the parish office or put it in the weekend collection.  Looking for a home for our family of four will be a  challenge but it’s a challenge that we hope you help us with. Do you know of someone willing to rent a  three-bedroom house or apartment to our family for a reasonable rate ($1200)? Trinity CARES will be  supporting the family for the required 12 months, but we want to make sure the family can sustain their home when our support ends. Once we have secured a home, we can start collecting furniture and other items to  prepare for their arrival. Please keep Azzam, Jorjet, Diana and Loland  in your prayers.  
 

UPDATE - 02 FEBRUARY 2017

Members of our parish community attended the community vigil and rally on Thursday, February 2nd at the Diana Krall Plaza in Nanaimo in response to Sunday’s shooting in a Quebec City mosque which left six men dead and many more people injured. Several local and provincial political leaders spoke out in solidarity and members and friends of the Muslim community shared their gratitude for the support. We ended the peaceful and somber rally by singing “This Land is Your Land” and observing a minute of silence for the victims and all who are persecuted for their beliefs.

As people of faith, we are continually challenged to stand up for our beliefs, especially at this time of intolerance and prejudice. Let us stand together in solidarity to spread our compassion and love. God wants us all to see one another as brothers and sisters and to live in a human family that is harmonious in its diversity. Let us ask God for the gift of mutual respect and peace.=

UPDATE - 06 DECEMBER 2016

The Family Christmas Concert on December 4^th raised $1257.95 in donations to bring the Trinity CARES Refugee Fund to $40,872.95. The Nanaimo Community Concert Band provided a wonderful afternoon of music and everyone joined in to sing Christmas Carols. Members of the Band donated their time and talent and the Trinity CARES committee is grateful for the support of their efforts to sponsor our family.

For the past few weeks, we have heard of the military operation to retake Iraqi’s second largest city, Mosul, which was captured by ISIS in June of 2014. Mosul is only 24 km from Ba’Shiqa where our family used to live along with more than 30,000 people. Many were able to flee the area, including our family. However, there are still some people stranded and reports show that ISIS is killing those who are trying to escape. Can you imagine what our family is going through, knowing that their people are being massacred?

We are so glad that our family fled to Turkey and are now safe and living in Ankara. We have been in regular contact with them as they patiently work their way through the arduous process of obtaining their approval to come to Nanaimo. Our estimated timeline is that they will be here by June 2017. Trinity CARES will continue to work to ensure their safe arrival and will keep you updated on the progress.

Please continue to keep Azzam, Jorjet, Diana and Loland in your prayers, along with all the people affected by this war.

UPDATE - 23 OCTOBER 2016

Our family is patiently waiting for the paperwork to be finalized. At this time, we know that their application is in the que at the Canadian Embassy in Ankara, Turkey, pending security and medical checks and we estimate that they will be here by late Spring 2017. To help to make the family feel welcome, we are planning to send them a package of Christmas cards collected from our two parishes, Catholic and United, and hope that you will participate in this project. A box will been set up in the lobby to collect your cards from now until  mid-November. In the meantime, please keep Azzam, Jorjet, and their children Diana and Loland  in your prayers.

UPDATE - 02 JULY 2016

Thank you for bringing us to 78% towards our goal of $45,000, the funds required to bring the family here and support them for their first year in their new home. Some of you have offered furniture and other items. We appreciate your generosity but,  unfortunately, we cannot accept these unIl we have an arrival date. In the meantime, please keep Azzam, Jorjet, and their children Diana and Loland in your prayers.

On behalf of the Trinity CARES committee, we thank you for supporting this humanitarian project.

UPDATE - APRIL 2016

The Trinity Community Refugee Sponsorship Committee welcomes your questions about our joint Trinity Catholic and Trinity United project called Trinity CARES.

Trinity CARES is in the process of sponsoring a Christian family from Iraq. Our family of four, a mother, father, 20 year-old daughter and 18 year-old son, fled the only home they ever knew when ISIS invaded their town in 2014. Facing persecution or death because of their faith, they left everything behind and walked 75 kilometers to seek asylum in Turkey where they are now living, but unable to go to school or work. They are waiting for our help.

We launched on the weekend of the 24th of April, to raise the $45,000 required by our Government to help our family establish themselves to become contributing members of our community.

Your contribution will be used solely to support the expenses and maintenance costs of our family for the required one year. When you make your donation, please use the special envelope available in the Nanaimo Ecumenical Centre foyer so that we have all your contact information in order to provide you with a tax receipt. Completed donation envelopes can be dropped off at the Centre or placed in the weekend collections at Trinity Catholic or Trinity United Parishes.