When refugees first arrive in Spokane, they have many physical needs and very little means of meeting those needs themselves. They often come with only one bag
of clothes and receive very little cash assistance from the government. They also have great social needs.A new city, new language, and new culture can often be so overwhelming that refugees go months or years before building meaningful friendships with the Americans around them. Global Neighborhood works to help meet these needs in a number of ways.
Free/Low Cost Goods – Global Neighborhood, has built a network of businesses, organizations, and churches around Spokane that work with us to make sure no refugee family we are working with goes without basic necessities. From food to clothing and furniture to computers, Global Neighborhood is taking care of people’s needs so they can get off to a good start in Spokane. If you would like to learn more about this program, or if you would like to make an in-kind donation, please email Ruth who is our Director of Physical Resources. Her email is: ruth@global-neighborhood.org
Volunteers – Volunteers are the foundation of almost everything Global Neighborhood does. Our goal is to provide our services through the medium of caring relationships. Not only are our services administered through our network of volunteers, our volunteers themselves are fulfilling what is perhaps the greatest need in refugees’ lives – the need for friendship. Volunteers help teach English, sort mail, babysit, and give rides to appointments. They also drink a lot of tea and eat a lot of great ethnic food. Almost without fail our volunteers benefit from their new friendships at least as much as the refugees do. If you would like to learn more about volunteering with Global Neighborhood, please visit the "Volunteer" section of our website, or email our volunteer coordinator at: amy@global-neighborhood.org
