CAZENOVIA — This fall, Cazenovia Welcomes Refugees (CWR) has been seeking community support for two major initiatives.

On Nov. 22, CWR Steering Committee members Kathy Bice and Carolyn Holmes provided updates of the status of both the “43 Lincklaen” project and the organization’s “Welcome Kit” drive.

The ongoing “43 Lincklaen” project is a collaborative effort to renovate a Cazenovia home for a “New American” family. CWR’s recently completed Welcome Kit drive helped support Afghan refugees arriving in Syracuse.

CWR is a community-based initiative that began in 2016 with the goal of working with resettled refugees as they integrate into American life. The organization also engages with Cazenovia residents to help create a welcoming environment for New Americans.

CWR includes representatives from multiple sectors of the community, including the Cazenovia Public Library, Cazenovia College, the Cazenovia Central School District, local faith communities, nonprofit groups, refugee resettlement organizations, civic organizations, local government, businesses, and private citizens.

The organization supports New American families by helping them to identify housing options and by facilitating relationships with employers, schools, health care providers, etc. CWR also organizes educational events in the community, which increase awareness of the global refugee crisis and the challenges refugees face as they integrate into American communities.

The organization is supported by and works in partnership with InterFaith Works of Central New York and its Center for New Americans, an agency that has provided resettlement and post-resettlement services to refugee families in the Syracuse area for over 40 years.

“InterFaith Works is our [fiscal] sponsor,” said Holmes. “Our [New American] families come to Cazenovia through InterFaith Works. Their staff works with [each] family for a period of time when they settle in Cazenovia. We are involved, but we wouldn’t be receiving the New American family if we weren’t working directly with InterFaith Works. When we have a steering committee meeting, we always have [a representative of InterFaith Works present]. It’s a real partnership.”

In August 2018, CWR celebrated the arrival of its first resettled refugee family — a Kurdish family from northern Iraq — in Cazenovia.

43 Lincklaen Project

Earlier this year, CWR, InterFaith Works, and Cazenovia College teamed up to renovate a house at 43 Lincklaen St. as part of CWR’s family resettlement project.

Owned by the college and located on the edge of the campus grounds, the two-story building was once used as a student residence; more recently, it served as administrative offices and storage.

According to Holmes, who serves as a CWR Steering Committee facilitator, the goal is to settle a New American family in the renovated home by spring 2022.

In the project’s infancy, students in Cazenovia College’s residential design class developed plans for a two-family house. They contributed ideas, technical drawings, and design and structural planning services to guide the renovation work.

“We initially thought we could do two families,” said Holmes. “[The students’ work] was very inspiring and exciting. It basically allowed us to move forward with this project without hiring an architect or designer. . . Ultimately, we went with a one-family [design] for a number of practical reasons. We decided the most important thing is to get a family in there and get them settled. . . We hope to maybe invite the students back in as we are decorating at the end.”

The renovation began at the end of October.

“Our construction company, Irvine Construction, which is owned by Nick Irvine, has been working really well alongside the college,” said Holmes. “Jeff Slocum, [Cazenovia College’s director of campus services], has been great. He just got a whole crew in there and they cleared the house. . . Jeanne King, [the retired director of Cazenovia College’s visual communications program], has created a kitchen for us. [We also] figured out a way to make an entrance into a middle room so we could make the living space a little more communal.”

Bice, who chaired the 43 Lincklaen fundraising committee, reported that CWR mailed out approximately 225 appeal letters to community members and received over a hundred responses.

“I think we had 106 responses from people who had donated, which, if you look at percentage of return on your appeal, is huge,” Bice said. “We are very happy with that, and we are very proud of the community for responding in this way.”

As part of its fundraising effort, Bice’s committee developed and distributed a list of some of the benefits resettled refugees offer to local communities.

According to Bice, one of the listed items explains that the arrival of resettled refugees can help revitalize areas experiencing declining populations.

“They are prone to be more entrepreneurial and they often start businesses and contribute to communities,” Bice said.

She also noted that the fundraising drive received an initial boost from grants awarded by the Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse and the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York Ministry.

According to Holmes, the $10,000 Presbytery of Cayuga-Syracuse grant may be used for any aspect of the home renovation, while the $5,000 grant from the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York Ministry is intended to fund the purchase of appliances for the house.

The CWR Steering Committee also contributed $10,000 to the 43 Lincklaen project.

“We exceeded our [$50,000 fundraising goal], and that allows us to have a little bit of wiggle room should additional costs come along,” said Bice.

Welcome Kit Drive

Earlier this month, CWR concluded a month-long Welcome Kit drive in partnership with InterFaith Works.

Welcome Kits, which include donated new or like-new items, provide refugees with the starting essentials they need to rebuild their lives in the United States.

According to Holmes, who led the local drive with her husband, Dave, CWR participated in the InterFaith Works initiative as a “collection specialty sponsor.”

In that role, the organization worked to put together the following kits: hospitality, personal care, bedroom, kitchen 1 & 2, bathroom, house cleaning, school, baby, and winter.

“InterFaith Works created the list of items for each kit, which ranged from household kits to school supplies kits to winter kits to baby kits,” Holmes said. “[CWR] did 20 complete kits . . . There was one kit called the winter kit, and that kind of expanded. A lot of people donated to the winter kit — a combination of individuals and local organizations. . . The [effort extended] beyond Cazenovia. One group from Chittenango participated, and their members were from Chittenango, Oneida, and Canastota. They showed up with about ten bags of winter items.”

Holmes added that CWR collected enough winter clothing to provide 50 individuals with hats, gloves, socks, and scarves.

CWR stored the donated materials in the St. Peter’s Episcopal Church carriage house.

The items were picked up on Friday, Nov. 19 by InterFaith Works, which will be distributing the kits to its newly arrived Afghan clients in Syracuse.

“Through the Welcome Kit drive, all kinds of people stepped up and became involved in CWR that had not been involved with the organization before,” said Holmes. ‘It ended up having a community outreach element that we didn’t anticipate at all, and it has just been wonderful. We have engaged with some new and different people, and we hope that they will continue to stay involved.”

To learn more about CWR, visit cazwelcomesrefugees.org.

For more information on InterFaith Works, visit interfaithworkscny.org.