CAZENOVIA — On June 19, Cazenovia Welcomes Refugees (CWR) celebrated World Refugee Day at the Cazenovia Farmers’ Market.

CWR is a community-based initiative dedicated to working with newly resettled refugees as they integrate into American life. The organization also engages with Cazenovia residents to foster a welcoming environment for refugees to live, work and attend school.

Observed on June 20 each year, World Refugee Day is dedicated to honoring the strength, courage and resilience of refugees. According to the United Nations, the day is an occasion to build empathy and understanding for their plight and to recognize their resilience in rebuilding their lives.

World Refugee Day was first celebrated globally on June 20, 2001 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.

“Ongoing war and conflict, devastating poverty, and targeted persecution in their countries of origin have forced refugee families to flee from their homes in order to live safely, without fear,” said Cindy Sutton, who facilitates CWR with Caroline Cargo and David Holmes.

This year, CWR participated in the global observance by distributing information, answering questions, and offering lists of Cazenovia Public Library (CPL) books on refugee resettlement.

“CWR celebrates this World Refugee Day in Cazenovia to raise awareness of refugees’ horrendous past experiences and their deep commitment to raise their families in safe environments,” said Sutton.

CWR grew out of a Common Grounds grant intended to support an initiative to improve the Cazenovia community.

Officially established in fall 2017, the CWR Steering Committee represents a coalition of local groups united by the belief that refugees contribute to economic growth and bring new perspectives and cultural richness to the community and to the nation as a whole.

CWR is supported by multiple sectors of the community, including CPL, Cazenovia College, the Cazenovia Central School District, local faith communities, nonprofit groups, local government, businesses, and private citizens.

The organization supports New American families in the community by helping them to identify housing options and by facilitating relationships with employers, schools, health care providers and others.

CWR also organizes educational events in the community, which create greater 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.

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

This year, CWR, InterFaith Works, and Cazenovia College have teamed up to renovate a building to house New American families as part of CWR’s family resettlement project.

Owned by the college, the two-story building is located at 43 Lincklaen St. on the edge of the campus grounds.

“With the village and local schools within walking distance, and campus resources nearby all providing an extended sense of community, the house is an ideal location for these residents’ new home,” said Holmes in a June 21 Cazenovia College press release.

Renovations are scheduled to take place this summer and through the fall. The college once used the building as a student residence; most recently, it served as administrative offices and storage.

“The formalization of this agreement is truly a significant milestone, and I am excited at the possibilities represented in this partnership,” said David Bergh, executive vice president for Cazenovia College. “This college and this village have long, interwoven histories of opening their arms to newcomers and being welcoming places. This project brings to fruition a visible representation of that element of the community’s culture, and the college is dedicated to discovering and supporting more such positive local collaborations.”

Funds have been contributed by grants awarded by Cayuga Presbytery and the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York Ministry.

According to the June 21 press release, the collaboration involves the following elements:

Cazenovia College has agreed to allow the house to be renovated and to serve as rental housing for New Americans.

Students in Cazenovia College’s residential design class, led by Interior Design Program Director and Associate Professor Grace Tallini, helped design the home renovation as part of a class project. They contributed ideas, technical drawings, and design and structural planning services to guide the renovation work.

CWR plans to provide volunteer help and raise additional funds to assist with covering the renovation costs. Once the building is ready, CWR will help the new residents acclimate to and become involved in village life.

CWR is teaming up with InterFaith Works to identify residents for the home. The goal is to house secondary placement New Americans — people who have been living in the United States for at least a year.

InterFaith Works is also providing case management assistance through its longstanding refugee resettlement programming.

“The 43 Lincklaen Project represents a true collaboration of many different people and groups and has become a national model of what a community can do to open the heart of compassion, service, and welcome to New Americans,” said InterFaith Works President/CEO Beth Broadway. “We are so grateful to the college and to CWR for this forward-thinking action.”

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

Learn more about CWR at cazwelcomesrefugees.org and Cazenovia College at cazenovia.edu.