From the Michigan Darfur Coalition email update:

December 8, 2009

Hello Friends,

There is a lot going on this month all around the state.

Let’s start in Lansing where St. Vincent Catholic Charities is awaiting the arrival of refugees from Darfur, sometime after the New Year. Are you interested in volunteering to help resettle a refugee? When refugees come from places like Sudan, they often need help with how to pay bills, how to find employment, how to use public transportation, registering for school, etc. There is going to be a training session for new volunteers at St. Vincent in January. Tashmica Clemons is MDC’s Lansing coordinator in charge of this volunteer effort. Send Tashmica a message at glassb0x@yahoo.com if you are interested in learning more about this important opportunity.

Detroit area supporters of the Michigan Darfur Coalition are invited to participate in a fund-raising event this Monday, December 14, 2009. Have your lunch, dinner, or Monday Night Football outing at Buffalo Wild Wings in Southgate (13655 Eureka Dr). 20% of your purchase will be donated to the MDC if you give the waitstaff the MDC coupon which can be found on the MDC website events page. Just download and print the coupon and take it with you!

Finally, we wanted to let you know what two of our partners have accomplished this past month. First, in Muskegon, the North Muskegon Middle School community has formed a non-profit organization called Donate Pennies. This month the organization was able to send the MDC a generous gift equal to tens of thousands of pennies they’ve collected. And, in Grand Rapids, the Temple Emanuel community held an educational Darfur event in coordination with the MDC where 100 people came. The Temple community raised awareness and funds which were donated to the MDC. Both of these significant donations along with the individual small donations that are made truly add up to make a difference to Sudanese people here in Michigan and in Sudan.

If your group is interested in partnering with the MDC please contact us. We’d love to hear from you.