Green Valley/Tubac Friends of Casa Alitas (GVTFCA) announces
PEACE KITS for children at the border
Hands-on service opportunity for children at Casa Alitas
Join us in a simple act of compassion by donating funds and resources to help provide Peace Kits for children, ages 1-18, who pass through Casa Alitas. The goal is at least 100 kits divided equally between the ages groups (see list below).
Local Borderland coordinators, Barb Lemmon and Kristin Wisneski-Blum, recently heard from Casa Alitas that Title 42 will soon be lifted and the number of guests being dropped off by Border Patrol and ICE will greatly increase, and is even now increasing beyond its capacity to house them all.
Here are some ways to get involved:
1) Donate $ to this effort online through the Peace Literacy Foundation by Friday, May 6. https://donorbox.org/peace-kits-for-children-at-the-border
100% of your donation will be directed to this project.
2) Volunteer your time to build the activity kits. If interested, email Kristin [email protected].
When: Monday, May 16, 2022 10am-12pm
Where: Borderlands UU Gallery,
Find more information and see updates: http://www.21cplf.org/peace-kits
Special thanks to Jerry Leggett and the Peace Literacy Foundation for supporting this project!
Please make your donation soon so supplies can be ordered and organized.
Thank you so much for your help!
EXAMPLES OF ITEMS THAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN KITS:
FOR CHILDREN Ages Toddler (1-4)
Paper- plain (4-5 sheets each)
Crayons (8 pack)
Coloring book
book in Spanish (board book or picture book) *
Small Stuffed Animal
Assemble contents into 2 or 2.5 Gallon Zip-lock Freezer Bag
FOR CHILDREN Ages 5-11
Paper- plain (4-5 sheets each)
Journal or 5 sheets Lined Paper
Crayons (16 or 24 pack)
Sharpened Pencil and Pen
Eraser and sharpener if possible
Coloring book
Small Stuffed Animal
Toy Book in Spanish *
Assemble contents into 2 or 2.5 Gallon Zip-lock Freezer Bag
FOR CHILDREN Ages 12-18
Paper- plain and colored (4-5 sheets each)
Journal or 5 sheets Lined Paper
Crayons (16 or 24 pack)
Colored Pencils (sharpened if possible)
Sharpened Pencil and Pen
Eraser and sharpener (if available)
Coloring book
Chapter book in Spanish *
Assemble contents into 2 or 2.5 Gallon Zip-lock Freezer Bag
Casa Alitas Peace Kit Building Event this Monday, May 16th 10am - 12pm in the Borderlands UU Galley
We have 8 volunteers and a few more chairs if anyone else would like to join! Kristin will be bringing all peace kit supplies.
Together we have raised $595 for these supplies with 100% of your donations directed to this project. Thank you! Each peace kit contains items like coloring books, crayons, paper, pens, and a small stuffed toy for a child to use while they are waiting at Casa Alitas or take with them while they are traveling. As a parent I would call this a busy bag and the time spent using these items can be a wonderful thing for both the child and parent! A gift like this will certainly bring more peace to an otherwise turbulent time for a child.
Another volunteer event is in the works for June so please donate so we can build and bring more peace kits to Casa Alitas. Please email Kristin if you'd like to be notified of the June volunteer event: [email protected]. More information about Peace Kits for children at the border: http://www.21cplf.org/peace-kits
The blessings pour forth at Casa Alitas
By Gail B. Frank
The children at Tucson’s Casa Alitas shelter are mostly silent, whether conditioned for safety purposes or from trauma they’ve experiencedInfants, barely a few weeks old, lie quietly in their mothers' arms. Toddlers with big eyes watch us cautiously. Some especially hungry ones get excited and jump up and down at the prospect of food. Older ones make no eye contact and appear withdrawn. Some try to stifle their sobs and refuse to eat.
At this moment we are feeding about 50 asylum seekers of the hundred or so from around the world we will feed that day. They arrive in small groups by bus from Border Patrol or detention centers. We are serving them outside under a tarp that shades us all from the 90-degree heat of the desert.
It’s not our usual routine, but we stay flexible and arrange the hot meals, rolls, dessert and utensils on trays and serve row by row. I am carrying the tray of utensils and cookies, so it is important to follow the hot meal deliverer so they can eat. In the midst of this chaos, young college students hand out paper bags to the children with crayons and coloring pages and a stuffed animal.
As I work my way down a row handing out my wares, I am surprised to hear a child wailing. It’s an unusual sound we don’t hear often. It’s coming from the entrance to the shelter where each bus drops off their next load. I cannot stop my serving to investigate, so I keep on.
When I finish, and my tray is empty, I make my way to the back of the tent where other volunteers are gathered. I see the cause of the commotion. A young father has arrived on the latest bus and is being swamped by hugs from his children, first the little wailing boy and now his older sister. She has wrapped her arms around her father’s neck, and he is hugging her so hard that he sweeps her off her feet. The young boy keeps crying, “Papa, Papa.” Left behind is the boy’s hot meal, his cookie, his bag of treats. All that matters in this moment is that his Papa has arrived safely, and though once separated, they are together again as a family. The scene is so raw and emotional that my eyes fill with tears at the beauty of it, and I need to avert my gaze.
As we helpers stand frozen in this moment, a young college girl who has just passed out the children’s bag of treats comes to us and says, "That’s a blessing, right there.”
Indeed it is, and we bask in the knowledge that in this chaotic world with so much need, we have the opportunity to do what we can with what’s in front of us. Surely, it is a small ripple, a drop in the ocean, in the sea of suffering, but we content ourselves with the possibility of what may come from this small ripple.