Dive into an inspiring conversation with Casey Verderosa, who began her journey with Ithaca Welcomes Refugees (IWR) as a volunteer in 2019 and now serves as Executive Director. She discusses the positive impact of ICG’s scholarships on refugee families in Tompkins County, helping them forge new beginnings and build strong community ties.

In Conversation with Casey Verderosa: Strengthening Community Through Support

Tell us about IWR and what kind of services you offer.

Ithaca Welcomes Refugees is primarily a volunteer-driven organization, and was founded in 2015 as an all-volunteer organization. Now we have a very small staff who are all part time, and we help refugees and immigrants rebuild their lives in Tompkins County. We very much follow the goals each family sets for themselves and help them navigate their goals along their resettlement journey. We do that through three key programs.

Our Welcome Home program is focused on the pre-arrival and immediate arrival period. We’ve been collecting furniture donations since our founding, which has been wildly successful in helping set up households for refugees and immigrants. Last year, we also established our first housing aid budget, offering assistance in the form of security deposits, first month’s rent payments, and monthly rent subsidies.

Response Projects is the IWR program where teams of 2-4 volunteers are assigned to a family or individual long-term, with a 6-month commitment minimum. This program is about community members who are really dedicated to walking alongside people as they navigate new things. We provide support by connecting families to volunteer interpreters and drivers and making referrals to any community resources that are needed. For example, we refer folks to ESL classes, refer to community partner organizations who help with signing up for public benefits, help identify and go to doctors appointments with translators if needed and serve as an advocate, and ride the TCAT with new families so they can learn where grocery stores are in relation to where they’re living and so on.

Another key program we run is Global Roots Play School, which was founded in 2017, specifically because we were hearing from the  Response Project volunteers that many refugees were unable to attend ESL classes because they were taking care of their young children. Global Roots was founded to enroll children ages 18 months to five years of refugee and immigrant families to help address that need and this year 91% of those families are attending ESL classes, as we have coordinated the morning class times to line up with an area ESL provider. The school is also a nurturing, trauma-informed setting where children learn and grow.

ICG has been offering full scholarships to IWR families for over 5 years now. Can you speak to the value of this scholarship to IWR and how it supports refugee families in our community?

Summer Camp is a big need, and IWR has not yet created a summer camp tuition budget line item to try to help families out. But, it is a need that comes up, and thankfully, there are wonderful community partners such as ICG who have these scholarship opportunities.

This community support is really important; it enables people to keep working and to keep taking English classes over the summer. Childcare through Summer Camp is really essential for people’s ability to earn income and take English classes that will get them connected to the community and get those higher-paying jobs. So, scholarship support like this is very impactful and meaningful for this population.

Childcare through Summer Camp is really essential for people’s ability to earn income and take the English classes that will get them connected to the community and get those higher-paying jobs. So, scholarship support like this is very impactful and meaningful for this population.

Casey Verderosa, Executive Director of Ithaca Welcomes Refugees

(On a separate note, ICG is great! I have my son signed up for a week of summer camp. It’s a really wonderful and nurturing place that lets kids explore and get messy and be kids.)

Is there anything else people can do to support IWR?

We’re always in need of volunteers. We hold volunteer orientation sessions 2-3 times a year, and people can subscribe to our newsletter which is always a good way to learn about our needs lists and other activities. You can find information about initiatives like our furniture drives there for example.

Also, just being really good neighbors is so important. If you notice someone who doesn’t seem quite sure what they’re doing or where they’re going, just noticing if your neighbors need some support and offering that support can make all the difference. There can be a power imbalance between new and existing neighbors and helping welcome new residents to the community can make a big difference.

One of our volunteers met one of our older families that way. She was driving and saw a family walking down the road after they first arrived in the country. It was raining and they were walking away from the developed area of town, pushing a stroller. This woman stopped and asked where they were going, and then drove them to their destination. They have now been friends for years.