Do Good Roseville wants to support our immigrant neighbors in any way we can. We have had an outpouring of people who want to ‘do something’. We’re a little overwhelmed 🙂 but happy to be a hub for our community. It’s not possible to personally respond to all the messages in a timely manner, so we decided to make a list of all the things we could think of for people to do to support our neighbors thru this crisis created by the ICE invasion of our community. It’s a start.
You’ll notice there is nothing listed which involves direct contact (like delivering groceries) with vulnerable neighbors. That is because of the significant safety concerns. At this time, protecting people is the #1 priority, but there is lots we can still do!
There is much more than can be done, but we hope it’ll get you thinking about how you can use your unique skills and abilities at this time.
Thank you, thank you, thank you. We are stronger together!
Check in on those you know – without setting the expectation of receiving a reply or starting a conversation.
We found this FB post (https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1ApsNrVLJP/) which said “It can be tough to find the right words when you want to simply check in on a loved one. Our check-in messages without expecting a reply give you a great starting point. Use these messages to reassure and let them know you’re thinking of them, but to also make it clear that it’s entirely up to them if and when they want to take the conversation further.”
These are not all appropriate to this situation, but give you ideas.
Today’s call to action. Everyone knows the time is NOW. Not this afternoon, not next week, NOW. With that being said, for everyone, safety is the #1 concern. As we heard last night, our black and brown neighbors are not leaving their homes out of fear. Any effort which involves face-to-face interactions is fraught with fear, and the the real danger that ICE is watching and will use interactions to identify where people live, or even take advantage of an open door to abduct them.
The teachers are on the frontlines. We can, as a community, provide gift cards to the schools to give to families or to buy what they need. It’s not as heartwarming as bringing a meal to someone, but it is SAFE, and you can do it today!
So the schools are not inundated with strangers, you could
> drop off gifts cards at the District Center, 1251 County Road B2W > use this site to donate and Do Good Roseville will use every dollar donated to buy the gift cards.
https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/buy-gift-cards-for-schools
> mail a check to Do Good Roseville, 1161 Laurie Road West, Roseville, MN 55113. PLEASE add a note that the donation is for school gift cards.
Welcome Cards
Something we heard can be helpful is to make personal cards that can be given to our immigrant and refugee neighbors telling them they are welcome here and we support them. You can choose to give them to people directly or you can give them to Do Good Roseville to share with our community organizers on the front line of this work. Below is a chatgpt generated guide for how to write the cards.
If you want to have DGR distribute the cards, you can drop them off – anytime – at 1161 Laurie Road West. There will be a plastic bin the left side of the driveway.