The IRC in Turlock/Modesto is excited to announce a date and location for our upcoming Welcome Home for the Holidays party!

The multicultural party will take place at 6 p.m. Jan. 10 (a Wednesday evening) at the Assyrian American Civic Club of Turlock, 2618 N. Golden State Blvd., Turlock, CA 95382. We know that December is a busy time for many of you, so you’ll notice that we’re planning the event for January instead. As previously mentioned, this is a great way to make our refugee friends feel at home as they experience their first holiday season here in the United States. The IRC will match participants with a refugee family for whom they will be invited to purchase holiday gifts. Participants will temporarily drop off these gifts at the IRC to them inventoried and then have the opportunity to present these gifts to their matched family at a multicultural holiday party.

We have been extremely pleased with the enthusiasm for this event thus far! At the same time, we would love to have more groups participate. For those of you who have already expressed interest in supporting a family for this event, I will send a follow-up email within the next couple of days with more specific details.

This is a wonderful project for:

• Local schools
• Service clubs
• Area businesses
• Local places of worship
• Families of current and past IRC mentors
• Individuals who want to help make the holiday season a bit brighter for local refugees

As a reminder, we recommend spending a minimum of $100 on an individual, $150 on a couple and $400 for a family of six or more. We can pool groups and individual volunteers to accommodate family needs and sizes.

To partcipate or to obtain more information, contact Jonathan Partridge, Volunteer and Donations Coordinator, at [email protected] or at 209-238-3011.