The Wait for Housing in New York City This summer, New York City is struggling to find homes for a record number of asylum-seekers. The city’s “right-to-shelter” protections are meant to guarantee a bed in a homeless shelter for anyone who needs it. With almost 100,000 migrants arriving in New York since spring 2022, the […]
Open Doors for Refugees and the Catholic Multicultural Center invite you to attend “A Reading with Najib Azad: Reflections of an Afghan Evacuee”. The event will take place from 7:00-8:30 pm on August 15 at the CMC (1862 Beld St, Madison, WI 53713, USA). Doors open at 6:30 pm. Light refreshments will be served. Afghan […]
Community gathers together at Olin Park On July 9, refugee families, OFDR volunteers, and other community members gathered at Madison’s beautiful Olin Park for Open Doors for Refugees’ annual summer picnic. “One of the things that we like about having this annual picnic is it’s a time for everyone to come together,” Sallie Pisera, an […]
On June 14, 2023, a fishing boat carrying an estimated 750 people capsized off the coast of Greece. At last count, 104 survivors have been rescued, at least 78 people have died, and hundreds of passengers are still missing. Nearly all those on board were refugees from Afghanistan and Pakistan. The International Organization for Migration […]
You’re invited to a potluck picnic! On Sunday, July 9th from 12-4pm at the Olin Park Pavilion in Madison, Open Doors for Refugees will host a picnic celebrating diversity and community. Come meet neighbors and enjoy an afternoon of delicious food, activities for all ages, and engaging music and dance entertainment representing the diversity of […]
ODFR recently partnered with the Aldo Leopold Nature Center to host a family nature day at Elver Park! Though the weather wasn’t what we’d hoped for, we are so appreciative of the families for coming out and the ALNC for their awesome programming! This event included fun activities about animal skins, skulls, and scat, in […]
ODFR’s “sewing machine lady” is Karen Cornwell, who for years has been gifting newly arrived refugees, seniors, and low-income individuals with sewing machines via a variety of organizations. “It comes in spurts,” she says. “In the past couple months, working with JSS and ODFR, I think we’ve delivered 20 machines to women from Afghanistan, the […]
ODFR couldn’t operate without its warehouses: when newcomer families arrive with little notice, ODFR & JSS volunteers collaborate, setting up apartments fast with donated furniture and housewares collected from all over Madison and stored in donated warehouse space. Here are five things you might not know about ODFR’s warehouses!
In his eloquent appearance on Channel 3000 to promote the 2023 Freeze for Food, Farhan A. shared the eight-year-long road to his dream job as a microbiologist at the University of Wisconsin. Farhan and his family fled Iraq and arrived in Madison in 2014, under auspices of the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) and Madison’s Lutheran Social […]
Update: Thank you, we are no longer taking applications. After seven years of operation, dozens of partner organizations, scores of refugee families, hundreds of volunteers, and thousands of supporters, Open Doors has grown beyond our ability to manage and operate as an all-volunteer organization. Accordingly, we are looking to hire a half-time Administrative Associate. While this […]
