Lou Zeidan from Interfaith Action of Central Texas accepted check in the amount of $1,681 for our sponsored refugee family from the Congo, which is a family of 14 living in two apartments in same complex. Lou told us a little bit about the refugee program. The US has dropped the number of accepted refugees in the last three years, now only accepting 18,000 in 2020.
Anna Dukes and Veronika Atichson, our speakers from Strong Start told us about how the program helps Travis and Williamson counties families with children 0-11 years old. They tailor a curriculum to help individual families and provide therapeutic books to help parents help children process difficult issues. They are also partnering with United Way to get books into the homes to build family libraries. Strong Start is grant funded and receives referrals from doctor offices, CPS, and school counselors. Strong Start appreciates our support in providing books for their programs.