RENEW Family Literacy

RENEW Family Literacy is a program that provides English/Citizenship classes to refugees and immigrants. RENEW was quite successful this past season. They increased in the number of teachers and students. They went from having 31 students in the last spring season, to having 41 active students in the fall; and went from having 23 teachers from last spring season, to having 33 active teachers in the fall. RENEW had a total of 28 class days, with 288 classes taught by teachers and 370 classes taken by students.

New volunteers are always welcome!

RENEW English classes start September 6th from 10-12pm and September 9th from 3-5pm. Classes are FREE at Plymouth Church.

Some of the work RENEW is doing with our partners in the community.

Kids in the Kitchen Hubbell's Metro Kids students participated in Kids in the Kitchen, a Iowa State University program partnership with Plymouth Church to provide nutrition and cooking programming. Wednesday's healthy snack was a salad in a bag.

CROSS Ministries is a great partner in our community.

A special thank you to the Plymouth Congregational Church Homelessness Prevention Team for selecting CROSS as one of their charities. Shown are the youth of the church participating in a packaging event preparing school supplies for the children of low and no income families. Thank you for all that you do in support of this ministry!

Plymouth Church RENEW Family Literacy helps Central Iowa refugees and immigrants improve their English language skills. We offer small group and one-on-one English classes for adults just beyond preliterate to intermediate level. Our volunteer teachers help students develop skills in speaking, understanding, reading and writing English. We use materials and techniques developed by national experts for adult ELL learners. All classes are free.

A few new books arrived today. RENEW Family Literacy is as dedicated as ever.

On October 7 & 8 Plymouth played host to the Iowa Refugee Summit. Over 250 people showed up. It was an event where organizations could reach out to refugees and refugees could share their experiences.

Great article on refugees right here in Iowa. The article explains why programs like ours are needed.

Refugee from Congo speaks of challenges in Iowa City | The Gazette IOWA CITY - Being a refugee is hard. But there are ways to make it easier.

Our friends at DMU are hosting this fascinating film Monday, August 29th at 5:15pm. Refugee neighbors and community health care - the story of one remarkable clinic in St. Paul, MN.

RENEW Family Literacy RENEW Family Literacy seeks to build literacy among refugees In Des Moines.

RENEW Welcomes the new Syrian refugees to the Des Moines Community. We hope they find "this peaceful life" here.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/2016/06/20/first-syrian-refugees-iowa-seek-peaceful-life/85999580/

First Syrian refugees in Iowa seek 'this peaceful life' The Tameems fled a brutal war to find comfort in Des Moines; nearly a dozen more immigrant families will follow this summer

I'd like to promote Lutheran Services of Iowa as a strong community supporter of refugees. LSI is also a partner we have worked with to build community support for refugees in the Des Moines Area.
https://www.facebook.com/LSI.iowa/

Lutheran Services in Iowa LSI is one of Iowa's largest nonprofit human services agencies.

Need help getting your citizenship? RENEW Family Literacy has started offering citizenship assistance, and partnering with members in the community.
https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship

Thinking of becoming a U.S. citizen? Here are the requirements for citizenship.