Congratulations Yolanda!

January 29, 2025 0 Comments

We’re really excited to share with you that Yolanda Bansah, who has been CVRAN’s Volunteer Coordinator since last fall, has received the National John Lewis Youth Leadership Award! Yolanda was one of two young Vermonters to receive the award from the Vermont Secretary of State. Please join in us in congratulating her! You can learn …

Looking For March Arts Marathon Artists!

several brightly colored paintbrushes. Image: Rhondak Native Florida Folk Artist, Unsplash.com
January 22, 2025 0 Comments

PLEASE share this post with artists, writers, and creators you know! The Marathon is our main fundraiser, helping us help new Vermonters. Are you an artist, creator, or a writer? Do you know someone who is? The Central Vermont Refugee Action Network (CVRAN) invites painters, writers, poets, musicians, fabric and multimedia artists, sculptors, and photographers …

Come In Out Of The Cold Tuesday Night!

January 20, 2025 0 Comments

At 5pm, join us for the first 2025 general meeting of CVRAN (the Central Vermont Refugee Action Network) and find a community of hope and action for asylum seekers and refugees. Report what is keeping you going, how you are volunteering or could volunteer, and hear what is happening in the broader picture with CVRAN. …

General Meeting, Book Swap, and Just Food Hub!

Pile of colorful books. Image: Kimberly Farmer, Unsplash.com.
January 15, 2025 0 Comments

Next week, CVRAN is holding our first general meeting of 2025. We hope that you’ll be able to join us and learn what’s ahead in the new year. The Just Food Hub will have their tasty ethically sourced food available for purchase. As in the past, a portion of your purchase from Just Food Hub …

CVRAN Advocates For Housing Bill

Woman holding a sign for housing as a human right. Image: Rachel Cogbill.
January 14, 2025 0 Comments

“Housing Is a Human Right “Vermont Es Mi Casa” (Vermont Is My Home) “Vivienda Sin Discriminacion” (Housing Without Discrimination) The cluster of speakers in the Cedar Creek Room of the statehouse held up eye-catching signs painted on cardboard cut-out houses in Spanish and English. These members of Migrant Justice were articulate about housing problems in …

CVRAN Discusses 2025 Preparations With the Montpelier Bridge

January 10, 2025 0 Comments

CVRAN has actively been preparing for changes in national immigration policy when the Trump administration takes over later this month. You might remember the call for team leaders and volunteers that went out in December as we prepared to take in as many people as the organization could manage. Rachel Cogbill (CVRAN President) and Kathie …

Local Discussion About Welcoming New Neighbors

Hands holding coffee cups. Image: Priscilla Du Preez, Unsplash.com.
January 8, 2025 0 Comments

Vermonters continue to share ideas and thoughts on how we might welcome new neighbors to our state. Here are links to two recent opinion pieces on that topic: Bienviedo – Let’s Welcome Our New Neighbors by Tom McKone (Times Argus, December 28 2024). Mexican Hospitality and Ours by Joseph Gainza (Times Argus, December 31 2024). …

Mark Your Calendars!

January 3, 2025 0 Comments

There will be a CVRAN general meeting on the third Tuesday in January. Come hear what is happening in the many exciting nooks and crannies of our organization. See how YOU can help make Central Vermont a welcoming place for newcomers: asylum seekers and refugees who have fled dangerous situations in their home countries. Join …