And so she retired from a full-time job in public health administration and created a full-time dream position volunteering through the then nascent organization.

Jan began by tutoring a Syrian Mother in English but was soon assigned to a different family, whose many children needed help with English and the local public school system. Not only did she teach English to the family, just as importantly she also worked to help the family connect to the children’s teachers and to help teachers understand how an immigrant parent views school. So, mediating between families and school and modeling behavior for parents, as well as teachers, have been conscious components of Jan’s activities with her families.

Part of this has involved getting children into private schools and extracurricular programs, and in fact the Parker School has designated Jan as a board member and liaison to Syrian refugee families. In addition, Jan is helping adults prepare for the citizenship exam. Another successful adult “informal” educational activity was holding a monthly English language coffee klatch for Syrian mothers. Carefully planned with Mary Kopczynski to develop different vocabulary domains, the coffees also provided an opportunity for the women to talk with the volunteers about their lives and communities in Syria and to compare customs from their home communities with those in Albany.

Another quite different responsibility Jan accepted could itself have been a full-time volunteer assignment. Jan became the administrative head of Syrian Delights, the successful Syrian women’s catering operation in Albany that was becoming a thriving business with an extensive meat, vegetarian as well as vegan menu, until COVID struck. Jan was the business manager and supervisor, arranging licensing, scheduling, and financial operations. She capitalized on the food preparation activities to teach English food and restaurant vocabulary and professional health practices to the women who operated the business.

Jan threw herself into Syrian Delights! She put English signs on everything! She was there when the ladies cooked and when they became vendors at several of the local Farmers Markets, coveted slots which Jan helped to develop with two other volunteers. She basically became a food service professional, except for cooking the food, although if someone was needed to chop onions and mint leaves, she was all in with a knife.

In the summer, Jan learned that a father dreamed of growing his own vegetable garden. Jan immediately took it upon herself to help the family start their own garden in their backyard. She taught parents and children American gardening techniques and used this opportunity to teach them English. They learned how to measure fertilizer and lime, how to mulch; the children learned that worms in the soil are a good sign. She also helped the family create a flower garden. The family was very grateful and ecstatic to be able to harvest their own home-grown produce and enjoy the flower beds.

Anyone visiting the Urgent Refugee Issues Chat knows that whenever there is a request for help finding an apartment, creating educational materials, writing a resume, finding a resource or program useful to the families, Jan is always ready to contribute in a substantial way. She has taken children to Lego robotics clubs, dance and music presentations, soccer games and helped them experience the kinds of activities familiar to children growing up in the US. When certain schools requested that their students wear fabric masks, she got busy sewing and distributed 50 colorful masks. There are also the hours she has invested at DSS to get families the resources to which they are entitled, not to mention help managing medical appointments and communications with medical professionals. She sees helping the families becoming independent and positive forces in their neighborhoods, beyond the boundaries of the refugee community, as an important goal.

In sum, Jan is someone who has had experience with basically every kind of program or activity of the NY4SR organization. So, it is fitting that she is a member of the board. She is someone who has a comprehensive and detailed knowledge of what needs to be done and innovative ideas about how to do them.

From a personal perspective, it has been particularly gratifying to Jan to be welcomed as a member of the extended families of many in the Syrian community. It has also been very meaningful to her that her own family members share her familial connection with the families they have come to know. Jan feels this familial connection with the families has expanded and enriched her own life and extended her own family’s custom of volunteering and welcoming others. That continuity is deeply sustaining.

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Dave initially assisted the young men with homework help, social event opportunities, and starting a yard work business. Often, he found his most important function was just listening.

He notes that the energy among the group is contagious, and soon after he became a volunteer, his daughter joined as well. When she left the area for work, Dave took over the tutoring duties of the family she had been assisting. He is now helping his third family.

The young men he first worked with have gone on to college or found employment, and Dave has turned his attention to other projects. He designed and built an e-commerce website for the refugee women-run catering company Syrian Delights. Recognizing the need for easily accessible and understandable history and math lessons for newcomers, he created the website and YouTube channel TeachCove.com.

Dave likes that he has been able to become involved in so many aspects of the organization. He finds that whenever there is a lull in his volunteer work, he feels like something is missing from his life. He notes that NY4SR is really the embodiment of the saying “Think Globally, Act Locally”. Dave also serves on the organization’s board, where one of his duties is to represent NY4SR at group events, helping to spread the organization’s mission. It is a blessing to have David on board.

By Mary Kopczynski

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Amy joined New York for Syrian Refugees (NY4SR) after meeting a Syrian refugee family who arrived to the capital district early 2017. Amy realized she wanted to help this sweet, loving family acclimate to life in the U.S. She is very happy to see the family settling in nicely, with each member doing their very best to meet the challenges of life in their new home. Amy has also lent her graphic design talent to the organization by creating both the NY4SR logo as well as the one for the refugee, women-run catering company Syrian Delights.

Brian, a lawyer and lobbyist by profession, acts as a legal resource for NY4SR. His volunteer work with both the Afghan and Syrian refugee communities affords him the opportunity for a ‘reverse vacation’, allowing him to experience life in the U.S. from the viewpoint of a newcomer. Brian has also developed a close bond with the young man in the family Amy works with, whose own father was settled in a different country. Brian is happy to serve as a male figure in this young man’s life.

The Lucey’s are constantly amazed at the resiliency of the Syrian people. They believe it is important to look for God in all things, and volunteering with NY4SR helps them do just that. As Amy puts it, working with the organization, “… feels right…is never a burden…and has quickly become one of life’s great joys.”

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A native of Tennessee, Felice Gordis grew up in a European immigrant refugee family. As an adult she taught Developmental Psychology at the college level at several institutions throughout the country, finally settling in the Albany area to be closer to her grandchildren.

In 2017, Felice started tutoring English to a Syrian widow with 6 children, ages 12 through early 20’s. Felice quickly realized that in addition to language lessons, there were other ways she could help the family to acclimate and thrive in the United States. She began expanding her role to one of assisting the family in navigating the structures of American institutions. She also researched options, coordinated with a local dentist and found resources in the community to provide orthodontal services for two Syrian refugee children.

Felice has found her involvement with NY4SR to be very fulfilling. She describes the mother she works with as “kind, lively and outgoing” and the whole family to be “lovely and very interesting”. For Felice, helping others seems to come naturally. As she explains simply, “I look for resources, when issues come up.” She also finds the commitment and hard work of so many people who answer the call of NY4SR to be inspiring and reassuring.

By Mary Kopczynski.

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