DJC Blog

The DJC’s sponsorship of a Syrian refugee family officially ended on March 20, 2018 after one year in Canada. It has been a milestone for our community and an amazing experience for us as volunteers with many rewards and a few challenges along the way. More information about this very heart warming, experience is below. […]

Last March 2017, the Danforth Jewish Circle welcomed the Syrian family of seven we are sponsoring when they arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport with their suitcases and five kids ranging in age from 1 1/2 to 12. Since then there have been many “firsts” and lots of new learning and great experiences – both […]

At this year’s high holiday services, Sharron Kusiar, the Chair of the DJC’s Social Justice Committee delivered this report about the progress of the Syrian newcomer family* that our community is sponsoring and who arrived in March of 2017. *We have only used first names and left out other details to protect the family’s privacy. New Year’s Sponsorship […]

The Chair of our Social Justice Committee, Sharron Kusiar, has two allotment gardens at the Leslie Street Spit and every summer she donates the produce of the second garden to a different non-profit. This year, the DJC-sponsored Syrian family is interested in cultivating Sharron’s second garden, and the Social Justice Committee is looking for DJC […]

As Jews, we can easily imagine what it was like for our relatives to come to Canada as new immigrants without a firm grasp of the language, culture, or local customs. Now fast forward to May and June of this year and think about thousands of Syrian newcomers and their families experiencing their first Ramadan […]

It has been just over two months since the DJC-sponsored newcomer family first arrived in Canada on March 20! Once the immediate settlement tasks were completed, we went about finding the family a permanent home. Since moving day, a tireless team of DJC volunteers has helped to orient, connect and settle them in their new […]

The Social Justice Committee is happy to report that we’ve found an apartment that will be a permanent home for the Syrian newcomer family we are sponsoring. Things have been busy but going well for the family in what will certainly be a gradual and long term adjustment to life here in Toronto! We are especially […]

We are thrilled to share with the community that the seven member Syrian refugee family we began to raise funds for to sponsor back at the 2015 High Holy Days have now arrived safely in Toronto. A small welcome team met them at the airport on Monday evening, March 20th, and, after a few hours […]

The Social Justice Committee has some very exciting and very recent news to share with the community — the Syrian refugee family of seven we are sponsoring and that we’ve been waiting for since November of 2015 has finally been approved to come to Canada and they will be arriving on March 20th — in […]

As the “high holidays” are now upon us, we would like to briefly update the community on what has been happening over the past year regarding the DJC’s initiative to sponsor a Syrian refugee family: Since last fall, when the appeal was made from the bimah to the community for sponsorship funds, with your very […]

As Jews, we can easily imagine what it was like for our relatives (and some of us) to come to Canada as new immigrants without a firm grasp of the language, culture or local customs. Then think back to what our first Rosh Hashanah or Yom Kippur services would have been like in Canada — […]

A t this past week’s AGM, Kathy Glazier, the Project Lead for the Syrian family sponsorship initiative, representing our Social Justice Committee, presented a report summarizing where the project has been thus far and what we can look forward to in the coming months. JIAS, our settlement agency, has recently informed us that the family […]

As the arrival of the DJC-sponsored Syrian family approaches, volunteers from the community came together on Sunday, May 15, to learn about Syrian culture, understand how trauma may impact the family’s experience, and consider how the experience of the team currently supporting a government-assisted refugee family may inform our planning and support for the family […]

In April, the DJC Social Justice Committee was contacted by the Welcome Project, a private sponsoring group working with government-assisted refugees (GARS). Unlike the privately-sponsored initiatives, there is little one-to-one assistance for GARS. When the Welcome Project group reached out to the DJC, eight volunteers stepped forward. The group is working with a small family of […]

Over the past two nights at the Passover seders you attended, did the conversation amongst your family and friends lead to a discussion of the plight of thousands of Syrian refugees and how they are strangers in many new lands? To get us thinking about the stranger that was literally or perhaps just figuratively at […]

In a recent article in the Washington Post weekend magazine, freelance journalist Robin Shulman writes, “In the United States — which has the largest refugee resettlement program in the world but does not permit private sponsorship — lawmakers and refugee advocates are watching Canada.” Read her thoughtful account of the settlement experiences of a Syrian family […]

Musings on a pre-Passover Torah study with Rabbi Miriam… One week ago, on Sunday, April 3rd, 13 people weaved their way through a Greek parade on the Danforth to negotiate an obstructed pathway to the Auditorium at “Beth-minster” for a Torah study session with Rabbi Miriam on the subject of “Peach, Refugees & The Jewish […]

Daily we are inundated with media stories and images of the plight of Syrian refugees in Europe and beyond. Watch this refreshing and revealing video about basic human kindness and connectedness (video is 22 minutes in length).

In April, the DJC Social Justice Committee was contacted by the Welcome Project, a private sponsoring group working with government-assisted refugees (GARS). Unlike the privately-sponsored initiatives, there is little one-to-one assistance for GARS. When they reached out to the DJC, eight volunteers stepped forward. The group is working with a small family of three: mother, father […]

As many of you know, the DJC community has shown an incredible amount of support — both financial and in-kind — for the resettlement of a Syrian refugee family who we are privately sponsoring. The Jewish Immigrant Aid Service (JIAS), our Sponsorship Agreement Holder (SAH), has advised us that they have recently submitted the family sponsorship […]