Welcoming Immigrants and Asylees

Christ Church Riverdale partners with the Mission Society's Level Up program and ELLIS, a NYC public school specialized in teaching newly-arrived immigrants, ages 16+, in supporting immigrant high schoolers and college students. ELLIS equips students from the world’s most fraught communities – of West Africa, Central America, Yemen, Bangladesh and more – with a college-preparatory education.  Each ELLIS student comes to the US from turmoil in a homeland and with dreams. Volunteers  help with college applications, career exploration, networking and show welcome to the foreigners residing among us. (Leviticus 19:34)

On August 26, 2024, Monday, we had a heartwarming gathering of ELLIS students heading off to campuses around NYC and upstate, whose launch to a new school year and future is made possible by your partnership and financial support. 
In the photo above, you can see the broad smiles and relief — this year’s FAFSA snafus led the ELLIS students to a wrenching roller coaster of funding decisions. More than in any year, we enabled ELLIS students to embrace college acceptances at Ithaca College, St. Lawrence, upstate SUNYs (Oneonta, Albany, Buffalo, Potsdam), CUNYs (Lehman, Guttman, Hostos), Parsons/The New School and more, setting aside monetary uncertainty.

The reward for us was hearing how well we’re investing in these students’ future. Mazahar, after summer courses, is determined to be an architect. Raul wants to pursue law. Leonora will do pre-med with a biology major as she hopes to become a pediatrician. Shelian and Pamela want to be nurses. Lorens wants to study psychology. As we heard their stories and dreams, we also heard repeated comments of how they want to stay connected to ELLIS, the school that anchored them after the upheaval of arriving in the U.S. They all want to give back.

Our Kingsbridge/Riverdale community enters its 7th year of supporting recently-arrived immigrants studying at the extraordinary school that is ELLIS. Our volunteers and donors have a wonderful anchor at Christ Church Riverdale. We have a fantastic new community partner in Riverdale Neighborhood House. But before we jump into 2024-25 plans and programs, I want to express deepest thanks for all you've done already — gratitude that is expressed on behalf of those in the photo and many more who couldn’t be.