On July 21 during Meeting for Learning we discussed ways that we might be of practical assistance to those in need on our southern border. By practical assistance we had in mind the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 -- "For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me." Toward that end, Ministry and Counsel had asked me to be touch with Friends Meetings that are providing or working with groups to provide such assistance. After contacting various Quaker groups, I was put in touch with Friends from El Paso Meeting and Rio Grande Valley. Both groups of Friends are working with organizations that provide direct relief to those in need. They support them financially and as volunteers. Other Friends from across the US have come to these areas to volunteer with such organizations.

The Friends from El Paso particularly work with Annunciation House ( https://annunciationhouse.org/) while Rio Grand Valley Friends work with Angry Tias Y Abuelas (https://www.angrytiasandabuelas.com/). I encourage you to look at their websites to learn about these groups.

We also talked about other needs of those on the border -- legal assistance and so forth. The El Paso Friends sent a list of various organizations in their area that are providing such assistance. A list of those is at the end of this email.

We invite West Newton Friends (and others) to consider what organizations we might support individually and as a meeting. As a Meeting, we will discern together if there are any organizations we wish to support in the name of our Meeting at our August monthly meeting for business. We will also consider if such support would be appropriate for funding from the Carol Mills Outreach Fund.

Other Organizations 

The Coalition to End Child Detention -- El Paso

https://www.cecdelpaso.org/

Hope Border Institute

https://www.hopeborder.org/

Las Americas Immigrant Advocacy Center

https://las-americas.org/

Border Network for Human Rights

http://bnhr.org/

Detained Migrant Solidarity Committee

https://dmscelpaso.wixsite.com/dmscelpaso