PVNC Raises $27,500 To Sponsor Syrian Family

The Peterborough, Victoria, Northumberland and Clarington Catholic District School Board presented Sister Ruth Hennessey of Peterborough’s Casa Maria Refugee Homes with a cheque for $27,500 Tuesday (October 13th) as part of an ongoing fundraising effort to sponsor the relocation of a Syrian refugee family to Canada.

Barbara McMorrow (right), Director of Education for PVNC, presents Sister Ruth Hennessey of Peterborough’s Casa Maria Refugee Homes with cheque for $27,500

In early September, the PVNC community was moved by the Syrian refugee crisis to hold a board-wide fundraising effort. Working with Casa Maria, a non-profit organization that supports and offers safe temporary shelter to refugees, PVNC identified a family of seven who have fled war-torn Aleppo and are now in limbo in Saudi Arabia. Relatives of that family, themselves refugees who have recently relocated to Toronto, toured three PVNC schools in September to tell their story and put a face to the international refugee crisis.

“When we put the call out to our Catholic school communities and the staff at our board office to help support this family, the response was incredible,” PVNC Director of Education Barbara McMorrow says. “Sponsoring a family has offered our community a tangible way to make a difference in what is otherwise an overwhelming crisis.”

Casa Maria has now filed the paperwork for the seven family members, and the sponsorship process to bring the family to Peterborough is underway.

UPDATE: Here are pictures of the family members...

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