Thank you to all of our donors for making the 2019 IRIS Holiday Gift Drive a success!
IRIS thanks Ralph Mendersheusen and The Guemes Immigrant Support Team for their Support!
About GIST, a local group recently created to support immigrants:
“As a newcomer to the island I started asking about making food donations to immigrants and migrants. A small group of volunteers decided to create the Guemes Immigrant Support Team or GIST, with a mission to support local immigrant groups. We recently had our first fundraiser dinner, “The Fiesta de los Amigos” and it was a huge success.
Thanks to Anne Schreivogel, we found speakers for the event, Marta Martinez Olivera, and Guillermina Bazante, two young and engaged women who are far closer to the realities of immigrant life than ourselves. A wool sock drive was added to the event as well as a raffle for COA Restaurant(s) gift cards, partially donated by the restaurant. There were several local collaborators including a church and the ferry service.
We worked both sides of the ferry line. The money we raised went to four groups and IRIS was one of them. The evening brought about eighty people together, about ten of whom were from Anacortes and a total of over $6200 was raised. Dozens more donated in the ferry line or by checks mailed to the Church. Our speakers were very different, but equally powerful. The enchiladas were a hit. Every dollar raised was for immigrant support and while this is a drop in the bucket, we feel better for having shown support to hard working people with our money, effort and numbers.” Ralph Mendersheusen, Guemes Island Community Member and IRIS supporter.
Art for the Heart will wrap up this Saturday, December 28th with a final showing and reception from 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. at 1814 M Avenue, Anacortes, WA 98221.
Representatives from benefiting non-profits including IRIS will be there to answer questions. Come enjoy incredible art and refreshments and support IRIS and other local partner non-profits.