Volunteers Working Hard to Make the Gala a Success

Looking for this session’s movies? You can find them at our Video Sharing Site, Vimeo HERE. Or you can visit the special page we’ve set up here.

The Movies without Borders Project is blessed with an especially dedicated group of volunteers– a fact that most of the students in the class mentioned in their evaluations of their experience. At left, Michelle and her sidekick labor all during the performance at Saturday’s Gala Premiere to get the food ready and keep the food platters filled. The Greensboro Historical Museum generously partners with FaithAction to provide space for our digital storytelling class Gala Premiere.

Volunteers teach the class, and also work one-on-one with the individual students so that every student, no matter what level of technical expertise they have to begin with, can make a movie of the story of their choice.

Board member Ernest Dishner and Movie-Maker Jean-Francois Llorens at the Gala

The movie-making class– renamed this spring “Movies without Borders” because of the wide diversity of the students we attract to the  class– takes place every Saturday for ten weeks. When we have raised the money for the next class, we offer it. The first Movie-Making for Immigrants and Refugees class was the fall of 2009. The latest class started in April.

The latest crop of students are just as diverse as our first class. We had students from Iraq (newly arrived refugees), Sudan, Ghana, India, Mexico and Vietnam.

Our movies are at our Video Sharing Site, Vimeo HERE. Or you can visit the special page we’ve set up here.

What time: 3 pm

Where: Greensboro Historical Museum
131 Summit Avenue
Greensboro, NC

Refreshments will be served after the show.

Join us for a late afternoon extravaganza to celebrate the movies created by the seven students in the Movies without Borders Project.  Our students for this round are from Iraq, Sudan, Ghana, Mexico, India and Vietnam. They tell stories around the theme of My Journey, and that journey can be geographical or emotional or a little of each.

We at Movies without Borders provide digital literacy tools so that our students, immigrants and refugees — here just this year or here for many years– can tell the stories they want to tell about their lives, their concerns and their unique perspective on their lives.

Please  join us for a great party and a wonderful celebration of creativity and joy.

Christine Hagar, a student from the first-ever class in movie-making, has been volunteering with Movies without Borders ever since. She was so touched by Arjun’s story that she wrote a song and then had it professionally arranged and recorded! Here’s Christine Hagar’s song about Arjun’s Film:

Friday, March 26
7 – 9 pm

Greensborough Coffee has named FaithAction International House their “Charity of the Month” for March.  Throughout the month, we have had a display about our work at the coffee shop.  On Friday, March 26th, some of our more musical volunteers will present an evening of music.  FaithAction will receive 10% of the total sales for the entire day.  We invite you to stop by for coffee and fellowship anytime.  We are very thankful to the following musicians who will perform for your enjoyment and our benefit:

In Order of Appearance:

7:00 Jean-Francois Llorens {French}

7:30  Amin Elhussein {Sudanese}

8:00  Francisco Cabrera {Spanish}

8:00 Victor Ortega  {Spanish}

Members of FaithAction's United African Sisters

New refugee families continue to arrive in Greensboro, primarily from Bhutan, Iraq and Burma. As in previous years there will also be Montagnards coming to Greensboro, most of whom will be joining family members who already are here. We also expect to have families coming from Central Africa, Liberia and Burundi.  The recent sudden closing of a refugee center in Thailand is forcing the US and other governments to receive refugees on very short notice, and many of these are coming into the Triad area.

Upcoming needs for adults and children which can be dropped off at FaithAction International House:

• winter coats for children and adults
• gloves, hats, and scarves
• underwear for children and adults
• socks
• blankets and comforters
• bedroom and bath linens of all types
• kitchenware including dishes, pots and pans, small appliances in good working order
• disposable diapers, especially in sizes 4, 5 & 6
• sanitary supplies

Please contact us at 336-379-0037 if you have questions or need us to pick up donated items.  Donations may be dropped off from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. weekdays at the FaithAction International House at 705 North Greene Street in downtown Greensboro.