Isabelle Kallman respects the trials and tribulations that refugees and immigrants go through on a daily basis moving to a new country.
“It’s kind of hard to come to this country and you had no opportunities where you came from and then all of a sudden there’s a million opportunities,” Kallman said. “You don’t really know what to do, it can be crippling.”
The RISE center is located on 302 Burt Street in Syracuse. This is a great location because many refugees live in the area and can walk to the center after school. People living on the North Side of Syracuse can be shuttled to the center on their vans or attend their satellite office closer to their homes.
“We try to get as close to them [the people attending the center] as possible,” Kallman said. “Accessible by public transportation or sometimes you can walk here which is great.”
To help these people transition to life in America, Kallman serves as the Associate Executive Director of RISE, or Refugee and Immigrant Self-Empowerment. At the center, Kallman and her fellow members run programs to help immigrants and refugees adapt to life in America ad different stages of their lives. Young children can learn how to read and write, while adults can have preparation for interviews.
However, such programs involve funding. To help raise funds, the RISE center has taken advantage of Giving Tuesday, a national holiday across the nation. Through posts on social media, their website and word of mouth, the center is trying to raise $25,000 by January first. Specifically, the Women’s Empowerment program, of which Kallman is the director, is solely funded through donations.
The organization knows that they need concrete evidence to support fundraising efforts. Kallman and the rest of the team at RISE make an effort to show donors where the money is going. For example, donating $1,000 would allow the organization to buy gas for their van for an entire year. Or, that $1,000 could go towards securing a space for the Women’s Empowerment Conference in February.
“Through our advertising for Giving Tuesday – and the entire month – we try to contextualize how much your money means because I think it helps people to know, okay, well, I know exactly how much this costs and what they’re going to use it for,” Kallman said.
If you’d like to donate to the RISE center, you can check out their Facebook page or contact them at their website.
