I hope that you are all staying safe and well. The last few weeks have been a whirlwind of events and activities that none of us could have ever anticipated. The response from our community to the COVID-19 Irish Community Relief Fund has been overwhelming and fantastic. To date, we have exceeded our fundraising goal and large quantities of food have been donated. This shows the incredible strength and unity of our community.
Now that we have sufficient funds raised to feed a large number of people we are expanding our aid to a hardship fund. This could help members of our community buy food, pay rent or bills; however, we can assist them to get through the crisis. Please see the link below to make a contribution.
Our volunteers have been hard at work. We have delivered a number of food parcels but have the capacity to assist many more families and individuals with our resources. Please share information about the relief effort with your networks, groups, and communities so that resources can get to those who need them. Our services are discreet and completely confidential. All are welcome.
We are also continuing to grow our virtual programs and have a number of exciting ones already up and running. We hope to expand them shortly with some information sessions and educational presentations. If there are any topics that you would like us to cover please email me directly. I would love to hear from you.
Please continue to stay safe and we hope to see you all again soon.
Emily Ashinhurst
Executive Director
Mondays from 2:30 pm - 5:00 pm via Zoom video conferencing or phone.
Do you need some immigration advice? We are now offering our free immigration clinic through Zoom video conferencing. Every Monday we have one of our Immigration Lawyers available to answer any of your immigration questions or concerns. All are welcome. Our appointments are confidential and can be booked via our website using the butting below. For those of you who are unable to access Zoom, we can also do phone consultations.
Self-Help Genealogy Group - Tuesdays at 11 am
Join our Genealogists and friends every Tuesday for a Zoom self-help group. This group is suitable for all levels. All are welcome. Please sign up via email to Nicola at nicola@idcphila.org.
Virtual Recipe Exchange - Wednesday, April 22 at 3 pm via Zoom video conferencing
Join us for some relaxation and ideas in our Virtual Recipe Exchange. Over Zoom, we will share recipe tips and tricks, from the quick and easy to the more advanced. In this fun exchange, we have had people from the global Irish Diaspora from the age range of 8 to 80 bonding over their favorite foods. All are welcome and participation is encouraged.
This week we will have a very special guest from London, 8-year-old Saoirse Gilmartin AKA Saoirse Smiles, who will demonstrate her Irish grandmother's banana bread recipe. Check our Facebook page for more information.
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/533532476
Genealogy Presentation - The Early Grey Scheme - Thursday at 3pm via Facebook Live
Irish Philadelphia's Lori Lander Murphy will give a presentation on our Facebook page about the Earl Grey Scheme. This was a program masterminded by Earl Grey, who was Secretary of State for the British Colonies between 1846 and 1852, more or less the entire duration of the famine in Ireland. Under the program, young girls who were resident in Irish workhouses were shipped out to the Australian colonies.
Visit our Facebook page here
Virtual Storytelling - Friday, April 25 at 2 pm on the Irish Diaspora Center Facebook Page
Tune into our virtual storytelling every Friday at 2 pm direct from Ireland to keep the young ones in your family entertained. Every week we will have a different story. This is suitable for children up to 9 years old.
