CFC News Center

Catholic Family Center joins The Center in Utica and presenting sponsors – Fidelis Care, CNY Arts, and Bank of Utica – to invite the public to join them in recognizing World Refugee Day on Saturday, June 20th, 2020. The Center has created a Virtual Run/Walk on behalf of refugee resettlement agencies across New York State to commemorate World Refugee Day 2020, raise awareness, and raise dollars. These agencies provide direct services to thousands of our most vulnerable, build community, support resiliency and honor the innate dignity of all human beings with their work every day. Partner agencies include:

• The Center, Utica
• Catholic Charities of Buffalo
• Catholic Family Center, Rochester
• International Institute of Buffalo
• Jewish Family Service of Buffalo and Erie County
• Journey’s End Refugee Services, Buffalo
• U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, Albany

Observed every year, World Refugee Day provides an opportunity to honor the courage of refugees and recognize their resilience in building new lives in communities throughout the United States. Although the event cannot be held in person this year, a virtual walk/run will be hosted that will allow people to participate from across New York State, as well as anywhere in the world! A "Walk in Their Words" will provide participants the opportunity to listen to refugee and immigrant audio stories during the virtual walk/run and hear the personal experiences and journeys of individuals from many different regions of the world. All proceeds will support the partner agencies, who have all been impacted by recent funding cuts, as well as by the current COVID-19 health crisis.

An exciting addition to the event will be participation by the band MOE, a progressive rock band on the music scene today—a quintet of world class musicians, whose creative output equals that of their longevity, a career spanning three decades and 24 albums. Al Schnier of MOE is looking forward to being a part of a positive message regarding refugees and immigrants and shared “I'm a big fan of the Refugee Center and would love to help". MOE's band members will be sharing their immigrant stories and connections to the community in Utica, NY.

Those interested should visit www.awalkintheirwords.org for more information and to register for the event. For a $30 minimum donation, individuals can participate from anywhere!

• Walk or run on your treadmill
• Take a walk or run in your neighborhood
• Run in the park, but please be sure to follow all County or State regulations, as well as the CDC’s guidelines of social distancing
• Receive a virtual gift bag with your registration!