MAR 15 2022 Canopy’s In-Home ESL Tutoring Program Why It Matters: Canopy NWA piloted our In-Home ESL Tutoring program in July of 2021. The program was created to alleviate barriers for adult new neighbors who could not attend regular English-language-learning services. These barriers most commonly include: transportation, childcare, scheduling, as well as digital literacy and…
Read MorePersistence: Ghani’s Journey from Afghanistan to NWA
MAR 31 2022 Ahmad Ghani (Ghani) recently joined our NWA community from Afghanistan as well as the Canopy team as an Employment Specialist. We had the honor of hearing him share pieces of his story – from growing up in Pakistan, studying at universities in both Afghanistan and the U.S., working in Petroleum Engineering with…
Read MoreWelcoming 2022 Together
MAR 2 2022 Welcome to 2022, Canopy community. Last August, Kabul fell to the Taliban and the U.S. launched Operation Allies Welcome to evacuate and resettle vulnerable Afghans, many of whom worked alongside the US troops. At that time, Canopy stepped forward and said we would welcome 50 Afghan refugees in the coming months: the…
Read MoreCanopy Staff Picks: Favorite Books!
FEB 15 2022 Looking for a new 2022 read? As we begin a new chapter😉 as a staff and a community, we wanted to share a fun compilation of book recommendations directly from the shelves of our staff. This list includes some of our team’s all-time favorite books. We hope you’ll find something you’ll love,…
Read MoreSaw Wah’s Story: One Year Later
JAN 6 2022 Saw Wah, a new neighbor who arrived in 2020, recently celebrated his one-year anniversary of becoming a resident of Northwest Arkansas. We had the honor of hearing about his life experience as well as his perspective and goals just one day shy of his one-year celebration. Throughout our discussion, he recalled bits…
Read MoreCanopy’s Fifth Year of Welcome
DEC 21 2021 This December marks the five year milestone of Canopy’s first three refugee families resettled in Northwest Arkansas. This December, these families are eligible to apply for U.S. Citizenship. While we pause to celebrate this tremendous milestone, we also acknowledge that the start of Canopy’s fifth year looks very different from the previous…
Read MoreTogether in 2020.
DEC 21 2021 By Joanna Krause, Executive Director This year, we accomplished so much as a welcoming community. Together in 2020, we: Welcomed 23 refugees to Arkansas! Delivered 324 boxes of food, in partnership with the Outback Pantry, Seeds that Feed and UAMS. Held our first Plan It! Entrepreneurship training. 7 clients graduated this 12-week…
Read MoreA Local Entrepreneur’s Journey
DEC 9 2021 We had the honor of talking with Eca, a new neighbor who has worked hard to plan and build a business here in Northwest Arkansas. He spoke with us about his story, some of the challenges he has faced, and what keeps him motivated to continue through the hard times. Eca’s Story…
Read MoreA Warm Welcome from the Neighbor Next-Door
NOV 21 2021 James and Celi Birke, a brother and sister Canopy housing team, started their journey with a deep connection to a home and a desire to provide a warm welcome where it was needed – little did they know they would make dear friends and be welcomed, themselves, in the process. We had…
Read MoreSupport to Thrive: The Work of a Canopy Case Aide
NOV 10 2021 The Canopy team is deeply honored to welcome our new neighbors and offer assistance as they overcome various barriers and build new lives for themselves and their families in our community. Our incredible Canopy Case Aide, Malath, shared with us about the ways she and her team come alongside those who are…
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