 |  | ICNY's Hanadi Doleh at the International Conference on Cohesive Societies in Singapore | | Dear Friend, With 15000 asylum seekers arrived in NYC since the summer, help is needed from every quarter. The Office of Faith-Based and Community Partnerships is asking communities of faith to donate new children’s clothing along with diapers and toiletries for newly arrived asylum seekers (please see below announcement "Donation Drive for Asylum-Seekers" for drop-off sites). If your house of worship would like to join the *Adopt-A-Shelter* program, please contact ofcp@cityhall.nyc.gov. Please save the date for ICNY’s 40th Rabbi Marshall Meyer Retreat on the Housing Crisis and faith communities in partnership with the NYC Comptroller's Office upcoming on Dec. 7. Learn how your congregation can become involved. Contact Hanadi@interfaithcenter.org for more information. Since I wrote the piece, "The Moral Imperative to Close Rikers Island" in City Limits on September 13th, two other people have died and photographs of inhuman conditions in Rikers Jails have surfaced. Please join ICNY and our partners for a vigil at 7:30 pm on October 17th (location TBD) to memorialize all those who died this year while in city custody and to encourage our elected officials to keep the closing of Rikers Island on schedule. Do you know an emerging diverse faith leader in NYC who wants to build their civic and leadership skills? Applications for the next Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy Fellowship are available here. Deadline is October 23. For more information please contact Hanadi Doleh at Hanadi@interfaithcenter.org. *** *** *** | |  | The Rev. Dominique Atchison, ICNY's new Director for Racial Justice Initiatives | | The Interfaith Center of New York is proud to welcome the Rev. Dominique Chantell Atchison as our new Director for Racial Justice. As a faith leader who has spent her career at the intersection of faith, justice and public service, Rev. Atchison served the Administration of Mayor Bill deBlasio as the Executive Director of the Center for Faith and Community Partnerships from 1/2019-2/2021. She later joined the First Lady’s team as the Director of Faith Engagement. While in the Mayor's office Rev. Atchison was leading New York City’s faith communities during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, she worked as the Moderator of the 9/11 and Katrina Unmet Needs Roundtables at New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS). Rev. Atchison has also served multiple justice-oriented parishes including Abyssinian Baptist Church, Judson Memorial Church and Fort Washington Collegiate Church. At ICNY, Rev. Atchison will be continuing work set out in our Compact for Racial and Economic Justice including the Campaign to Close Rikers, conducting anti-gun violence, the Racial Justice Commission of NYC’s #FlipTheBallot, and leading an advocacy table for diverse faith leaders. You can learn more about Rev. Dominique’s work at ICNY Dominique@interfaithcenter.org. Sincerely, | |  | The Rev. Dr. Chloe Breyer
ICNY Executive Director | | You are receiving this newsletter via ICNY's new email platform. Do you have a new preferred email or are recently moved? Please take a moment to update your contact info by clicking here. If you are receiving this email having opted out in the past, please bypass the link and simply send an email to info@interfaithcenter.org with the word “unsubscribe” in the subject line to opt out. We hope you will allow us to continue to update you on important interfaith events and initiatives throughout NYC and beyond. | | | | | |  | Be the change you want to see in New York! | Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy Applications due October 23rd | Applications due October 23rd | Throughout New York, diverse faith leaders are creating positive change for their own communities and the city as a whole. With support from the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation and Trinity Church Wall Street, ICNY’s Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy gives them the tools they need to make a difference. Our ICLA fellows are diverse clergy members, lay leaders, and faith-based activists working to improve the lives of New Yorkers. In a series of evening workshops, they build relationships across faith lines while learning effective strategies for community leadership, organizing, and advocacy. They then use these skills to create community projects that contribute to the civic life of New York. Each fellow receives $500 in grant funding for their community project, as well as a $500 personal stipend to honor their commitment to the program. We hope you’ll apply to join the next Leadership Academy, or share this remarkable opportunity with your colleagues and community members! Applications are due by October 23. For more information and an online application, visit interfaithcenter.org/icla. If you’re active on social media, please click the following links to share this opportunity on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Thanks for spreading the word about the Interfaith Civic Leadership Academy – together we can build a just and inclusive city for all New Yorkers. | | | | | | |  | Interfaith Briefing with Congressman Ritchie Torres NY-15: Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona | Thursday, October 13 : 12:30 - 1:00 PM on Zoom | The Interfaith Center of New York, the New York Board of Rabbis and New York Disaster Interfaith Services are hosting a briefing with Congressman Ritchie Torres on Puerto Rico in the aftermath of Hurricane Fiona. Attend this event and learn how you can support Puerto Rico in this trying time. You can register by clicking this link or the button below. | | | | | | | | |  | Oslo Freedom Forum hosted by the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) | Monday, October 3 : 2:00 - 6:00 PM The Town Hall - 123 West 43rd Street, New York City On behalf of the Human Rights Foundation, I am delighted to share that the 2022 Oslo Freedom Forum in New York (OFF in NY) is taking place on Monday, October 3, from 2-6PM, at New York City’s historic Town Hall. Join us for an afternoon of theater talks and performances by the world’s top activists and dissidents, followed by a special Speaker Gala at 7PM. You will hear first-hand stories from intrepid human rights defenders, and meet a community of philanthropists, technologists, investors, artists, journalists, policymakers, and activists aiming to make the world a more free, open, and peaceful place. Buy tickets here today. | | | | | | |  | Vigil for Survivors of Domestic Violence hosted by Turning Point for Women and Families | Tuesday, October 18 : 12:00 - 2:00 PM on the steps of City Hall | In honor of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Turning Point for Women and Families are hosting their 5th Annual Vigil for Victims and Survivors of Domestic Violence.
This year, they are thrilled to announce it will be held on the Steps of City Hall in Manhattan for the very first time! Partnering with The Honorable Mayor Eric Adams and a host of community-based organizations to bring awareness to domestic violence in our communities.
We will hear reflections from survivors, elected officials, share poetry, and join in a circle of remembrance. Please join us as we shine a light in support of survivors and victims' families everywhere. To RSVP, click here. We hope you will join as we stand in solidarity with survivors and break the silence around domestic violence. If you have any questions, please reach out to our Outreach Coordinator, Barin Masoud at bmasoud@tpny.org. For more information, please call 718-262-8722. | | | | | | | | |  | Resources for Asylum Seekers | Donation Drive for Asylum Seekers Arriving in NYC | The Mayor's Office of Faith Based and Community Partnerships have set up drop off locations throughout the City to help support the newly arrived migrants and asylum seekers. What to donate: New Packaged Clothing - pants, long sleeve shirts, socks, underwear, for children, men and women (all sizes). Toiletries and Hygiene Items - diapers, deodorant, menstrual products (unopened), baby wipes. Where to Donate: List of drop off points in all five boroughs available in the above flier. With 15000 migrants now here are at a breaking point - if your house of worship would love to join our *Adopt-A-Shelter* program, let The Mayor's Office of Faith Based and Community Partnerships know. They have the locations and now need matches. For more information please email ofcp@cityhall.nyc.gov. | | | | |  | Resources for Asylum Seekers | Purchase Essentials for Asylum Seekers Arriving in NYC | As many of you know, New York City has received over 12,000 asylum seekers in the past two months from Texas. While the majority are Latinx from Central America, many are our Muslim brothers and sisters from West Africa. The asylum seekers are randomly dropped off at Port Authority without essential needs like shoes, hygiene products and etc. Muslim Community Network has launched an Amazon wishlist to secure essential items for these migrants and asylum seekers to ease the transition process. The wishlist includes essentials such as winter coats, undergarments, toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant, body wash, shoes, prayer mats, blankets, and more. By making a purchase, you are directly contributing to helping migrants in need that don’t have a support system. Here is the link to make a purchase: https://www.amazon.com/hz/wishlist/ls/17SIY5IGC0LKB?ref_=wl_share. If you have any questions you can email Maryam@mcnny.org. | | | | | | |  | Survey to aid faith-based organizations | Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) Faith-Based Organization Survey | The Office of FaithBased and Community Partnerships (OFCP) is partnering with the Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) to help smaller organizations partner with the DYCD to help match orgs with access to space, funding, resources. Your responses will help to plan a Citywide response to support faith-based organizations like yours that may be interested in providing further social services to your communities in collaboration with New York City government. Please take the time to fill out this survey. | | | | | | |  | Become a Mentor for the The Flatbush Leadership Academy The program begins in October | Flatbush Leadership Academy (FLA) is a mentorship program for young men and women in Central Brooklyn between the ages of 16-24. Its mission is to foster a creative environment that serves as a safe space for young men and women to become successful leaders, entrepreneurs, and students with a platform for their unique voices to be heard. FLA is a weekly stipend based program where participants are engaged in leadership sessions and service based engagement. Participants are equipped with job readiness skills, outreach and connection abilities, financial literacy, community advocacy skills and college/career readiness tools. Each participant is partnered with a trusted mentor at the start of the program who serves as an advocate and advisor through their personal and professional development. Flatbush Leadership Academy is offered to the community by the 67th Precinct Clergy Council, Inc. “The GodSquad” in partnership with Rohan Levy Foundation, G-MACC (Gangsta’s Making Astronomical Community Changes), and realestateOcona. ** Please note our male and female cohort are separate. The Male cohort will be held from January – March and our Female Cohort will begin April – June. For more information contact coe@67clergycouncil.org. | | | The Interfaith Center of New York (ICNY) works to overcome prejudice, violence, and misunderstanding by activating the power of the city's grassroots religious and civic leaders and their communities. | | | | | |
