Potluck + Playdate with Miry's List
May 2018
SERVICE DESCRIPTION
Join us for a Playdate & Potluck in the park!
Momtivist + resisterhoodLA + Feminists in Action invite you to join new arrival refugee families from Miry's List for a playdate and potluck lunch in the park. We’ll have crafts, face painting, games, and a bounce house. In addition to our potluck and playdate, we’re holding a diaper drive. Let’s join together to welcome these wonderful families to our community!
THE PICNIC
It’s a potluck picnic: Please bring a dish or snack to share.
THE PLAYDATE
We’re excited to host this special event for families with children.
Not a parent? No problem: we’re excited to facilitate new friendships between people of all ages!
We’ll have arts + crafts, face painting, games and a bounce house.
THE DIAPER DRIVE
In addition to the picnic, we will be collecting diapers and wipes. Diapers need to be unused (of course!) but open packages are fine. We are collecting diapers at the following locations during business hours 5/14 - 5/20, 2018.
WEHO Burke Decor 8248 Beverly Blvd.
MELROSE/FAIRFAX Le Petit Garden 8017 Melrose Ave.
ATWATER VILLAGE Soothe 3273 Casitas Ave. #107
BURBANK Mindfulnest Burbank 3319 W Magnolia Blvd.
LOS FELIZ Golden Sol Yoga 4446 Ambrose Ave.
CAN'T ATTEND? WANT TO DONATE?
If you’d like to donate other essential items to Miry’s List families, please visit miryslist.org/donate. You can purchase urgently needed items from their wishlists, and even donate gently used larger items like furniture.
EVENT RECAP
Lake Balboa Park was already buzzing with activity when we arrived to set up for our Picnic + Playdate. Jessica of Momtivist and I started talking about this event in November of 2017 and after months of exchanging e-mails, reserving park pavilions, going to local neighborhood council meetings, figuring out logistics, and promoting… the day finally arrived!
I learned of Miry’s List in January 2017, after a friend shared on Facebook. Miry’s List helps new arrival families from Syria, Iraq, Iran, Yemen and Afghanistan begin their new lives in Southern California. Refugee families come to the US seeking a safe haven from violence and persecution in their home countries. They leave behind family and friends, as well as virtually everything they own. Miry’s List provides Amazon Wishlists for the things these families need to get started in their new lives - from diapers to beds to cleaning supplies and toiletries. That means, you can volunteer for Miry's List 24/7! I picked out a pair of moon + stars pajamas and never forgot about how easy it was to make a difference.
Miry’s List remained on my list or organizations I wanted resisterhoodLA to get involved with for quite some time, so we were eager to co-produce this event with Momtivist + Feminists in Action. Together, we organized a very special day: a potluck (with food donated by GrainLab and Kobee Factory), toys for every child who attended (courtesy of Mattel), a bounce house (courtesy of Magic Jump), and Faceprinting and Crafts. In addition, we coordinated with local businesses to hold a week-long diaper drive, collecting THOUSANDS of diapers!
Ana Huna means “I’m here” in Arabic. Ana Huna is a phrase Miry’s List uses every day in their work with families. It’s an easy phrase that anyone can use - even those of us who don’t speak Arabic - to let the families know that we are here for them, pledging our dedication to welcoming them with these two simple words. Ana Huna is also something they encourage families to tell themselves, their neighbors and our community. Ana Huna. I’m here. It’s a statement and anthem to give ownership of a new place, new space and new life in America. In 2017, Miry’s List served 257 families - more than 1,500 individuals.
It was an honor to welcome, connect, serve and celebrate the families who attended our Potluck + Picnic. Welcome new neighbors!
Contributed by Mary Kenny, founder of resisterhoodLA
Information gathered from Miry's Lists' 2017 Annual Report.
ABOUT MIRY'S LIST
Miry's List is a movement of neighbors and friends dedicated to welcoming new arrival refugee families into our community through inspired crowdsourcing solutions
Refugee families come to the United States seeking a safe haven from violence and persecution in their home countries. They leave behind family and friends, as well as virtually everything they own. Many Americans, seeing these families in their communities, wonder: What can I do to help?