Reminder: DACA Volunteers Needed!

In case you missed the amazing training that Mauricio, Francisco, and Mike put on this past Tuesday at Parkland College, you still have one more opportunity to attend a training in order to volunteer for the Immigration Forum's upcoming DACA Workshops!

The next training will be this coming Monday, Aug. 27, at the University YMCA from 6:30-8pm.

As a reminder, the DACA Workshops are on Aug. 29, 4:30-7:30pm at Urbana High School, or Sept. 8, 10am-2pm at Parkland College. We're in the process of informing local Latino families connected with local school districts, and we hope to have lots of people at the events. Therefore, we need as many volunteers as we can get!

Just to give you a head's up about what to expect if you volunteer, there will be three main stations at the DACA Workshops:

1. Eligibility Screening

2. Q & A

3. Review of COMPLETED applications and required documents (We will not be filling out any applications)

You will have the opportunity to choose which of these areas you'd like to help out with. The Eligibility Screening utilizes two simple, bilingual questionnaires: all you'd have to do is guide individuals through the yes or no questions. Q & A will require a bit more knowledge of DACA and its requirements, and App/Document Review will also require more knowledge of DACA.

We also hope to have greeters, and there will be opportunities non-Spanish speakers, so there's a place for everyone!

To RSVP or ask for more information, contact Francisco at francisco@universityymca.org / 217-417-5897.
Feel free to RSVP via email / voice mail / text.

Thanks again!

Upcoming Deferred Action Sessions

The CU Immigration Forum's Outreach Committee has initiated a project to assist Dreamers with their deferment and work permit applications. There are several upcoming training sessions.

Current Information (will be updated, so check back):

Are you interested in getting more involved in the local Latino community? Consider volunteering with the Immigration Forum as we host several local events to educate the public about DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals).

To volunteer, you must attend one of two volunteer training options:

• Tuesday, August 21, 2012, 6:30-7:30pm, Parkland College, room D-244
• Monday, August 27, 6:30-7:30pm at the University YMCA

There will also be two DACA events. If you've attended a volunteer training, we'd love your help at one or both of these events - even if you can just come for part of the event:

DACA Events:

• Wednesday, August 29, 4:30-7:30pm, Urbana High School
• Saturday, September 8, 10am-2pm, Parkland College, room D-244

Please RSVP with the training & event(s) that you wish to attend, as well as your name, phone number, and email address. To RSVP or ask for more information, contact Cherilyn at cherilynlarsen@gmail.com, 616-745-6263, or Francisco at francisco@universityymca.org, 217-4178-5897

While we would love to have as many bilingual volunteers as possible, you can still help even if you don't speak Spanish. Please keep in mind that these events will be sensitive in nature, and know that we will ask and expect you to keep all of the participants' personal information confidential.

Thanks in advance for your help!

For more information on deferred action, read the NY Times article here.

Free Film Screening TOMORROW, August 9, 2012

"Free Trade Refugees: From Chiapas to the Prairie"

Thursday, August 9 @ 8:00pm at the Independent Media Center with introduction by director.

"Free Trade Refugees: From Chiapas to the Prairie," a documentary film about Mexican migrant workers in the US Midwest. Directed by Carol Huang. Executive Producer, Maria Isabel Silva Iturralde. Ten year research on a group of peasants from a small village in Chiapas who tell the story of their lives and work in the US.Thursday, August 9, at 8pm, Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center. Admission free.

Carol Huang is a professor of education at The City College of New York. She got her doctorate in Educational Policy Studies at UIUC.