Baseline Education
​Baseline Education for Community Based Welcome of Refugees and Asylum Seekers Southern Vermont Working Communities Volunteers Education Action Team
​
Community sponsorship is the core of community-based resettlement and, we believe, a successful and sustainable program. This model is the heart of southern Vermont’s work to resettle refugees and asylum-seekers.
This fall, the Volunteer Education Action Team is offering a Baseline Training Course built on the experience of communities and organizations in successfully welcoming newcomers. We believe these principles and practices are the same for volunteers working directly with any resettlement approach from Welcome Corps, to Asylum Seekers, to agency-based resettlement.
Volunteers will complete a series of online learning modules, followed by discussion groups virtually or in person. While the curriculum is available virtually at any time, our goal is to enhance that experience by providing context for the work, connections among volunteers, and opportunities for discussion and peer learning.
The ‘Baseline Training’ Course is meant to meet three needs:
-
Introductory education for first time volunteers, covering how to welcome refugees, how volunteer teams work, necessary milestones, boundary setting, and setting goals for teams and refugees.
-
More advanced education for experienced volunteers, such as cross-cultural communications, anti-racism, sustaining both refugee success and team energy.
-
Building networks and connections that will enable on-going support for volunteers and teams, mutual learning, information about changes to refugee policy, practice and reality.
​
Curriculum and Course Outline
​
Baseline Volunteer Education: SoVT WC Volunteers Education Action Team
The curriculum to be used is Community Sponsorship Essentials curriculum, designed by Refugee Welcome. Refugee Welcome is a joint project of the U.S. resettlement community for the purpose of education, training, and technical support of community resettlement. The local course will be run like a book club - participants do homework (online modules), then participate in discussions virtually and in person.
INTRODUCTION & REGISTRATION
It's not too late to register!
-
Click here to register for the course, including discussions and gatherings
-
Click here to access the online course. Please register here by answering a few questions and then you will be allowed into the module which guides you through the lessons.​​
(Online course offered by Refugee Welcome Collective)
​
​
COURSE OUTLINE:
​
PART I: FUNDAMENTALS
LESSON 1: Sponsorship 101
Homework - By October 13, do the online Sponsorship 101 Module (course found at link above).
Choose ONE of the following sessions:
Friday, October 13 at 1 pm* and Wednesday, October 18th at 6:30 pm*: Virtual kickoff Webinar and breakout discussions
*We have allotted twenty minutes before each meeting for folks who did not attend the introductory meeting on October 3rd to make sure everyone is oriented. Regular scheduled discussion will still begin at 1pm on October 13 and 6:30pm on October 18. You may choose to attend either meeting, you do not need to attend both.
LESSON 2: Key Mindsets
Homework - By October 25 (or November 2), do the online Key Mindsets Module (course found at link above).
Group Convening (Pick one of the Zoom sessions below; you do not need to attend both)
Wednesday, Oct 25, 4:30pm-5:30pm on Zoom.
Thursday, Nov 2, 5pm-6pm on Zoom.
PART II: IMPLEMENTATION
LESSON 3: Support Area Deep Dives
Homework - By November 10, do the online Support Areas Overview (under Group Discussion 1) and Support Areas Deep Dives Module (course found at link above).
November 11-17: You will be invited to two Zoom discussions.
​
LESSON 4: Program Details
Homework - By TBD, do the online Program Details Module (course found at link above).
Final Lesson (Optional) - Onwards and Upwards Welcome Corps certification
PART II Final Convening: November TBD (single or multiple sites TBD), facilitated discussion Group Discussion Module 3
​
​
For more information, contact Jack Spanierman jspanierman@brattleborodevelopment.com