June 9, 2015 | World Refugee Day Cup Soccer Tournament 2015

posted on

JUNIOR LEAGUE OF CINCINNATI’S REFUGEECONNECT AND RED CROSS HOST SECOND ANNUAL WORLD REFUGEE DAY CUP SOCCER TOURNAMENT
Join Us to Celebrate World Refugee Day and Welcome Refugees in Greater Cincinnati

CINCINNATI, OH – JUNE 9, 2015 – The Junior League of Cincinnati (JLC), in partnership with the Red Cross, is hosting its second annual World Refugee Day Cup Soccer Tournament on Saturday, June 13, at Withrow High School, 2488 Madison Road, Cincinnati, OH 45208, to celebrate World Refugee Day.

The event begins at 9:00 a.m. with an Opening Ceremony that includes a “Parade of Nations,” with members of Cincinnati’s refugee community. “We are a nation of immigrants,” said Robyn Brown, Co-Chair, RefugeeConnect. “While many of our ancestors came to America generations ago, others arrived more recently to seek a better life in this country. This annual event helps to welcome and support the refugees who are now our newest neighbors and friends.”

A total of 16 teams will compete in a World Cup-style tournament, beginning at 9:30 a.m. There will be eight adult teams and eight teams of high-school students, representing the following countries: Mauritania, Bhutan, Apnet, Ghana, Zimbabwai, Senegal, China, Congo, Kenya, Burundi and USA. Following the tournament, attendees are invited to watch the Cincinnati Lady Saints professional soccer team beginning at 7:00 p.m at Withrow High School.

The day includes a series of kid-friendly activities, including a “Soccer Mudder” obstacle course beginning at 9:30 a.m. In addition, there will be a family fun area complete with face painting, lawn bowling, necklace and coloring stations. Also, there will be a comprehensive Resource Fair to better educate and connect attendees with service providers. Participants include: Red Cross, Walgreens, GrinUp!, Jancoa, YMCA, Cincinnati Public Library, Heartfelt Tidbits, HIAS, Catholic Charities Southwestern Ohio, Beech Acres and APNET.

About RefugeeConnect:
A project of the Junior League of Cincinnati, RefugeeConnect educates, unites and engages Greater Cincinnati to improve the quality of life of resettled refugees as they acclimate to life in our city. Its primary goal is to construct a sustainable support system through a physical and virtual resource center, which will connect refugees with available resources in the community. Through RefugeeConnect, the Junior League of Cincinnati is the first local organization to establish a framework for expanding English as a Second Language (ESOL) curriculum training across targeted refugee populations and to create a seamless network that links service providers to one another and refugees to address the long-term acculturation needs. At any given time, there are from 12,000 to 25,000 refugees who live in the Greater Cincinnati area, primarily coming from Bhutan, Burundi, Congo, Ethiopia, Somalia, Burma, Vietnam, Russia, and Iraq. Annually, approximately 200 refugees are relocated to the Greater Cincinnati region through resettlement agencies, while other refugees move from various cities in the U.S. to be reunited with their families and have access to better employment opportunities.

About the American Red Cross:
The American Red Cross is part of the world’s largest humanitarian network with 13 million volunteers in 187 countries. Working together, we help respond to disasters, build safer communities, and teach the rules of war. Each year, we reach an average of more than 100 million people across the globe. Our mission is to alleviate human sufferings through immediate as well as long-term relief efforts in disasters and conflict. Through the International Services Department, we connect families separated by conflict and disasters with our program Restoring Family Links.

Red Cross Contacts: Skip Tate, skip.tate@redcross.com, 513-490-8055; Kayla Iheukwu, kayla.iheukwu2@redcross.org, 614-446-5877.

About the Junior League of Cincinnati:
The Junior League of Cincinnati (JLC) is an organization of nearly 1,000 women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. We have a 95 year history of assessing and addressing unmet needs in the Greater Cincinnati community through the development of long-term sustainable projects that often become separate nonprofit organizations, such as ProKids, MindPeace, Children’s Theatre, the Children’s Museum, Fernside and many others. For more information, please visit www.jlcincinnati.org.

JLC Media Contacts:
Emily Ryan, Emily.ryan3@gmail.com; (513) 205-9176 cell