This week, the Fort Worth Sister Cities International Youth Group is partnering with Catholic Charities for their annual community service project.
The students will work on the Catholic Charities Need YPO Annual Event, Spring Fling.
Need YPO, the young professionals arm of Catholic Charities, is hosting an Easter egg hunt for refugee clients and their families.
“This event gives volunteers a chance to meet and play with some of the refugee families Catholic Charities has helped resettle,” said Jennifer DeHaro, service chair for Need YPO. “It shows support for our refugee populations in Fort Worth and gives a unique multicultural experience to those native to this city.”
Sister Cities youth will provide and manage carnival games, including several international varieties, at the event. The students also raised money to purchase emergency preparedness supplies to distribute such as flashlights, first aid kits, and batteries for the refugee families.
“We hope to make an impact on these refugee families because they have been through so much and deserve to relax and have a good time,” Fort Worth Youth International community outreach officer, Nate Wallace said. “The Youth Board is looking forward to this project and is ready to throw the best Easter egg hunt around for these amazing and inspiring families.”
Students ranging from 6th to 12th grade make up Fort Worth Youth International, the youth group of Fort Worth Sister Cities.
“Participating in the youth group has been one of the highlights of high school because it is incredibly meaningful,” Alexandra Galloway said. “Being in the Youth Group has given me eye-opening opportunities to give back to the Fort Worth community in ways I had never considered before such as working with refugees.”
The Easter Egg hunt will be at the La Dera Palms Apartments on April 20 at 5:30 p.m.
Fort Worth City Manager, David Cooke, and Fort Worth Sister Cities International Chair, Johnny Campbell of Sundance Square, recently returned from an economic, cultural, and diplomatic mission to Trier, Germany, along with a delegation of eighteen.
“Fort Worth is committed to growing educational, business, and cultural connections with our partners around the world and we know this is needed now more than ever. We must nurture these relationships to grow them,” said Campbell.
Trier was signed as Fort Worth’s second sister city in 1987. This partnership has resulted in many programs including: high school and university exchanges; partnerships with artists participating in Main Street Arts Festival; exchanges with the Fort Worth Fire Dept.; internships in the Sister Cities’ office, as well as local law firms; cultural exchanges; and hunting expeditions into the mountains of Germany and across the plains of Texas.
Twenty-six delegates will depart Fort Worth February 19 on an eight-day educational mission to Cuba to learn more about the country and to promote Fort Worth. The delegation will consist of representatives from the business, education, arts, and tourism sectors.
While in Havana the delegation will meet with Ambassador Carlos Alzugaray Treto on U.S./Cuba Relations. Ambassador Alzugaray visited Fort Worth in 2016 to further educate the community on current issues facing Cuba and the US. Ambassador Alzugaray is the former Cuban Ambassador to the European Union and former Director of the Institute of Foreign Relations in Havana.
“Fort Worth is looking for new opportunities to connect around the world, which is needed now more than ever before,” said Johnny Campbell, Board Chair. “With diplomatic relations established between the U.S. and Cuba and travel restrictions being lifted, a relationship with Cuba could be of benefit to Fort Worth residents.”
Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke and Fort Worth Sister Cities International Chair Johnny Campbell of Sundance Square will lead a delegation of eighteen Fort Worth Ambassadors to Trier, Germany November 30 – December 8 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the partnership as sister cities. The mission’s purpose is to build economic, cultural, and diplomatic ties between Fort Worth and Germany.
“Fort Worth is eager to recommit to this important relationship with Germany and looks forward to many more beneficial exchanges between our two cities. Our commitment to growing our educational, business, and cultural connections must remain a long-term priority for sustainability of our relationship with Trier,” said Johnny Campbell.
While there the delegation will visit local sites of interest including the famed Christkindl markets, as well as a local refugee clinic. The exchange will also include visits to Heidelberg, Cologne, and the neighboring country of Luxembourg.
Trier was signed as Fort Worth’s second sister city. Signed in 1987, this partnership has resulted in many programs including: high school and university exchanges; partnerships with artists to participate in the Main Street Arts Festival; municipal exchanges with the Fort Worth Fire Department; internships in the Fort Worth Sister Cities’ office, as well as local law firms; cultural exchanges featuring regional cuisine and customs; and hunting expeditions into the mountains of Germany and across the plains of Texas.