Late last year, we were contacted by Jessie and her wonderful organization, Animal Wonders, with the news that Soft Landing Missoula had been named as the recipient of a presentation through a donation by a local company called SciShow.  We are thrilled to announce that we get to share this incredible gift with you all and Animal Wonders will be bringing some adorable and incredible animals to this year’s World Refugee Day soccer tournament and community celebration! 

Animal Wonders is a non-profit that both rescues animals providing them with a life-long home, and promotes knowledge and appreciation of animals and conservation by offering live presentations and online videos. Find out more about Animal Wonders by checking out their website!    

Animal Wonders will be presenting at the community celebration between 5:00 and 7:00 pm. Below are some of the animals you might meet! 

Blueberry the Northern Blue Tongue Skink

Kemosabe the Prehensile-tailed Porcupine

Yucca the Red-Footed Tortoise

Thank you to all of our World Refugee Day soccer tournament sponsors! The following people and businesses have not only helped to make the World Refugee Day soccer tournament and community celebration a success, but also have helped to enable SLM to continue to support the families arriving in Missoula and the Missoula community through our programming and services. These businesses work to make Missoula a wonderful and welcoming place to live! Thank you!

 

World Cup Final Match Sponsors:

• Klaus von Stutterheim
• Missoula Federal Credit Union

• Adventure Life

 

 

Community Celebration Sponsors:

• Justin and Katie Metcalf
• Good Food Store

• Jeremy Roberts and Conservation Media

• The Maureen & Mike Mansfield Center at the University of Montana

• Masala

• Smith & Stephens P.C.

• St. Patricks Hospital

 

 

Refugee Player Sponsors:

• Big Sky Public Relations

• Futpong

• Interim Healthcare of Western Montana

• Garlington, Lohn & Robinson PLLP

• Sushi Hana Downtown

• A&E Architects

 

Friend of the Tournament Sponsors:

• Mike Stark and SG Long

• Montana Legal Justice

• Eastgate Veterinary Clinic

• Ink Realty Group

• Mountain Line Bus

• The Green Light Apparel & Home Decor

 

 

In-Kind Sponsors:

• Eric and Blair Sprunk

• Coca-Cola High Country

• Missoula Events

• Clyde Coffee

• Garage Tees

• Gecko Designs

• Mary’s Mountain Cookies

• Starbucks

• Animal Wonders

Soft Landing Missoula needs your help! The second annual World Refugee Day Cup is an all day soccer tournament followed by a community celebration taking place on Saturday, June 16th at Fort Missoula Regional Park. We need help with everything from set up and break down to selling t-shirts, so any way that you can pitch in would be deeply appreciated. It’s going to be a fun, fantastic summer event – we hope to see you there to make this day a success! 

Click here to see the Sign Up Genius and sign up for a shift. Thank you!

After a further look at our needs as an organization and our deepening commitment to refugee families and our community, we have updated the position we are seeking to fill.  If you want to work in a fun, dynamic, energizing office AND do amazing things to change people’s lives, come work for Soft Landing Missoula!

Check out our updated post for a full-time Development and Communications Director position with SLM.

One of the most wonderful things about inviting new people into your life, is how much you learn.  We would like to honor and celebrate the Muslims living in Missoula and around the globe this Ramadan Season.  So to all of our friends celebrating Ramadan, we say “Ramadan Mubarak”!

Here is a little primer for folks just learning (like me!):

For observant Muslims, Ramadan is one of the five pillars or central tenets of the faith. This arduous 30-day period, starting this year on May 16 in North America, is marked by complete fasting every day from dawn to dusk—not even a drop of water! In Montana, when Ramadan coincides with long summer days as it does this year, that means even longer hours of fasting. Young children and medically needy people, however, are exempted.

Muslims will tell you that this lengthy period of daily fasting and sacrifice promotes spiritual reflection, strengthens one’s piety, willpower and fortitude and can even have some physical benefits like detoxifying the body and lowering cholesterol. 

Still, Islam recognizes the rigor of Ramadan. One of the blessings of the season is iftar, the fast-breaking community meal that comes every night after sunset. There is really no limit to the kinds of food that may be eaten, other than the everyday restrictions that food must be halal or permissible under Islamic law. Often dates are eaten in memory of the prophet Muhammad, who is said to have broken his fasts in this manner.

If you’re not Muslim but would like to support Muslim friends in this important observance, what can you do?

• Be kind. Fasting can make folks cranky and hangry.

• Be gracious. Ask your Muslim friends if there’s a chore or task you can do for them. 

• Be generous. Get neighbors and friends together with those observing Ramadan for an iftar (but remember, it can’t start until about 9:30 p.m.or later).

• Be understanding. Appreciate the deep spiritual and historical reasons for Ramadan.

If you would like to donate dried dates, feel free to drop them by the SLM office and we will be sure they get out to the families!

Thanks to SLM board president Clem Work for helping get this post together.

The Mansfield Center is presenting a unique and exciting opportunity to host international visitors in short home-stays for two days over the summer! 

Over the weekend of June 15-17, the Mansfield Center is seeking homestays in pairs of two global high school teachers of American studies and English from 20 different countries here to learn about American studies for one month, including from:

• Middle East: Jordan, Tunisia, Iraq
• Africa: Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Mozambique
• Europe: Greece, France, Yugoslavia
• Asia: Samoa, Thailand, China
• South America: Nicaragua, Chile, Uruguay

This homestay weekend coincides with SLM’s World Refugee Day soccer tournament and community celebration! Many of these international visitors love soccer and would love to be part of the tournament by volunteering, watching, or even playing! What a fun opportunity for the weekend!

Again over the weekend of July 6th-8th the Mansfield Center is searching homestays for undergraduate students from:

• Brazil
• Russia
• India
• China
• Japan

Please contact Deena Mansour at Deena.mansour@umontana.edu or 243-2713 for more information.

We are SO grateful to Annie Davis for hosting an online book drive and to Usborne books for matching the donation! Because of this, Soft Landing has over $1,000 worth of new kids books! 

Thanks to Annie and Usborne books, we will be sending books home with all the refugee kiddos in their summer packets, which we do in partnership with Missoula County Public Schools.

If anyone would like to donate additional NEW small fun and educational items such as puzzles, games, flash cards, or art supplies, please drop them by the office before the end of May.  

Thanks so so much!

Registration for the 2nd annual World Refugee Day cup is open! 

To Register visit the Missoula Parks and Recreation registration page 

OR

If you’re having trouble registering online, call Currents at (406) 721-7275 or register in person by going to Currents at 600 Cregg Ln, Missoula, MT 59801

• Keyword search “Soft”

• The SLM soccer tournament will show in the results. Click the + sign next to the soccer tournament then click “add to cart”

• When you add the tournament to your cart you will be taken to a log in screen. You can either log in with your information or create a new account! 
• When you have logged in:
  • Enter your preferred t-shirt size 
  • Skill level
• You will be taken to the payment screen where you can check out
• Attn: SLM Volunteers!
  • On the payment screen there is a place to enter a coupon code
  • Enter:  SLVOL for a $5 discount on registration

When registering you will have the option to help cover the registration fee for a refugee player to play in the tournament. We hope you will consider this when registering.

We can’t wait to see you out on the field! 

There are so many reasons to vote YES on your mail in ballots that are due May 8th, and one of these is the AMAZING job MCPS is doing to support refugee children. 

We want you to know what an INCREDIBLE job Missoula County Public Schools is doing for refugee kiddos. Seriously amazing.

Did you know that “School Impact Grants” from the Feds for refugee kids require a quota that we haven’t yet hit and are 2 years RETROACTIVE?! So there is definitely a need for this levy on many levels, but including to continue to serve refugee kiddos.

Did you know that, despite the current growth in our county of ALL types of students, this levy doesn’t increase MCPS budget, only continues to fund it at current levels.

This is the LEAST we can do, and we HAVE to do it! Please join us in voting YES YES for these school levies.

For more info visit: https://www.mcpsmt.org/domain/3231 

On top of this, we want you to know that in the interim of the School Impact Grant being available, Soft Landing has put our (limited!) money where our mouth is and we are honored to be a part of a great group of folks-  The United Way and Community Medical Center- that have come together to support MCPS in translating documents so that families can get vital information about their kiddos education and school lives.  We are so grateful to MCPS and these incredible partners.

The Out of Syria Lecture with Brendan Work was an important and informative lecture and we are so grateful to all those who attended! For those who weren’t able to attend or just want to see the lecture again, MCAT generously filmed and will screen the Out of Syria on the MCAT channel 189 on:

• May 25th at 9:00 pm 
• May 26th at 9:30 pm 

The out of Syria Lecture will also be available for viewing on Video on Demand on the MCAT website at www.mcat.org closer to the air date. 

Thanks again so much to Brendan and the Syrian families in Missoula that made this lecture so special!