Your News & Notes - February 2010

 

Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM) held a ceremony on January 7 to honor Carol Young, who is retiring after 10 years as executive director and 18 years of overall service with KRM. The ceremony, held at Highland Presbyterian Church at 1011 Cherokee Road, was attended by friends and supporters.

 

Kentucky Refugee Ministries was founded as a nonprofit refugee resettlement agency in 1990 by Donna Craig, a member of Highland Presbyterian Church. Young joined KRM in 1992 as a caseworker and became executive director in 1999. Under her direction, KRM maintained its focus on promoting refugee employment and self-sufficiency. Young used her leadership position to increase KRM’s service capacity in areas of special concern. These included providing extensive school support, mentoring and arts programming for school-age refugee children, and professional medical case management for refugees with special medical needs and disabilities.

 

Young also personally worked to find career and academic opportunities for many talented refugees in the belief that our community can benefit from their education, professional experience and work ethic.

 

Young was lauded for her upbeat, energetic management style, her acumen at hiring a talented, diverse staff, and her support of younger employees and interns. KRM’s Assistant Director, Elizabeth Kaznak, will succeed Young as Executive Director.

 

KRM is an affiliate of Church World Service and Episcopal Migration Ministries. Through its main office in Louisville and a sub-office in Lexington, the agency secures housing, food, clothing and medical care for refugees, and provides them with case management, English classes, cultural orientation, and job placement services. KRM also offers programs for youth and elderly refugees, as well as citizenship and immigration legal services.

 

Now entering its 20th year, KRM has helped more than 5,500 refugees from over 30 countries rebuild their lives here in Kentucky.

 

A list of volunteer opportunities can be found at www.kyrm.org. To volunteer with KRM, call Cassie Kennedy at (502) 479-9180, ext. 53.

 

KRM currently needs beds (twin and double – frames, mattresses and box springs), blankets, can openers, face towels, hand towels, kitchen tables and chairs, pillows, pots and pans, and toiletries (mainly toothbrushes). Contact Gaby Salazar at (502) 479-9180, ext. 15, or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. , if you have such items to donate.

 

The Highland Presbyterian Weekday School is currently accepting applications for the 2010-2011 school year. Applications will continue to be accepted with class spaces assigned, if available, up to enrollment.

 

Classes offered include a two-day program for 2-year-olds, a three-day program for 3-year-olds, four- and five-day programs for 4-year-olds, and a half-day kindergarten program.

 

The preschool year starts the week after Labor Day and runs until the “regular” school year ends. Most vacations follow JCPS. The kindergarteners follow the JCPS calendar and start in August. School hours are 8:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m., with early drop-off options and extended-day options.

 

Highland Presbyterian Weekday School is licensed by the State of Kentucky as a Type I child care facility. For more information or an application, contact Ann Lacy at (502) 456-6991 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.