On Thursday, October 2nd, the walls at Cabrini Immigrant Services – Dobbs Ferry, NY (CIS-DF) were bursting with excitement and pride. A special celebration was taking place for four of our students who attend our Sharing Stories! Making Movies! Program. We invited the students’ parents, siblings and some other special guests to share in the celebration. Everyone knew what was going to happen except for the four students. We wanted them to be surprised.
This day was a culmination of many things. A few months ago, Anne Marie Santoro, the teacher of our Sharing Stories! Making Movies! Program, brought in a ‘critter’ and asked some of the students to write a story about the critter. The critter, which was made of wood, was created by Patti Kaufman, an author and artist. The children named the critter, Bella and then wrote a special story about her. Anne Marie shared the story with Ms. Kaufman who thought it was so wonderful that she decided to publish it in her new book, Adventures in Crittertown – Where Magic Happens. The book is filled with many stories about the different critters that Ms. Kaufman has created. But ‘Bella the Cow’ is the only story. written by children!
What an honor to have four of our students called authors. Ms. Kaufman was able to join the celebration via Zoom. It was wonderful to have her see the children’s faces when they received their own copy of the book. Each child was also able to speak with Ms. Kaufman and thank her for all she had done for them.
We were thrilled to receive a copy of the book for our office. The book sits on a shelf along with the critter which hangs in our classroom. We are looking forward to presenting Springhurst Elementary School, where the students attend school, with a copy of the book which they can proudly have in the school library.
A very special thank you to Ms. Santoro for all her hard work in the program. She not only teaches the program, but she was instrumental in making this day a reality!
The Cabrini Social Justice Ambassadors of the Cabrini University CAVS (Cabrini Alumni, Volunteers and Supporters) under the direction of Dr. Jerry Zurek, former Chair of the Communications Department, hosted a Zoom with Cabrini Immigrant Services (CIS) leaders Lorraine Campanelli, Director of Cabrini Immigrant Services, Dobbs Ferry, NY and Amelia Scdoris, Justice for Immigrants Coordinator, at Cabrini Immigrant Services-NYC.
"For this year we are confronting — both as a nation and as a church — an unprecedented assault upon millions of immigrant men and women and families in our midst," McElroy said during a Sept. 28 homily at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, as the archdiocese in the nation's capital observed the church event that celebrates, on Oct. 4-5 this year, the resilience of displaced people around the world.
From October 1–3, 2025, just before the Jubilee for Migrants (October 4–5), a 'Refugees & Migrants in Our Common Home,' conference is being held in Rome. This will be the first in-person gathering of a three-year initiative uniting higher education institutions, NGOs, and community partners to address the urgent realities of migration and displacement.
