Bidding farewell to Yesenia and summer, while preparing for a busy fall

Graphic says: Diplomacy Begins Here: Building an Inclusive Climate Movement (Vermont Council on World Affairs) and lists the event dates (Aug. 21-22) and location (Burlington, VT).

While we have experienced a busy and exciting summer in our work at Global Ties Kalamazoo, this summer has also been filled with fire and smoke all across mainland North America, Europe, Asia and Africa, while this week we are seeing the absolute devastation in Hawaii. The climate crisis is both global and local. We look forward to coming together with peers from across the Global Ties Network in Burlington, Vermont at the end of this week for a Diplomacy Begins Here Summit with the theme of 'Building an Inclusive Climate Movement', hosted by the Vermont Council on World Affairs. We welcome this opportunity to reflect, learn and act together.

Right now, we are preparing for a full and engaging fall including numerous opportunities to get involved locally here in Kalamazoo. Here below, check out a bit of our summer that was and fall ahead.

Pictured here are the Global Ties Team enjoying a slightly cloudy day at Yesenia Salas' farewell luncheon at The Cove in Portage, with West Lake in the background. — Farewell luncheon for Higher Promise intern Yesenia Salas at The Cove in Portage. Pictured (L to R) are: Program Manager Emma Baratta, Executive Director Jodi Michaels, Higher Promise intern Yesenia Salas, and Social Media and Storytelling Specialist Beth Clark.

Farewell, Yesenia

We’re going to miss incredible Higher Promise Intern Yesenia Salas. She joined the Global Ties Kalamazoo team this spring, and is approaching her last day, on August 18, in time to return to Western Michigan University for her final semester.

Here’s what some of our team members had to say about working with Yesenia:

Program Manager, Emma Baratta: “I am so glad I had the opportunity to meet and work with Yesenia the past few months. She is a kind, energetic and thoughtful person who brings so much to the table. The highlight of working with Yesenia was definitely seeing her with the IYLEP (Iraqi Young Leaders Exchange Program) participants. She went above and beyond to relate to the kids and make sure they had the best experience possible, getting up early before Michigan's Adventure to make tacos for everyone, making an effort to learn phrases in Arabic and teaching them some Spanish, running around the night market playing games with the kids, and teaching everyone how to bachata at the farewell celebration. It was amazing to see her have fun while also sharing her own culture with the participants, and it was clear that they loved their time with her! I know there are big things ahead for Yesenia, and I can't wait to see what she will accomplish next!”

Social Media and Storytelling Specialist, Beth Clark: “I couldn’t agree more with Emma’s assessment of Yesenia going above and beyond expectations in so many ways. Our international guests adored her and our staff felt the same way: From the first IVLP group of women leaders from Bangladesh, to a cohort of young entrepreneurs from across the Americas, to the Iraqi teens participating in our IYLEP program, the latter of whom clearly adored her and looked up to her as a role model. We were so fortunate to spend the summer working with her, and I hope to collaborate with her in future programs as well.”

Executive Director, Jodi Michaels: “Yesenia has brought so much great energy to our team. Working with her over the past few months has been both fun and great for our organization. All of our participants have absolutely loved working with her (as have we)! Yesenia, we will miss you and hope that we get to collaborate again. We know for sure that everywhere you land will be very lucky to have you!”

IYLEP teens learn leadership and disability rights lessons while connecting with our community

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We also recently bid farewell to our 6th IYLEP cohort, a home-hosted program in partnership with World Learning. We are honored to have had the opportunity to host IYLEP - High School Arabic - each year and get to know young people who will help shape the future of Iraq. Thank you to the amazing home hosts and local organizations who connected and engaged with them in Kalamazoo this July!

Please note: The guests' faces aren’t visible in this photo collage (above) featuring meetings and hospitality activities for their protection and privacy. They're pictured here walking at sunset back to the Potratz' home at a hospitality get-together, interacting with an exhibit at the Kalamazoo Valley Museum, and holding up pieces of the bikes they helped to disassemble at Open Roads Bike Program. Also pictured here are some of the home hospitality hosts who welcomed these youth into their homes -- thank you again!

Graphic shows a globe encircled by hands raised in the air, surrounded by hearts and says: Raise your hand if you love where you live and sharing our city with others!

Fall Hosting Opportunties

Global Ties Kalamazoo has many opportunities to connect meaningfully with international leaders this fall, and some very flexible options for those who’d love to host but have limited availability. From September 3 - October 27, we’ll be offering one of our longest running exchange programs - welcoming German Social Workers to Kalamazoo who’ll participate in a 7-week-long job shadow experience. Home hosting opportunities for these guests range from a few days to two months. It’s a great way to get involved as much as your schedule permits, and to develop lifelong friendships.

We’re also welcoming a group of Central American Youth Ambassadors from Oct. 22 - Nov. 1. Would your family enjoy sharing your favorite fall traditions with one (or two) of these teens? We’d love to hear from you.

Dinner hospitality opportunities with IVLP visitors are also available all throughout the fall. We invite you to consider sharing these opportunities with your networks.

Did you pick up a copy of Encore Magazine last month? If you did you caught our ad on the inside back cover :) If you’re looking for a way to share what Global Ties Kalamazoo does with your friends, family, and colleagues, feel free to share the one-pager below, which touches on the many ways we bring the world to West Michigan and West Michigan to the world, while ensuring that #ExchangeIsForEverybody.

This graphic, shared in the June 2023 edition of Encore Kalamazoo magazine, shows numerous citizen exchange experiences including home hosted joy with community members and their four-legged family members, an IVLP meeting at a boxing gym, and more.

Sign up to host

Graphic includes logos for Canadiana Fest sponsors including Global Ties Kalamazoo and notes that the festival includes music, food, drinks, cultural activities and fun for kids and adults alike.

Inaugural Canadiana Fest Coming To Kalamazoo!

If you love celebrating cultural exchange like we do, we hope to see you at the inaugural Canadiana Festival, which will take place on Saturday, Oct. 7 at Arcadia Creek Festival Site. Activities include a parade, live music performances, poutine contest, Canadian celebrity cosplay contest, and more. Get all the details and secure your ticket at the festival website.

Canadiana Fest was founded by Global Ties Kalamazoo collaborator and host Channon Mondoux, who recently chatted with our Executive Director Jodi Michaels in one of the first StoryCorps conversations recorded while the storytelling archives’ mobile bus was in town, in partnership with WMUK, to record and preserve the stories of Kalamazoo.

Citizen diplomacy stories shared with StoryCorps

In addition to her recorded conversation with Mondoux, Michaels also recorded our community’s first StoryCorps interview, alongside Global Ties Kalamazoo board member and longtime hospitality host Leeanne Seaver.

Here’s what Seaver had to say about the experience:

"It was fun recalling some great experiences I had with Global Ties Kalamazoo guests from all over the world. It was also important to document these stories that reflect the ways this organization has impacted our communities--here in Kalamazoo and wherever our visitors took home the feeling of friendship and a deeper understanding of how connected we truly are. Recording these stories for posterity is worth doing. I felt so proud to be a part of this."

If ensuring that #ExchangeIsForEverybody matters to you, we invite you to consider supporting our work. Click the button below to donate, or text GTKZOO to 44321.

Thank you for your support,

Jodi Hope Michaels and the Global Ties Kalamazoo Team

*This blog post was originally sent as an email newsletter on August 17, 2023