Montgomery Place Welcomes the Refugee Project
Lisa La Vallee | Published on 11/30/2019
Last month, Hyde Park Refugee Project founder Dorothy Pytel was invited to give a talk at Montgomery Place, a high rise retirement community in East Hyde Park.,
Resident Bernard Strauss helped make the arrangements. “One of our residents talked to me about the general topic and suggested that Bernie Brown [former Dean of Rockefeller Chapel] would know more,” says Strauss. “I contacted Rev. Brown and he gave me Dorothy Pytel’s name along with a glowing recommendation for her as a speaker.”
“It was a lovely evening,” said Pytel. “Carolyn Lawrence, one of the interns, and I first had dinner and great conversations there with a group of residents that organize the speakers.”
During her presentation, Pytel talked about how the project got started and the challenges facing the families the Refugee Project is helping. She also told a few stories about how the education they are receiving in the US, supplemented by the tutoring they receive from Refugee Project volunteers, is giving hope for their children’s future. A lively question and answer period ensued.
“I have known about the project for a year or more, through my participation at Augustana,” resident Phil Hefner said. “We like to keep our residents informed about important projects, especially those in Hyde Park. Everyone I spoke with appreciated the talk.”
He added that at least one of the audience plans to suggest Hyde Park Refugee Project as a possible addition to the charities supported by the resident’s fund.