SODS helps immigrants and refugees make Saskatchewan home
Giving Tuesday | Stephen Whitworth
Saskatchewan’s population continued to grow last year. And a big part of that growth came from abroad.
In 2023, more than 7,200 immigrants arrived in Saskatchewan. This is great news for a bunch of reasons. From an economic perspective, ‘new residents’ mean ‘new workers’ contributing to the provincial economy. Which is fine, economists need things to get excited about just like the rest of us normal humans (economists: they’re people too! Probably!).
More importantly, these new arrivals bring new perspectives, fresh enthusiasm, cultural diversity and great food which, taken together, energizes our li’l province.
Immigrants make Saskatchewan more interesting. One hopes that’s something we value.
That’s just immigrations’ contribution to residents here. For new arrivals, the benefits are many and varied. Opportunities, obviously. For some, it’s safety and security after leaving war-ravaged or oppressive countries. It could be the freedom to practice a persecuted religion or to legally love the person one wants to. And while yes, Canada has a looong ways to go, obviously, this is still, on balance, a country operating (imperfectly) under the rule of law. Canada is (generally!) welcoming to other cultures and it’s a country that has, debatably, a superior track record on human rights compared to most other nations (though we obviously lose huge marks for Indigenous genocide and wholly inadequate reconciliation efforts. Drinkable water on reserves? Hello?).
But new arrivals face barriers, too. They need support to be successful. And that’s where organizations like the Saskatoon Open Door Society are needed.
The Saskatoon Open Door Society (est. 1980) provides services newcomers need. The organization knows there’s no integration without the ability for communication and offers English classes at three locations. It helps clients find jobs and parents find child care or a school for their kids. And a lot more.
Among other things, immigration is about opportunity. And this Giving Tuesday is our collective opportunity to help. The Saskatoon Open Door Society has a nifty redesigned website that makes donating easy. One-time contributions are terrific and monthly donations are helpful too (they make funding more predictable and help keep services running smoothly). Donors may also direct their contributions to specific areas: refugee crisis response, women’s programs, language services and nine others, plus of course to general, all-organization support for all SODS programs.
(Donation cheques can also be mailed to 100-129 3rd Ave N, Saskatoon, SK, S7K 2H4.)
Aside from Giving Tuesday, the Saskatoon Open Door Society is currently looking for holiday hampers and gift cards. They can be dropped off at SODS’ main office on 3rd Avenue north Monday to Friday between 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Its also launching a new video series — “From Strangers to Neighbors” — that debuts Monday, Dec. 2. The “can’t-miss” series is about “the resilience and generosity that newcomers bring to our community,” and can be found on social media.