The browser you are using is not supported. Please consider using a modern browser.

Skip Navigation
Act Now Donate
Start of main content.

News

Crafting for the Community

Global Refuge Staff

February 12, 2026

Growing up in a Lutheran family, Ann H. saw firsthand how to live out her faith through welcoming and standing with our vulnerable neighbors.

When she was younger, her parents helped a displaced couple from Europe find work and secure housing as they resettled into a new country and culture.

“To see the bonds that formed from that relationship really had an impact on me,” she says, adding that her parents remained close with the couple for over 25 years.

A member of a Lutheran church in Virginia, Ann answers the call to welcome the stranger through work with her congregation and through one very unique way—pottery making.

A creation by Ann.

After working for years as a research chemist, Ann discovered a love for working in clay when her sons were in elementary school. She eventually opened a home studio, where she continues to create and sell her crafts.

“I wanted to use my talents to help as much as I could,” says Ann, who sells mugs—some reading Child of God, others inspired by quilting designs—to raise money for causes she believes in, including Global Refuge.

To Ann, the mugs are symbolic. “Sitting down with someone over a cup of coffee—that simple act of kindness and connection is something we all need right now.”

The Latest

  • Advocacy

    February 5, 2026

    Refugees, immigrants from Burma face increasing threats to status

    Five years ago, Burma’s burgeoning democracy was upended in a bloody coup by the military junta. Learn more and how to help Burmese refugees.

    Read More
  • Press Release

    January 30, 2026

    Global Refuge Receives Grant from Texas Bar Foundation to Combat Immigration Scams Targeting Afghan Nationals

    Global Refuge has received a grant from the Texas Bar Foundation to support a new initiative aimed at preventing Afghan nationals in Texas from falling prey to immigration scams.

    Read More
  • News

    January 30, 2026

    F.A.Q. on the Federal Court Decision to Stop Unlawful Arrests and Detention of Refugees under Operation PARRIS

    On January 28, a federal judge issued a Temporary Restraining Order stopping the Administration from arresting and detaining lawfully admitted and resettled refugees in Minnesota under Operation PARRIS while a court case on the issue proceeds. Global Refuge breaks the judgment down.

    Read More
  • Press Release

    January 29, 2026

    Federal Court Blocks “Operation PARRIS,” Orders Release of Detained Refugees

    A federal judge issued an order blocking “Operation PARRIS,” finding that the program unlawfully targeted and detained legally admitted refugees in violation of federal law and the Constitution.

    Read More
  • Press Release

    January 25, 2026

    Global Refuge Condemns Killing of Alex Pretti in Sweeping Federal Immigration Raids

    Global Refuge statement on the unjustified killing of Alex Pretti: an American ICU nurse known for his service to veterans who was fatally shot by federal immigration agents in Minnesota.

    Read More

Share