Stranded in Philadelphia by Iceland’s volcano?

We’ve been getting a lot of calls from people stuck in Philadelphia while they wait for the airports in Europe to reopen, and we’re doing our best to help people as much as we can.

We’re working with the Consulate to keep track of emergencies like death or major illness and helping people with smaller issues like how to renew prescriptions or find low-cost accommodation.

So please, if you are stuck at the airport or think your accommodation may be about to run out, let us know now. Chances are that it will take a couple of weeks for everyone to get on flights home, so the sooner we know what your needs are, the better we will be able to see what we can do to help.

Please phone 610-789-6355 and leave your name and a contact number. We will get back to you as soon as we can.

And thanks to everyone in the Irish community who has offered to help!  You’re all amazing, and we will be in touch as we figure out how what everyone’s needs are.

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Take our survey – or we’ll speak for you!

Have you taken the Irish community survey yet?

Do you share Mairead’s opinions on the Irish community?

We had planned to close the survey at the end of March, but St. Patrick’s month has clearly turned people’s thoughts to their Irish heritage and we’ve had lots more responses coming in. So I have extended the deadline for one more month to give the rest of you stragglers a chance to take part.

The preliminary results are already very interesting.

Just a quick look shows that you overwhelmingly support comprehensive immigration reform with fewer than three percent against it. And there are some telling differences between Irish-born and U.S.-born responses. For example, the Irish-born are keen to see more immigration services – no surprise there. But about 70% of U.S.-born Irish would like to see the Immigration Center provide more cultural programs.

If this speaks to you, I’d love to hear more about the type of programs you’re looking for – and make sure you subscribe to Irish Philadelphia to up-to-date on the many events that happen each week.

The best part of the survey has been reading all your comments on how the Immigration Center can help you. You’ve sent in tons of suggestions, some very detailed, and I hope we can incorporate many of them as we expand the Center.

So thank you for your help so far. Keep the responses coming – and don’t forget to send the survey onto your friends too.

Take our survey – or we’ll ban Blackthorn!

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