Supporter Spotlight: Students United for Immigrant Equality at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
Rosa Elias, Michelle Jamanca, and Emma Fowler of SUIE.
Last month, Students United for Immigrant Equality at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill raised $300 for the Young Center’s work for immigrant children through a Valentine’s Day bake sale at their school. Rosa Elias, Michelle Jamanca, and Emma Fowler sat down with us to tell us why helping children in immigration proceedings was so important to them.
Tell us a little bit about how you learned about the Young Center. Why or how did you get involved with our work initially?
Students United for Immigrant Equality (SUIE) at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill holds monthly fundraisers to support the immigrant communities across the United States. This semester, we learned about the Young Center during our research. We saw the passion and commitment Young Center staff and volunteers have for supporting immigrant children and families at the border and we knew immediately we wanted to support such a good cause.
What has your involvement been like?
Our involvement has been very rewarding knowing we have been able to help the immigrant youth fleeing from danger and seeking safety in the United States. For this particular round of fundraising, we made delicious Peruvian alfajores! Our SUIE team is composed of five Peruvians, so we felt we should make a Peruvian desert for the fundraiser. We actually sold out of the alfajores in less than an hour and all proceeds were donated to the Young Center!
So what is the best recipe to make alfajores?
The best recipe to make two dozen alfajores, which will end up making around 50 cookies, is 2 cups of flour, 1.75 sticks of unsalted butter, and 3 1/4 cups of powdered sugar. Then after baking them in the oven for 15 minutes at 340 degrees, you will need to allow them to cool down and put “manjar blanco” (Peruvian dulce de leche) in the middle of the two cookies to create the alfajor. At the end, if you would like, you can add powdered sugar at the top of the alfajores and that's it: You will get some delicious cookies!
What is one thing you’d like everyone to know about the Young Center’s work?
I would like people to know that the Young Center is focusing on an issue that many people are not discussing or advocating for today. Children arriving at our borders face a difficult and complex system and are often separated from their families and loved one. The Young Center works each day to build a better system, find counsel for children, and defend their rights.
What’s your dream for immigrant children?
SUIE’s dream is for immigrant children to be able to live without additional trauma after they cross the border. These children and their families are fleeing to the United States in search for safety and a better life. They need to be protected.