• Win A Dior Bag!
• Project Achievement
• Lansing Tour with Elderly Refugee Clients
• Food Pantry
• Eggsceptional Easter Party

• Womens History Month
• Become a 2024 Member
• WBI's Mentorship
• Food Pantry Volunteers
• Help Provide Basic Needs
• We pick up furniture!

Win a Dior Small Lady Bag!

What is the Power of The Purse?

Each ticket sold has a meaningful impact. It is a chance to provide:

• 87 meals to families in need.
• Diapers and wipes for new moms.
• After-school tutoring.

Every ticket counts! Join the raffle and show the community the Power of The Purse!

Crafting in Project Achievement

Last Tuesday, our students participated in two enjoyable and stimulating crafts during Project Achievement!

First, our students played with oobleck, a non-Newtonian Fluid made of cornstarch and water. This great science and sensory project combined into one showed the students how the substance responds to different forces of pressure.

When students added pressure by punching the substance, it acted as a solid, but while slowly immersing their fingers into the mixture, it acted as a liquid.

We'd like to thank Yousif and Tamara Kareem for their CALC Kids Membership, which supported this week's Project Achievement activities.

If you’d like to sponsor a week of Project Achievement or youth sports, become a CALC Kids Member today!

Elderly Refugee Clients Tour Lansing

On Thursday, our Elderly Refugee Case Manager, Raghad Gabbara, took our clients to tour the state capitol, Lansing. In an effort to combat social isolation and increase integration, this outing was a wonderful way for our clients to learn more about the great state of Michigan!

Clients first took a guided tour of the Michigan State Capitol Building, heard stories about the rich history of Lansing and Michigan, and learned about the unique architecture and art of the building. They then strolled through the Michigan History Museum independently and explored exhibits dating back to Michigan's first peoples.

This outing was a great time to mingle and enjoy each other's company while learning more about their new community.

Food Pantry Serves Over 300 Families

Last Week!

Rain or shine, or even a blizzard, UCFS-CALC serves hundreds of families at each of our food distributions! On Friday, we distributed 15,275 pounds of food to the community, including potatoes, onions, celery, milk, shrimp, and more!

We'd like to say a special thank you to the moms of St. Regis School for your CALC Feeds Membership and for coming out to volunteer in the snow to make this crucial work happen.

UCFS-CALC Members Enjoy

Eggsceptional Easter Party

Thank you to our valued Members, sponsors, and volunteers who joined us for our EGGsceptional Easter Party last Sunday where we raised money for our programs serving our community in need!

Families enjoyed a delicious brunch while taking photos with the Easter bunny, going on egg hunts, making crafts, and much more.

A special thanks to our sponsors for this event! We are forever grateful for your support of UCFS-CALC.

As a proud women-founded, women-led, and women-run organization, we are honoring the women behind our mission. Meet Ban Farida, a long-time volunteer and Advisory Board Member, and Kristin Olmedo, current President & CEO of UCFS-CALC.

About Ban Farida

We sat down with Ban Farida's close friends, Vinos Kassab and Lillian Shallal, CALC Board Treasurer, to learn more about her life and legacy. Ban has served her community through CALC for over 20 years as a volunteer and board member.

In the throws of ISIS, Ban spent countless hours collecting, buying, donating, and packing essentials to send to Iraqi refugees. Lillian and Vinos recall some of their favorite memories with Ban at CALC, before the days of the Sharehouse, putting together this much-needed aid to send overseas. "They're probably starving, guys. They need us," Lillian recalls Ban rallying the community. Ban loved volunteering in CALC's Food Pantry and at all of the fundraising events. "There was nothing [CALC] asked her or Vinos for that they didn't give. Anything we asked, they did it."

"Even when she was so sick, she was concerned with the cost of her treatment and so worried about how others who needed the same meds could afford it," Lillian tells us. She was always thinking of others. After Ban's diagnosis, she lived for two more years. Her friends and family strongly believe that she was holding on for them. Even in her passing, she was thinking of and doing for others.

When we asked her friends how they would sum up Ban's legacy, they told us, "She LOVED people. She was generous, loving, and kind." Love is a verb, and Ban was a doer.

Kristin Olmedo is CALC's President & CEO since June 2021. In these (almost) three short years, CALC has seen amazing growth - in the size of our team, number of people served, programs offered, fundraising and development, improved efficiencies, number of partnerships, and so much more.

"I am most proud of the variety of support we offer and how we present it to our clients. Dignity has always been a part of CALC's mission, and recently, we have been so intentional about HOW we serve," Kristin says. "I am so grateful to lead such a dedicated team who really care."

"The power that a determined group of women have is just so impactful. I love being a part of a front-line team who is really making a difference," says Kristin. Under Kristin's leadership, CALC has expanded and now reaches across the entire state of Michigan and even into Ohio to help newcomers get on their feet.

When we asked Kristin about her favorite CALC moment so far, she tells us, "In just three years, I already have so many!" As a hands-on leader, Kristin speaks fondly of the Food Pantry program. "I would have to say that after a long day of work in the food pantry, when you're just so tired, and the one client pulls up who is always singing! The joy and gratitude our clients have for the help received from our community is as energizing as it is heartwarming."

Kristin reflects on the investment in CALC by so many women before her. "I am so grateful for all of the amazing women who laid such a solid foundation for CALC to flourish and for the support of such an amazing community." CALC is so grateful for Kristin's hard work and dedication to the organization, and we look forward to seeing the new heights she will take us to in the future.

Congratulations to our Advisory Board Member, the Honorable Yasmine Poles, for being named among the Top Circuit Court Judges by DBusiness Magazine!

UCFS-CALC is seeking volunteer tutors and reading specialists for our Project Achievement afterschool tutoring program. Help children improve their reading skills, academic performance, and their future!

Volunteers are needed on Tuesdays, 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

If you would like to get involved with Project Achievement, please reach out to Arjan Kallou at

(248)528-0262 or at akallou@ucfamilyservices.org.

Dress warm and comfy, and show up ready to work! We'll have you fill out a short form when you get here, and that's it!



The Sharehouse Food Pantry is located at

2033 Austin Drive in Troy

Make a donation to a program of your choice or a general donation to be used where it's needed most. Our community's trust in us and our mission make it possible for UCFS-CALC being able to continue to serve our neighbors in need with dignity and hope.

While we do accept gently used items in our Sharehouse, we provide our Clients with brand-new items as well. We do this for many reasons, such as the longevity of the item or for hygiene purposes, but most importantly, because our Clients deserve a dignified experience.

You can help us do this by purchasing new items from our Wishlist below, where they'll ship directly to us. Click the button below and share with your friends and family!

1. Create a digital account

2. Link your Card to UCFS-CALC

Search for "Chaldean American Ladies of Charity"

3. Your Kroger purchases support UCFS-CALC

Questions or Interested in Becoming a Sponsor?

Contact our Events Coordinator, Melissa Siba, at

248-251-1164 or email msiba@ucfamilyservices.org