RISSE

🌿 **Albany Essential Exchange** 🌿

Free community exchange for food and essentials.

💚 Take what you need
💚 Give what you can (optional)

📅 June 12, 2026
⏰ 11 AM–1 PM
📍 240 W. Lawrence St., Albany, NY

Everyone is welcome! Help us build a community where neighbors support neighbors. 🤝

💙 Health care can feel confusing when you’re new to a country. That’s why community matters.

🌍 In celebration of World Health Day, RISSE hosted a Community Health Resource Fair to help newcomer families connect with local healthcare resources, build confidence, and learn how to navigate the U.S. healthcare system.

✨ Met directly with providers from Chasing Health, St. Peter’s Crime & Victim Support Services, Planned Parenthood, and MVP Health Care.
✨ Learned about healthcare, wellness, and preventive services.
✨ Asked questions, built connections, and discovered resources available right here in our community.

A special shoutout to our MPH intern, Victoria Buell, whose leadership helped make this event possible. Victoria also developed a Basic Healthcare Vocabulary Handbook for newcomer learners, which was distributed to participants and will continue supporting students in RISSE’s Adult Education Program.

Every newcomer deserves access to healthcare, information, and a community that cares. Together, we’re building healthier, stronger, and more connected communities. 💙

ImmigrantSupport CommunityCare HealthForAll CapitalRegion NewAmericans TogetherWeThrive

🌱 Growth doesn’t always look the way we expect.
Sometimes, it looks like a room full of people—laughing, learning, and gently stretching together.

This Monday at RISSE, that’s exactly what happened 💛

A huge thank you to everyone who joined our **Volunteer Coffee Hour & Training** ☕
What began as a quiet start (and a stubborn doorbell 😅) quickly turned into a joyful, full room—filled with connection, curiosity, meaningful conversations, and yes… sweet treats.

During the training, Dr. Claudia introduced the **Learning Zone Model**—a reminder that growth asks us to move beyond what’s comfortable:

✨ Comfort Zone — what feels familiar
✨ Learning Zone — where we reflect and grow
✨ Panic Zone — where overwhelm can stop us

And maybe the most important part—growth doesn’t happen alone.

It happens in spaces like this one, where we feel safe enough to stretch, stay curious, and show up for one another.

🌟 Thank you, Claudia, for holding such a thoughtful and powerful space.
💛 And to our volunteers—you are the heart of this work.

✨ Interested in joining us? Stay tuned for upcoming trainings and ways to get involved.