About Us - Sobre Nosotros - El Refugio / The Refuge

About Us - sobre nosotros

English: El Refugio is a Christian organization that improves the quality of life for all in Sanford and Lee County, North Carolina by building bridges between transitioning immigrants and established residents through sharing, learning, and serving our community together while respecting cultural identities.

ESPAÑOL: EL REFUGIO ES UNA ORGANIZACIÓN CRISTIANA QUE MEJORA LA CALIDAD DE VIDA DE TODOS EN LA AREA DE SANFORD DEL CONDADO DE LEE CREANDO LAZOS ENTRE INMIGRANTES Y RESIDENTES ESTABLECIDOS A TRAVÉS DE COMPARTIR, APRENDER, Y SERVIR CONJUNTAMENTE, RESPETANDO SUS IDENTIDADES CULTURALES.

Our Mission

To promote opportunities for interaction between cultures that encourage positive relationships based on sharing knowledge, hopes and experiences. To foster individual growth in Lee County by identifying people’s needs and talents, and finding the resources to develop them.

Nuestra Misión

Promover oportunidades para la interacción entre las culturas para fortalecer relaciones positivas basadas en el intercambio de conocimientos, esperanzas y experiencias. Fomentar el desarrollo de las persona en el Condado de Lee identificando sus talentos y necesidades, y encontrando los recursos para hacerlo.

English

Español

Our Team - Nuestro Equipo

Sandra Torres

Executive Director/Directora Ejecutiva
elrefugioed@gmail.com
Sandra Torres is a native of Sanford, NC where she was raised by her Mexican and Salvadoran parents. Growing up she was exposed to the richness of the Latinx cultures and the distinct challenges immigrant families face due to cultural and language barriers. Sandra’s vision to work towards change, inform, and empower the immigrant communities motivated her pursue a career engaging in community work. She graduated with a Bachelor in Social Work with a minor in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke and a Master of Social Work degree from North Carolina State University. Sandra came to El Refugio in 2018 as a volunteer and later became Program Director where she engaged in teaching, grant writing, event coordination, community building, programming, and more. Previously she worked in domestic violence, rape crisis, social services, and as an ESL instructor/administrative personnel at Central Carolina Community College.

Program Coordinator/Cordinadora de Programas
elrefugioad@gmail.com
Vivi Quiles Colon is a native of Puerto Rico. She came to the United States as a Military spouse. Vivi has twelve years of experience in childcare, customer services and administration. She is passionate and dedicated to serving the immigrant and Latinex communities. Mrs. Colon currently works at the Fayetteville Justice For Our Neighbors as an administrative assistant. She helps with operations, translations, intake screenings and more. She also, recently, started work with El Refugio, where she is the Program Coordinator, alongside the Executive Director, she works to develop and manage the Childcare and Child Enrichment Program and Volunteer and Youth Programs. There, she also assists in events and language programs when needed.
El Refugio welcomes her aboard and look forward to her collaboration.