Small Town News

Foreign students in Cape Region still searching for summer jobs

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Every year, hundreds of international students descend upon the Rehoboth Beach area, but this year, surveys show that more than 300 foreign students have no job.

Helping the students get accustomed to life in the United States is the International Student Outreach Program (ISOP), a joint venture between the Lewes-Rehoboth Association of Churches and the Rehoboth Beach-Dewey Beach Chamber of Commerce. The nonprofit program offers meals, transportation and assistance.

Hugh Leahy, senior vice president for southern Delaware office of the Delaware Community Foundation, said, "One key challenge for us has been establishing good communications with employers so that any problems that arise may be brought to light and addressed promptly."

The program offers dinners every week, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday nights at Ep-worth United Methodist Church, St. Edmond's Catholic Church and Lutheran Church of our Savior, respectively. The churches say they have served 274 more meals than last year and are averaging 220 more meals served than the past two years. Most of the students have traditionally come from Russia, but there has been a big increase in meals served for students from countries like Ukraine and Moldova.

As part of signing in for meals, students are asked where they are working. These stats show an interesting trend: while more students are finding jobs, there is also a larger group of students who are without jobs. According to the churches, 541 students have jobs with 138 different employers. However, there are 307 students without a job, more than doubling the amount from last year. According to church volunteers, reasons for the amount of students without jobs include a lack of English skills, fraudulent contracts with sponsors and a lack of a Social Security card. Students are required to have a Social Security card, mainly for tax purposes but to also show they are legally in the country Most employers will not pay the students their paychecks without a Social Security number. In addition, there are more students looking for jobs than there are jobs available. Even students who do have jobs are having trouble finding second and third jobs that students often have to take to make ends meet.

"The great majority of students have a great experience with employers who go far beyond what is required to ensure these students receive the work and cultural experience they would want their own kids to have," Leahy said. "This being true, it is nonetheless unclear how many students travel here without the promise of a job versus those whose promised job does not provide the hours needed versus those whose job doesn't exist. Sorting this out can be difficult."

When ISOP encounters students without jobs, Leahy said, "Our posture has been to place the student in touch with their sponsoring organization, who is responsible to the State Department for the visitors they sponsor. We have found sponsors to be responsive.

"Another is funding. "Local firms have volunteered at and helped underwrite meal costs. Participation along these lines or contributions made directly to the Lewes-Rehoboth Association of Churches is critical if we hope to sustain these efforts over time," Leahy said.

He said he has no estimate of how many students are here this year. The sponsors are also a big part of getting the students here.

"Most students fly from their home countries in small groups into the New York area. Their sponsors provide transportation information that gets them to Ocean City, Md., and then by taxi or hired car to the Rehoboth area. Some employers arrange transportation for their workers from the airport of arrival or meet them in Ocean City," Leahy said. As an organization helping students with their stay, ISOP provides a wide array of services, providing housing and transportation information, meals and three field trips. "ISOP has a wonderful group of volunteers who-do all that is asked and more," Leahy said. For more information on the program, visit the chamber website at beach-fun.com.





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