Finding work as a refugee in a new country can be daunting. After an impactful Montserrat class, Riley Benner ’20, a political science and philosophy double major, rekindled a company he started as a 15-year-old in Rochester, Phoenix Haberdashery, and is working with refugees living in Worcester to create fashionable neckwear that’s not only stylish, but helps newly-arrived families start to build a new life.
“I decided on the name Phoenix Haberdashery the day I went to the resettlement center in Rochester,” Riley told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette. “Haberdashery is a maker of accessories, and the logo of the phoenix rising from the ashes and starting a new life, that is my hope for our sewers – to start a new life, rising out of the ashes of war. That is the heart of our mission.”
Riley’s head tailor, Edris Omar, escaped Syria’s civil war and came to the United States with his family last year hoping for a new start, and he found it.
“I am happy,” Omar said. “I live with my three kids and my wife and I work with Riley to make ties.”
Read the full piece by the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.
Additional Coverage:
- Worcester News Tonight, Dec. 5
- Catholic News Service, Dec. 19