From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for June 18, 1989:

Jill Jenkins, mother of eight children and wife of a church educator, spoke to the Journal-World today about her coordination of the Lawrence Latin American Refugee Committee. The two-month-old group was seeking churches or other groups to sponsor refugees from Central America as well as host families to feed, shelter, and clothe refugees for up to one year. The local committee, which had applied for private non-profit status, was affiliated with the Overground Railroad, headquartered in Evanston, Ill. When speaking to others in the Lawrence community about the committee’s efforts, Jenkins said she often had to field concerns. “One man said we should help the people at home first. I agree,” Jenkins said, but she added she could not ignore the plight of refugees whose lives were endangered by government or guerrilla forces. “I feel that if people feel their lives are in danger and they have enough courage to leave their country then other people ought to be feeling enough to help them,” Jenkins explained.