Welcome! We are a group of friends living in the Washington, D.C. area who plan to sponsor an Afghan refugee family as they relocate to the area following their evacuation from Afghanistan. We want you to be part of that work with us!
Like you, we felt shock, grief, and compassion as we watched many Afghans flee Kabul in search of safety from the Taliban. With events unfolding so far away, we wanted to do something tangible to serve and welcome those who made it to the United States.
To that end, we are participating in the Sponsor Circle Program for Afghans. This program enables private citizens to welcome refugees to our communities and help them get their feet under them for at least their first 90 days. You may be familiar with resettlement organizations like World Relief or Lutheran Social Services. Due to budget cuts and the volume of need, those organizations are not able to help every refugee coming to the U.S. We are stepping in to provide similar services, but with a larger community to support in that effort. That community is you!
Through our Sponsor Circle, we will support a newcomer family by helping them secure housing, furnish their home (Amazon wishlist), find steady jobs, find medical and mental health care, enroll children in a school or daycare program, navigate local transportation, and take other steps necessary to learn English and integrate with their new community. We also provide basic necessities (Amazon wishlist ).
The Sponsor Circle program requires that participants raise at least $2,275 per individual welcomed. We expect to be sponsoring a family of four. We have set our goal at $25,000 because the cost of living is much higher in metro D.C. and we would like to provide the family with some stability and long-term options beyond the 90 days.
Every tax-deductible dollar you give will go to a fund set aside for this Sponsor Circle through REACT DC, a local refugee resettlement support organization. Until the family has a stable income, we will provide installments of funds as needed for rent and living expenses while working with them to budget for life in metro D.C. Any funds remaining at the end of the 90 days will be given to the family to launch their life in the U.S. and provide them with options for the future.
We will be updating regularly as we learn more and welcome this family to the area. We expect them to arrive in the next three to four weeks, so we would like to meet our goal by April 15. Any amount that you can give is greatly appreciated and will be significant for this family. Please help us welcome them and show them that they have a place in our community!
Here are tangible giving levels that would support this family:
- 1 Month of Rent: $1,750
- 1 Laptop: $649
- Furniture Items for the Apartment: $500
- 1 Week of Groceries: $100
- 1 Month of Bus Transportation/per person: $80
- School Supplies for Kids: $50
- English Books: $25
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Who is in this Sponsor Circle?
A: Our Sponsor Circle is 8 individuals--Paul, William, Marlene, Jackie, Mark, Vivian, Haley, and Mac. Members of our group have worked with refugees before and/or were part of the initial refugee intake effort when planes were landing in the United States. While we are ready to assist, we can't do it without your support!
Q: Is my donation tax-deductible?
A: Gifts to this family are tax-deductible, and you will receive a receipt from PayPal Giving Fund. Our support organization is REACT DC, a non-profit with 501(c)3 status.
Q: How will you manage the money? What steps will you take to be accountable for the funds?
A: We take administration and transparency seriously. The bank account that will hold the funds is administered by REACT DC, our support organization, so none of our group members will have direct access to the funds without a third-party paper trail. We have an internal accounting policy for our group and will keep a detailed ledger of every expense.
Q: In addition to money, can we support through in-kind donations, prayer, or any other ways?
A: Yes! You can buy goods directly from our Amazon wishlist and they will be ready for the family when they arrive. If you live in the Washington D.C. area, we are also open to coordinating in-kind donations of household goods and furniture. Prayer is also very welcome. As you can imagine, relocating to the United States following a wartime evacuation requires a lot of fortitude and resilience and can be a disorienting and lonely experience. If you have any leads on employment opportunities, translation services, low-cost vehicles, or anything else that may assist us in supporting this family, please reach out to us directly. We cannot thank you enough for helping us to support this family.
Q: This sounds amazing! What would it take for me to do this in my community?
A: We've discovered that there are so many resources out there to help you if you want to start a Sponsor Circle. The need still exists, and we would be happy to help you get started with your own Sponsor Circle. Please reach out if you are interested!
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