Main fundraiser photo

Welcome Circle-Help Resettle an Afghan Family

Donation protected
Welcoming a New Family

The Kesher Welcome Circle – together with the refugee resettlement agency HIAS (Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) — is thrilled to welcome a young couple and their adorable two-and-a-half- year old son to Englewood this Friday, February 11.

What is a Welcome Circle?

Jewish communities across the country like Kesher have formed “welcome circles” in conjunction with HIAS (sponsors are vetted and approved by HIAS), committing to a minimum of six months of support for Afghan refugee families as they begin to settle into new communities in the U.S. 

What a journey it has been for this Afghan family. 

They are among 120,00 Afghan refugees forced to flee their homes after the Taliban took control of the capital Kabul in August 2021.

As a former interpreter with a background in computer programming for the U.S.-supported Afghanistan Air Force, our match and his family are part of a historic evacuation effort.

After several  months of being uprooted from one country to the next, the family was flown to the U.S. They arrived at the Fort Dix Military Base in Southern New Jersey with little more than three small suitcases of clothing, and where they have spent the past few months living in a one-room military barrack.

As Welcome Circle and Kesher members, we have committed to help the family for six months so they may find their footing and begin building new lives here in the U.S. They will be temporarily staying in the area until permanent housing can be secured in a New Jersey community with a core of Afghan families, retail shopping, and other infrastructure. 

How You Can Help

This is where you come in: 

Our goal is to raise $30,000 to help get our family on its feet.  All funds raised will be expressly earmarked to secure housing and pay for utilities for six months; provide basic necessities (food, clothing, personal care items, etc.), help them find employment, enroll their little boy in daycare or pre-school, identify healthcare and mental health services as needed, secure legal and language assistance, and more. 

Essentially, we are asking you to be part of helping the family navigate a new way to live, work, shop, bank, and ultimately, thrive, in their new surroundings.

Please do not be put off by the total dollars we need to raise. There is no minimum amount expected; whatever you give will help us move closer to reach our goal. 

Please act now by giving now, and, if you are able, give generously.

With the deepest Hakarat HaTov,

Kesher Welcome Circle Steering Committee


Kehilat Kesher -- Community Synagogue of Tenafly and Englewood

Kesher’s mission is to create a spiritual and respectful place for prayer and textual religious study, to actively participate in communal affairs, and to transmit Jewish values to the next generation.   
Donate

Donations 

  • Anonymous
    • $10
    • 2 yrs
  • Kara Epstein
    • $180
    • 3 yrs
  • Anonymous
    • $113
    • 3 yrs
  • Burton Appel
    • $250
    • 3 yrs
  • Anonymous
    • $36
    • 3 yrs
Donate

Organizer

Kehilat Kesher
Organizer
Englewood, NJ

Your easy, powerful, and trusted home for help

  • Easy

    Donate quickly and easily

  • Powerful

    Send help right to the people and causes you care about

  • Trusted

    Your donation is protected by the GoFundMe Giving Guarantee