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We, the volunteers at Refugee Community Connection, are being asked daily for food. These Moms and Dads are asking for potatoes, flour, cooking oil, milk, eggs -- the basics -- to feed their families. They need diapers and soap. More than half of the Dads worked as taxi/Uber/Lyft drivers but can't yet get Unemployment from the State of IL yet even though they've been out of work for over 5 weeks and normally live paycheck-to-paycheck.
If you are financially able, please consider donating a portion of your $1200 Economic Stimulus funds to these families in urgent need.
We'll use these emergency monies to provide food, diapers, and soap. Any funds left over will be used toward rent, to keep people housed, once evictions are allowed again. Refugee Community Connection has no overhead, so every cent you donate will go directly to recently arrived refugees in need.
While we’ve had to temporarily close the Free Store to shoppers during the pandemic, we continue to provide emergency relief such as delivering food, diapers, clothing, and cleaning supplies. We regularly share essential information with the families. We are assisting with applications for Unemployment benefits, and food benefits. These are hardworking people who want to provide for their families. They are taking English classes and going to college. These refugees left their war-torn countries to build a new life here. The families’ urgent needs for food, cleaning supplies, and toiletries has grown exponentially since most of them have been unable to work.
Mission:
Refugee Community Connection is an all-volunteer community organization that seeks to ease the transition for recently arrived refugees to Chicago, with our focus on Special Immigrant Visa (*"SIV") holders, by providing resources, information, and household necessities through a personal connection with welcoming neighbors. We seek to supplement basic needs not already met by professional refugee resettlement agencies and government services.
Connections and provisions:
We are community members simply aiding our community. Our all-volunteer group strives to ensure that each family has its urgent needs met with basic furniture, beds and bedding, computer, phone, kitchenware and appliances, clothing and footwear, cleaning supplies, bicycles, diapers, toiletries, and food as needed. On average, we welcome two new families a month to Chicago, since our founding have served approximately four hundred refugees. We also source computers (we have provided computers to a 100+ families), cell phones, and bicycles (60+), as well as emergency relief as needed.
*SIVs are our wartime allies. These are people who worked for years for the US military in Afghanistan or Iraq, putting their lives and their families lives at risk. Many were Interpreters embedded with our troops. After a lengthy vetting process, they qualified for visas for their immediate family to immigrate to the US. Only 10% of those approved actually get their promised visas -- the SIVs that get here are the lucky ones. Once they arrive, they receive limited government assistance for the first 3 months. They are permanent residents. They deserve to be treated as honorary veterans.
Refugee Community Connection is not yet incorporated as 501(c)3 charity, however, we can provide a charitable donation receipt from Tabor Lutheran Church. If you need a donation receipt for tax purposes, please direct message me with your legal name and address, and email.
If you are financially able, please consider donating a portion of your $1200 Economic Stimulus funds to these families in urgent need.
We'll use these emergency monies to provide food, diapers, and soap. Any funds left over will be used toward rent, to keep people housed, once evictions are allowed again. Refugee Community Connection has no overhead, so every cent you donate will go directly to recently arrived refugees in need.
While we’ve had to temporarily close the Free Store to shoppers during the pandemic, we continue to provide emergency relief such as delivering food, diapers, clothing, and cleaning supplies. We regularly share essential information with the families. We are assisting with applications for Unemployment benefits, and food benefits. These are hardworking people who want to provide for their families. They are taking English classes and going to college. These refugees left their war-torn countries to build a new life here. The families’ urgent needs for food, cleaning supplies, and toiletries has grown exponentially since most of them have been unable to work.
Mission:
Refugee Community Connection is an all-volunteer community organization that seeks to ease the transition for recently arrived refugees to Chicago, with our focus on Special Immigrant Visa (*"SIV") holders, by providing resources, information, and household necessities through a personal connection with welcoming neighbors. We seek to supplement basic needs not already met by professional refugee resettlement agencies and government services.
Connections and provisions:
We are community members simply aiding our community. Our all-volunteer group strives to ensure that each family has its urgent needs met with basic furniture, beds and bedding, computer, phone, kitchenware and appliances, clothing and footwear, cleaning supplies, bicycles, diapers, toiletries, and food as needed. On average, we welcome two new families a month to Chicago, since our founding have served approximately four hundred refugees. We also source computers (we have provided computers to a 100+ families), cell phones, and bicycles (60+), as well as emergency relief as needed.
*SIVs are our wartime allies. These are people who worked for years for the US military in Afghanistan or Iraq, putting their lives and their families lives at risk. Many were Interpreters embedded with our troops. After a lengthy vetting process, they qualified for visas for their immediate family to immigrate to the US. Only 10% of those approved actually get their promised visas -- the SIVs that get here are the lucky ones. Once they arrive, they receive limited government assistance for the first 3 months. They are permanent residents. They deserve to be treated as honorary veterans.
Refugee Community Connection is not yet incorporated as 501(c)3 charity, however, we can provide a charitable donation receipt from Tabor Lutheran Church. If you need a donation receipt for tax purposes, please direct message me with your legal name and address, and email.