Support Our Welcome Circle for Afghan Refugees
Donation protected
***UPDATE***
We have been matched with a family of three! We are preparing to welcome the family to Minnesota next Wednesday, April 13th. Our umbrella organization, HIAS, and the Community Sponsorship Hub (CSH - a non-profit project sponsored by Rockefeller Philathropy Advisors, Inc.) reviewed and approved our application and the family of three chose to be sponsored by our circle rather than receive regular refugee resettlement services/funds from the government.
Per recommendations from HIAS and CSH, we are now withdrawing the funds raised here and depositing them into a newly-created bank account specifically for the family. Only our Welcome Circle will have access to the funds for the first six months of their time in Minnesota. We have been advised not to immediately transfer funds directly to the family, but rather, manage the funds in the beginning and provide the family with a weekly stipend as well as pay monthly bills. This is so as not to negatively affect the family's eligibility for benefits like EBT, healthcare, and so on. Over the next six months, we will work with the family to help them become financially independent, which will include transferring the bank account and remaining funds into their name.
For the next six months, the funds will be used to pay for: monthly rent & utilities at an apartment in the Twin Cities, phone and internet, groceries and household items, dental and medical costs, bus/transportation to/from appointments, school supplies, clothing, and pocket money. We have already made a deposit on the apartment and purchased food staples & household items; Welcome Circle members covered these initial costs.
**BACKGROUND***
Welcome! We are a group of civic-minded friends and colleagues living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area who have formed the Twin Cities Afghan Welcome Circle to sponsor an Afghan refugee family as they relocate to Minnesota. This past October, the US announced the Sponsor Circle Program for Afghans , enabling private, community-led sponsorship of refugees in the US for the first time.
Through our Welcome Circle, and with guidance from HIAS , we will support a newcomer family by securing housing, furnishing the home, acquiring basic necessities (e.g., cleaning, personal care, and pantry items), assisting in the family's employment search, connecting to health and medical resources, enrolling children in a school or daycare program, navigating local transportation options, and taking other steps necessary to integrating within a new community. Eight families form the nucleus of this Welcome Circle, but there will be many opportunities for our broader community to engage in support.
This program requires Sponsor Circles to first raise a minimum of $2,275 per refugee before beginning the process of relocation support. (Refugees who are supported by a Sponsor Circle opt-in to the program, in lieu of a traditional resettlement agency, so they must forgo the federal funding of $2,275 that comes along with being assisted by a resettlement agency.) We have committed to assisting a family of four or five people for a full six-month period, which we have estimated to cost approximately $20,000.00 based on the cost of living in the Twin Cities Metro Area.
We welcome donations of any amount! Thank you in advance for your generosity and support.
- Christina and Bo Connelly, Dani and Alex Fisher, Meaghan Phelan and Kevin O’Hara, Kari Zimmerman and Matt Holcomb, Cindy and Perry Witkin, Rachel Levine, Nancy Joseph-Goldfarb and Alan Goldfarb
We have been matched with a family of three! We are preparing to welcome the family to Minnesota next Wednesday, April 13th. Our umbrella organization, HIAS, and the Community Sponsorship Hub (CSH - a non-profit project sponsored by Rockefeller Philathropy Advisors, Inc.) reviewed and approved our application and the family of three chose to be sponsored by our circle rather than receive regular refugee resettlement services/funds from the government.
Per recommendations from HIAS and CSH, we are now withdrawing the funds raised here and depositing them into a newly-created bank account specifically for the family. Only our Welcome Circle will have access to the funds for the first six months of their time in Minnesota. We have been advised not to immediately transfer funds directly to the family, but rather, manage the funds in the beginning and provide the family with a weekly stipend as well as pay monthly bills. This is so as not to negatively affect the family's eligibility for benefits like EBT, healthcare, and so on. Over the next six months, we will work with the family to help them become financially independent, which will include transferring the bank account and remaining funds into their name.
For the next six months, the funds will be used to pay for: monthly rent & utilities at an apartment in the Twin Cities, phone and internet, groceries and household items, dental and medical costs, bus/transportation to/from appointments, school supplies, clothing, and pocket money. We have already made a deposit on the apartment and purchased food staples & household items; Welcome Circle members covered these initial costs.
**BACKGROUND***
Welcome! We are a group of civic-minded friends and colleagues living in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area who have formed the Twin Cities Afghan Welcome Circle to sponsor an Afghan refugee family as they relocate to Minnesota. This past October, the US announced the Sponsor Circle Program for Afghans , enabling private, community-led sponsorship of refugees in the US for the first time.
Through our Welcome Circle, and with guidance from HIAS , we will support a newcomer family by securing housing, furnishing the home, acquiring basic necessities (e.g., cleaning, personal care, and pantry items), assisting in the family's employment search, connecting to health and medical resources, enrolling children in a school or daycare program, navigating local transportation options, and taking other steps necessary to integrating within a new community. Eight families form the nucleus of this Welcome Circle, but there will be many opportunities for our broader community to engage in support.
This program requires Sponsor Circles to first raise a minimum of $2,275 per refugee before beginning the process of relocation support. (Refugees who are supported by a Sponsor Circle opt-in to the program, in lieu of a traditional resettlement agency, so they must forgo the federal funding of $2,275 that comes along with being assisted by a resettlement agency.) We have committed to assisting a family of four or five people for a full six-month period, which we have estimated to cost approximately $20,000.00 based on the cost of living in the Twin Cities Metro Area.
We welcome donations of any amount! Thank you in advance for your generosity and support.
- Christina and Bo Connelly, Dani and Alex Fisher, Meaghan Phelan and Kevin O’Hara, Kari Zimmerman and Matt Holcomb, Cindy and Perry Witkin, Rachel Levine, Nancy Joseph-Goldfarb and Alan Goldfarb
Fundraising team (4)
Christina Connelly
Organizer
St. Paul, MN
Cindy and Perry Witkin
Beneficiary
Meaghan Phelan
Team member
Dani And Alex Fisher
Team member
