Urgent Help for Asylum Seekers - The Likhov Family

Hello, please consider donating to the Likhov family. They are currently applying for asylum and working permits here in the United States and need our help to make ends meet in the meantime.

After a strenuous effort to leave their home country of Russia, Maksim, Natasha, and their three young children arrived in Philadelphia where generous resident helped them find housing.

Laws around asylum seeking do not permit Maksim and Natasha to work legally for nearly 6 months, which makes it really difficult to meet their basic needs of housing, food, transportation, utilities, and education.

This GoFundMe is to raise crucial funds to help get our new neighbors settled safely into their new home.

I met their 9 year old son when he joined the hockey team I coach. He is an extremely talented player, and has made a positive impression on the other players with his outstanding Russian skating skills! He’s making friends, learning English, and becoming an important part of our hockey community. The team rallied to help cover the cost of playing, but the family still needs our help to support their overall welfare.

Through the hockey club, the Likhovs were connected with a team of pro bono attorneys, who are helping ensure their asylum status is processed properly, they receive work permits, get enrolled in good schools, and don’t get trapped in all the red tape of the system.

Even with this help from our community, the Likhov family still needs our help to get stabilized in their new home. Rent and utility payments are due January 1st. And the costs of daily living will continue until Maksim and Natasha are able to legally secure work permits to earn a living themselves.

Anything you can donate to this GoFundMe page will go directly to the Likhov family to cover the costs of rent, transportation, utilities, food, clothing, education costs, and other essential needs.

Maksim is incredibly organized and already secured a bank account, a driver license, and is demonstrating his commitment to becoming a valuable member of our community. One of the first things he did when he arrived was to research where his son could play hockey - a true sign of a committed hockey parent!

Your support for the Likhov family, especially during this season of giving, is greatly appreciated. Let’s come together to show our new neighbors what the City of Brotherly Love is all about!

Sincerely,

Mark Jenkins

Youth Hockey Coach