WJCI extends a heartfelt ‘Kol Hakavod’ to our second set of grantees:

Afghan Circle of the Hudson Valley (ACHV)

Fair Street Reformed Church Welcome Team - Kingston
Maple Ridge Beiderhof - Ulster Park
Neighbors for Refugees
New Paltz for Refugees - New Paltz
Vassar Temple Welcome Circle - Poughkeepsie
Woodstock Refugee Network - Woodstock

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WJCI's microgrant program, created with generous funding from UJA--Federation of New York and The Shapiro Foundation, allows us to support the Host Groups in their work to resettle Afghan refugees and will soon allow us to begin supporting Sponsorship Circles helping Ukrainians coming to our shores. If you, your synagogue, or community organization are interested in exploring supporting a Ukrainian family fleeing war, please email info@wjci.org with your name, organization name (if any), and your location. Note we are awaiting new funding for microgrants to these new Sponsorship Circles but will be in touch now to help you form a new Circle. For more information about getting involved, please browse the What You Can Do page of our website or email info@wjci.org. 

HOW TO APPLY

The Need: Last summer, more than 100,000 Afghans who had provided help and resources to U.S. military forces fled their country and found temporary refuge on U.S. military bases. Approximately ## have found homes in and around the NY metropolitan area, including Westchester County. The remaining 30,000 must be resettled in the next 60 days before they lose their temporary refuge.

Why WJCI? Now more than ever, we need new, flexible, fast, and creative approaches to welcome the large influx of people who are already on U.S. soil. With generous funding from UJA-Federation of New York and The Shapiro Foundation, WJCI will offer microgrants to help members of our community resettle refugees.

You can resettle a refugee family/individual by forming a Host Group responsible for welcoming newcomers directly to Westchester and providing the  support they need to integrate into the community, including finding them housing, employment, and daily transportation; helping with school enrollment, and  navigating the healthcare system, etc.). Host Groups are critical to helping Afghan refugees  acclimate to their new lives and communities, and achieve financial independence.  In turn, resettling refugees gives community members the opportunity to “welcome the stranger.'' You can aid this effort  without entering the full resettlement process. WJCI will show you how. We can help you. 

Synagogues can choose to form a core group of volunteers and independently raise the additional funds they need to resettle Afghan refugees.  Alternatively, WJCI can match you with another synagogue to share fundraising and other  responsibilities. We encourage you to reach out to neighborhood churches, mosques, and secular groups to make this an interfaith effort.

VOLUNTEERS

Whether alone or in partnership with others, you will become a “Host Group” which,  through our matchmaking efforts, can recruit enough volunteers.

FUNDRAISING

You will need to raise funds and thanks to our generous funding, we can provide Host Groups with matching microgrants that will boost your fundraising efforts.

GUIDANCE

We will connect you with one or both of our partners, HIAS and/or IRIS, who are experts  in resettling refugees.  Both agencies will provide you with information and best practices that you will need to get started and move forward to successfully helping refugees become self-sufficient.

EMPLOYMENT & HOUSING

Employment & Housing: Through our partnerships with area organizations, clergy and UJA, WJCI will provide you with vital leads for potential employment and housing opportunities.

For more information, please contact info@wjci.org