
MICROGRANTS
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
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.
Are you interested in helping Ukrainians coming to our area but need help raising funds? WJCI will soon be awarding microgrants in amounts up to $5,000.
WJCI is grateful to UJA-Federation of New York and The Shapiro Foundation for their generosity and support.
WJCI Executive Committee members will evaluate applications, once funds are available, on a rolling basis.
Applications will be open soon.
HOW TO APPLY

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THE NEED
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
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.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED?
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.

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