Syrian Community Network Inc (SCN)

This campaign was canceled. A full refund will be issued to all generous donors. God bless you all.

The Arizona Syrian Community Network (AZSCN) was established by a diverse team of community members with intentions to aid and to assist in easing the resettlement of Syrian refugees.
AZSCN is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that will supplement efforts on helping the refugees adjust to their new home. 

The fund will be spent to buy Khaled a car, insurance and registration. Any money left will be used to help other refugees who are in need.

For more information, please visit our website : www.azscn.org.

Dear Friends:
The Syrian Community Network (SCN) is asking for your help once more!  A Syrian refugee family who lives in Evanston lost their home and their belongings in a fire and they need our help to rebuild their life. This family consists of Mom, Dad and seven children - the oldest being 11 years old and the youngest is 3 years old. We are asking if you can donate $100, $200, $250, $500 or more to help secure a new apartment and rental assistance.  Help this family to rebuild their life and start over. The family is currently living in a shelter run by one of the local churches. The family has asked to remain anonymous and they ask for your support and prayers!

The Alawad family were forced to flee Syria, and were fortunate enough to be granted refugee status a few months ago here in San Diego, California.

They are a beautiful and humble family, who have gone through so much and are deperate to start a successful and sustainable life here again.

The Alawads have lived their entire lives in Syria, where the current civil war has ravaged their lives and taken away their homes and livelihoods. Thus, this family has been living the horrors of war since the conflict started more than 5 years ago. When the bombings of their city Homs got so extreme (and they watched local friends being killed from their balcony) they decided they had no choice but to flee Homs and move to a village near Damscus .... they did this three times to escape more and more bombs in each area.  In the end they had no choice but to get buses to the border and to walk into Jordan, leaving behind their beloved country and the mess it had become.  In that time they had 5 very young children ranging from 12 to 2 , but also had adopted one of their cousins due to losing her own parents in the war also! Their youngest child who is now 6 still remembers the bombings and how frightening it was every day. It has, of course, affected them all significantly but they still remain close and hopeful and positive despite it all!

Finally they made it to the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, where they lived together in one tent!!! Life in the refugee camp was difficult, but they survived. In that time they applied for refugee status to America and after more than a year of vetting they finally were granted it.

They have been through unimaginable hardship - but now they are here, the children attend school and all of them are working hard to learn in english in school and also with in home tutoring for four hours per week. They have work permits and both parents are keen to work! Rana is hoping to set up a successful catering bsuiness and cooks the most delicious middle eastern/ syrian food!  Ayman owned his own wholesale wood business in Homs but now happy to work anywhere to earn some money and start his life again.  However to achieve this, having a car is almost essential, as many of the available jobs for someone with very basic english are not necessarily within walking distance.

Their list of needs is not much - they live very simply and have very few possessions.   However they really do need a family car.  Any money that we raise for them will go straight into the fund to purchse them a car and get them insured for the first year.  This will open up many more work possibilities for them both and their older boys in the coming years ahead.

If you can make a donation we would be incredibly grateful. Any amount will help.
THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts for any assistance you can provide! I know the Alawad family is so very humbled, thankful and appreciative.

Additional information:

1. Who are we ? We are Rachel McHale and Karen Brandenburg , and We are volunteers with Heart4Refugees, a nonprofit organization based in San Diego that seeks to ensure the 1000 Syrian refugees who have been resettled here are supported during their transition to new lives in America. https://www.facebook.com/Heart4Refugees/

2. Where are we from?
San Diego, California (although Rachel is actually English but lived here two years ago)

3. How do We know the Alawad Family? They are our "adopted" family through Heart4Refugees. It is our desire that our relationship will continue, and we will be able to offer not only financial help but also the comfort of a supportive friendship and assistance as they navigate their new life in America.

4. How will the funds will be used? We will be using the funds to help towards buying them a family car 

5. Will funds be given directly to the family? No. Heart4Refugees strongly recommends the funds be used on the family's behalf rather than being delivered directly to the family (for example, it is better to pay rent to the family's landlord or to the non-profit Syrian Community Network on their behalf than to just give the family cash). This way, volunteers can coordinate to ensure the maximum number of families get what they need.

I enjoy a good challenge and on October 1, 2017 I will run my first marathon - the Milwaukee Lakefront Marathon - which I can assure you will be quite a challenge. In addition to running, I’m also undertaking a fundraising campaign on behalf of Syrian Community Network.

As some of you may know, I have been studying the Holocaust for over 20 years and I’m currently a volunteer docent at the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. I have often wondered what I would have / could have done during the Holocaust. While I don’t know the answer to that question I can say that I now try to honor the memory of the victims by educating my generation.

We are currently facing the worst humanitarian crisis since WWII. Since 2011, the ongoing war in Syria has displaced half of the Syrian population an upwards of 5 million Syrians have registered with the United Nations Human Rights Council. Once again I’m left wondering, “What can I do?” My answer this time is I can educate myself on the situation and raise money to help a Syrian refugee family in Chicagoland.

The Syrian Community Network’s mission is “To empower Syrian refugees in achieving a seamless transition and relocation to the United States through connecting people to the right services and support networks.” (www.syriancommunitynetwork.com) ALL of the money I raise will go directly to a refugee family in the Chicago area to use as emergency rent/shelter and/or living expenses. (SCN is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization)

My goal is to raise $2620. If that goal is achieved then during the marathon I will do 1 burpee at every mile split.

For every person who donates I will give them a private tour of the Illinois Holocaust Museum and Education Center. And, for the first person who donates, I will not only give them a tour but I will also give them 2 tickets for admission and a hug.

Please help me reach my goal by donating today. You can donate at: www.gofundme.com.

We can all do something. Thank you for your support!

-Bernadette Marty

“How do we take this knowledge and turn it into action? A single individual is seemingly powerless in the face of these kinds of atrocities. The key, of course, is that a multitude of one persons is a huge force with a very big voice.” - Leo Melamed, Holocaust Survivor

Hi Friends and Family,
Several friends and I have adopted a local Syrian Refugee Family through the Syrian Community Network in Carlsbad.  We have met and visited the family a couple of times including sharing a lovely dinner they prepared for us.  The family consists of a mom and dad, their two sons, their daughter-in-law and adorable 22 month old grandson.  They don't speak english, we don't speak Arabic but we manage to communicate and the baby keeps us all laughing with his big smile and love of Michael Jackson music (He can moon walk!!).  

They live in El Cajon and have been in the United States for about 9 months.  The mother and father can not work due to health reasons.  The eldest son is working as a pastry chef and the younger son is in high school.  The daughter-in-law is enrolled in community college so she can get some training and help support the family too.

We are activley working with the Syrian Community Network and the family to designate their needs right now.  Our hope is to raise $10,000 and present a check to SCN who will make sure the money is used for the family's biggest needs. 

Please help us if you can. Even a $10 donation will help us towards our goal!!  Thank you!! 

**For Privacy reasons we cannot put the family's name or picture here but feel free to contact Peggy Webb through this GoFundMe page or Bayanne Mihtar at SCN to verify our campaign:

http://www.syriancommunitynetwork.org/web/

https://www.facebook.com/Heart4Refugees/

Rockstar's Ramadan bash dinner for Syrian Refugees in San Diego. 

Last year I created a Rockstar donation page for Palestinian refugees during the month of Ramadan with a humble goal of 1200$ through UNRWA, the United Nations relief and works agency for Palestine refugees. We raised over 1800$ (due to an outside donner that matched our donations.

This year I would like to raise for the Syrian refugees right here in San Diego, as many of you already know, I have been helping the charity Syrian Community Network with helping establish the refugees in San Diego. Through them we helped many families get your donations and I was there myself to see just how good their work is. Let’s try and hit that 1200$ goal this year without that extra help!

The Syrian Community Network have a system of adopting a family, knowing what they need and getting it for them. I would like to Adopt 2 families, one is a family of 6 that need a living room set and the second is a family of 5 that need a dining room set. The money will go to buy them what they need from a well priced furniture store that we were using for other local families.

Please give what you can, all donations are registered and you will get tax receipts.

Thanks and see you June 3rd!