Asheville Welcomes Afghans

Help us welcome and support our newest Asheville residents!

 

40+ Afghan refugees are arriving in this area over the coming weeks. Some are already here! The nonprofit Catholic Charities** is contracted with federal refugee services to coordinate their resettlement, and I want to help their efforts with this fundraiser intended specifically for Afghan refugees in Asheville.

 

Each new arrival is allotted a one-time, minimal resettlement stipend by the US government that won't go far. Many of these folks left Afghanistan under extreme duress, and they have been assigned to WNC without familiarity with the area, existing community ties, knowledge of English, many possessions, or financial resources. They're also all currently in a limbo of red tape. The money raised in our fund would be used in collaboration with Catholic Charities Asheville for costs like rent, transportation, food, clothing and supplies, medical care, English education, and so on before they're able to find work.

 

I'm starting the fundraising goal at $20,000, but we're optimistic that we can go beyond this! For perspective, $20,000 would allot $500 for each of the 40 refugees. We hope we can raise more to help these folks out, and try to welcome them to Asheville and support them while they settle.

 

If you're unable to assist financially at this time, there are still plenty of ways you can help, including:

*SHARING THIS CAMPAIGN!

*Short-term housing

*Long-term housing

*Food donations

*Transportation

*Laptops

*Group activities

*Job opportunities

 

If you have leads on any of the above, or have your own ideas of how to help, please don't hesitate to contact me.

**Catholic Charities Diocese of Charlotte is the home organization for Catholic Charities Asheville; money raised in this campaign will go directly to Asheville's Afghan refugee support.

 

~Photo taken outside of one of our temporary housing spots the night of the arrival of three new refugees~