Support the Charlotte Immigrant Solidarity Fund!

I am excited to be running my second half marathon in support of the Charlotte regional Immigrant Solidarity Fund, or ISF.

As the Migrant Services Coordinator at CWS Durham, I have the pleasure of serving undocumented neighbors, both newly arrived and those more established. Many families come fleeing political unrest, violence, natural disaster, or poverty, arriving with minimal resources and unable to access government social safety networks. Every week in my role with CWS, immigrant neighbors call me in desperate need of a helping hand: assistance paying a medical bill for their sick child, rent to stay in their home because their employer hasn't paid them for hours worked, legal aid for deportation hearings of a loved one. They have nowhere else to turn.

The ISF is a state-wide, grassroots effort to support undocumented immigrant families like these who are facing financial hardship due to natural disaster, emergency, or ICE detention or deportation. One-hundred percent of all gifts go directly to families, as overhead costs are covered by another funding source. The ISF works in several areas throughout the state, including the Triangle, Triad, Charlotte, Asheville, and Greenville regions. Since the program’s inception in 2019, we have distributed over $1 million in cash assistance to vulnerable families.

I will be running the Wilmington Half-Marathon on February 24th with my incredible parents and am hoping to raise $500 for the Charlotte regional Immigrant Solidarity Fund. This money will go to helping undocumented neighbors in the greater Charlotte area avoid eviction, keep the lights on, and help their families to safe and healthy. More importantly, it lets folks know they are valued members of the community and are not alone. As a native Charlottean, it is important to me that newcomers to the Queen City feel welcome, regardless of their immigration status. My year spent as a Young Adult in Global Mission volunteer in Mexico City, plus four years serving immigrant survivors of domestic violence at the Compass Center, inform my continued work supporting immigrant and newcomer populations. My work would not be possible without the support of so many, including the Charlotte communities who helped bring me up.

Please consider a gift to the Charlotte ISF to help make the Queen City a welcoming place for all!

The Immigrant Solidarity Fund is a project of Church World Service (CWS) Durham. CWS Durham is an immigration & resettlement office of Church World Service (CWS), a global humanitarian organization. Since 2009, CWS Durham has welcomed refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers from around the globe into lives of freedom, hope, and opportunity in Durham and our surrounding communities. I am grateful to my home church, Christ Lutheran Church, for their support of the Charlotte Immigrant Solidarity Fund.