Welcome an Afghan Family Arriving in St. Louis

Intertwine Interfaith Welcome Circle (IIWC)

 

WE NEED YOUR HELP to help new Americans!

 

Nearly 40,000 Afghanis are currently being housed on American Army bases. The American Army can only house these families until mid-February. Consequently, the Department of State issued a call to action to expand the United States’ capacity to welcome these families and help them begin their new lives as Americans.

 

Congregation Shaare Emeth (CSE), Parkway United Church of Christ(PUCC) and Turkish American Society of Missouri (TASOM) have committed to answer this call.

 

Intertwine Interfaith is launching an emergency initiative through the Welcome Circle program. Our Welcome Circle has committed to supporting the resettlement in St. Louis of an Afghani family. Together, Intertwine Interfaith Welcome Circle (IIWC) must raise a total of $27,750 which will cover essential needs such as housing, clothing, food, utilities, etc. for the first six months in St. Louis.

 

In addition to financial support, the IIWC Core Team made up of reps from each faith community has been identified. The Core Team will have direct contact with the Afghani family and will help enroll kids in school and help the parents learn the fundamentals of food shopping, transportation, language skills and banking in St Louis. We will also need the participation of our communities for indirect support, furniture donations, apartment set-up, resource identification, and other activities.

 

Contributions are needed no later than January 17, 2022 -Martin Luther King Jr. Day. All contributions are tax deductible and 100% of your donation will go toward the needs of the family.

 

We are grateful to ‘We Believe Inc’* for their help collecting the funding for IIWC. We Believe Inc is a 501(c) 3 non profit corporation created by Stan Shanker (CSE), one of our IIWC founders, a few years ago in an effort to spread kindness, hope, and positivity while raising money to support social justice issues. Two other IIWC Founders, Lisa Mason (PUCC) and Engin Blackstone (TASOM), serve on the We Believe Inc Board. *We Believe Inc is associated with Parkway United Church of Christ, Turkish American Society of Missouri and Congregation Shaare Emeth. We Believe Inc does not have a web page. For questions about the organization email Stan Shanker at [email redacted]

 

Your Interfaith Intertwine Team

Kevin Cameron, Lisa Mason, Paige Penico, Ali Durhan, Engin Blackstone, Stan Shanker and Debbie Bram