Afghan Refugee Update
We are encouraged by the level of interest evident among our parishioners in supporting refugees resettling their lives in our country. Many of you attended an informational meeting led by Heart For Refugees, a local team of churches and individuals responding to the urgent needs of a surge of Afghan refugees arriving in temporary housing near BWI airport late last year. Following this meeting, many have volunteered to join a family support team or to be available to participate in occasional activities that develop. Others expressed interest in supporting though financial donations.
For those who attended the Heart for Refugees meeting last month and indicated Tier 2 or Tier 3 levels of interest, you should have received an email requesting you to complete an online application form. The primary purpose of this is similar to the STAND requirement in our church for anyone volunteering for activities that might involve youth.
Current training opportunities (contact bobkight@comcast.net with questions):
Online training session addressing the relationships of Islam and Christianity
Family support team training session at 1pm on Sunday, April 24th at Bay Area Community Church in Crownsville.
In addition to the Heart For Refugees organization, another option to support these refugees is directly through the Baltimore office of the International Rescue Commission (IRC), a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) contracted by the US State Department. For info on this path we suggest you call 410-327-1885 or visit the IRC-Baltimore website here.
IRC has two online volunteer information sessions scheduled:
Tuesday, May 3rd , 7-8pm
Tuesday, June 7th, 12-1pm
Although refugee support activities have recently attracted more attention with the Afghan situation, both of these organizations see a longer term need for refugee resettlement support by volunteers. Their processes are similar and are geared to meet future needs as well as the current focus on recently arriving Afghans.
Please contact bobkight@comcast.net if any questions.