Urgent Appeal

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Message from Rabbi Greenstein: We have received the following urgent appeals – please respond to International Rescue Committee and or Church World Service if you can. 

Go time! With the lift of the ban, refugees from Syria and elsewhere are arriving this week. It’s a bit of a scramble but if you want to volunteer now is the time.

International Rescue Committee (IRC) needs two apartments set up TOMORROW Friday 2/10

Below is a message from Church World Services:

Hi folks,

How quickly things change! Because of the stay that a Washington state judge ordered this past Friday, the window is open (for now) for refugees to come to the US. Church World Service (CWS), Jersey City has 23 refugees currently scheduled for arrival over the next 10 days – this is in contrast to the usual pace of one family per month. So … CWS and volunteers like me and yourselves are working furiously to find housing, furniture, groceries etc. to help them settle in. We will also need help picking families up from the airport and providing a welcome for them. (For people who are new to this list, please scroll to the bottom for some background on CWS. I also included some information on how refugees are vetted.)

This is an all-hands-on-deck situation, so for those of you who have been wanting an opportunity to volunteer, this is it. This window will likely not stay open for long. Please also keep in mind that the situation is very fluid and details may change. If you’re interested in volunteering for any of the activities listed below, let me know and I will either send you details or put you in touch with the individual overseeing that activity.

Donations direct to Church World Service (CWS)

CWS needs funding now more than ever. Federal funds are being cut, and even after this wave of arrivals, CWS will need to continue providing them services. So if you’re in a position to donate, please click here: https://cws.global/14

As we get through this furious pace, please do NOT make offers for items or services that we haven’t specifically asked for. We have a surplus of certain types of items right now and responding to other offers of donations – while they are very much appreciated – takes time away from other things we need to focus on.

The volunteer opportunities below are for three Eritrean families, one of 5, one of 3 and one single person.To sign up for as a volunteer, please click here. Be sure and include your name and email address!

Refugee Apartment Set-ups

2/11 – 2/12 Apartment set ups

We will need people on both days to set up one apartment for a family of 5, and another room for a family of 3, both in Jersey City. In addition to the two families mentioned above, there is a single person arriving who will likely be living in a furnished room.

  • Need 2-4 individuals to serve as point for volunteers – communicate logistical details among volunteers, coordinate with CWS. It is helpful if you’ve had experience setting up an apartment for CWS.
  • Additional volunteers will clean apartment, put furniture together, unpack boxes of donations, etc (10 volunteers)
  • Transport household goods and (possibly) furniture (2-3 volunteers)
  • Buy and deliver groceries to apartment (3 volunteers) – enough groceries to last for a few days, mixture of staples and fresh fruit/veggies
  • Buy and deliver toiletries to apartment (2 volunteers) – need soap, paper goods, shampoo/conditioner, razors, laundry detergent, hand soap, lotion, deodorant, etc
  • Buy and deliver cleaning supplies to apartment (2 volunteers) – mop, bucket, broom, pan, comet, 409, floor cleaner (vinyl floors), etc

Airport pickups

2/13 – the family of 3 and the single person will arrive at JFK – though we may be picking up the families at EWR. We don’t have details yet of arrival times.

  • Need cars/minivans to transport new arrivals and baggage (3-4)
  • MAY need people with welcome signs to provide a warm welcome and to keep pressure on border control officials to let them through, as they are required to by law
  • Need 1 rear-facing car seat (preferably to donate to family)

2/14 – the family of 5 will arrive at JFK– though we may be picking up the families at EWR. We don’t have details yet of arrival times.

  • Need cars/minivans to transport new arrivals and baggage (3-4)
  • MAY need people with welcome signs to provide a warm welcome and to keep pressure on border control officials to let them through, as they are required to by law
  • Need one front-facing car seat (preferably to donate to family)

Welcome cards/signs
If you would like to send in cards welcoming the new families, please mail them to:
Church World Service
26 Journal Square, Suite 600
Jersey City, NJ 07306

This is a great way to provide a welcome to the new arrivals and to involve your kids. If we receive them in time, we’ll decorate the apartments with the cards, so make them as colorful as you can!

Amazon Wishlist
I have reactivated our Amazon wishlist with items that the new families will need. We’ve had such a great response that items tend to get donated very quickly. But I will continually update it, so feel free to share it.
http://a.co/05ndk3q

Background information on CWS:
Church World Service is an international organization focused on immigration and refugees. The Jersey City office opened about two years ago and contracts with the State Department as a refugee resettlement program. When the refugees arrive, CWS sets them up in an apartment with donated furniture and household items, and assists the families in getting medical care, registering for school, obtaining a social security card, finding a job, learning English etc. Each individual gets about $900 when they arrive – that is the sum total of cash assistance they receive. As you can imagine, that runs out very quickly.

About half the families that CWS works with are from Syria. Most of them only speak Arabic. The other families are from all over the world – Eritrea, Afghanistan, El Salvador, Congo, etc. The main near-term goals for the families are to get some level of proficiency in English, and to get the adults employed and the children settled in school.

How are refugees vetted?

https://www.nytimes.com/…/29/us/refugee-vetting-process.html

A first-hand account of the vetting process for refugees:  http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/11/30/the-process-for-interviewing-vetting-and-resettling-syrian-refugees-in-america-is-incredibly-long-and-thorough/

Additional volunteer opportunities

Join One World, One Love Facebook Page for daily updates on volunteer opportunities.

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