Common GoodShelburnefallswelcomecommittee

The Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee was formed by a group of residents in the fall of 2024 to sponsor the Rimeh family, from Syria, who want to immigrate to our area. But with the new administration’s recent actions against immigration, the group is also finding ways to support refugees who are already living here as they cope with the loss of services and assistance.

So, now the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee has a dual focus:

(1) sponsoring the Rimeh family from Syria, described above, who have been living as refugees in Jordan and want to join their extended family members already living in Western Massachusetts, and

(2) providing various kinds of support for additional refugees who are trying to establish homes and livelihoods in Western Mass.

To help us provide resources for immigrants who want to settle in our area, you can make a tax-deductible donation to one or both of our two Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee funds:

1) The Rimeh Family Fund We continue to fundraise to bring the Rimehs, including two brothers and their families, to the US through the Welcome Corps program launched by the US Department of State in 2023, designed to strengthen communities. Applications to sponsor immigrants have been suspended, but we're hopeful that the process will resume since Welcome Corp has bipartisan support. We are raising $30k in our Rimeh Family Fund to ensure both family units (the two brothers, their two wives and a total of six children) have adequate support to become settled and self-sufficient within their first 90 days. The money will cover costs for these three months, including housing, furniture, transportation, ESL education, assistance in finding employment, and basic needs (food, clothing, etc.) as these 2 families settle into Western Massachusetts. We’ve raised $26,000 of the $30,000 needed and we were able to apply in early January to sponsor the Rimehs to settle in Shelburne Falls.

While raising money is essential, other kinds of support are even more important. We are looking to build a strong community to assist. For example, do you know of a low-cost, 4 to 6-bedroom home or two, 2–3-bedroom homes in or near Shelburne Falls that will be available in late winter/early spring? Are there other ways you might be able to help? Let us know here

Please Note: Immigration is always complex and daunting and recent events have made it even more so. If one or both families end up being unable to come, we will use these funds to support other immigrant families here in Western Massachusetts.

2) The Refugee Support Fund We have also established a more general fund to address the needs of other immigrants in Western Massachusetts, and are fundraising and recruiting volunteers to make basic resources available to immigrants who find themselves without the information, goods, and services they need. Some of these resources are the same that we have been preparing to offer the Rimeh when they arrive: access to housing, food, jobs, transportation, ESL classes, medical care, education, etc. Most of what is needed is people power, so let us know if you’re able to assist in any way by filling out this simple form

Tax Deductible Donations We have signed up with Common Good to process our donations, and with Creative Thought and Action to provide you with a tax deduction for your donation.

Click below to make your tax-deductible donation to one of the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee funds:

1) Rimeh Family Fund

2) Refugee Support Fund (for other refugees in our community)

Members of the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee's Fundraising Committee include Jackie Walsh (Coordinator), Janice Waldron-Hansen, Lynn Benander, Lynne Pledger, and Cindy Snow. The whole group working to provide support for immigrants here includes many more people from Shelburne Falls and beyond.

Thank you for any support you can provide.

All the best, Jackie Walsh - shelburnejackieb@gmail.com
Lynn Benander - lbenander@gmail.com and Janice Waldron-Hansen, Lynne Pledger, and Cindy Snow

PS Please pass this invitation along to others who might want to be part of this effort!