Common GoodShelburnefallswelcomecommittee

Can you join us in supporting two young Syrian families who urgently want to leave the refugee camp in Jordan and immigrate to join their extended family living in Western Massachusetts?

Make your tax deductible donation HERE to the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee's support funds.

We are a group in Shelburne Falls called the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee, working together to support these two families, which include two brothers, their wives and six children.

We are fundraising for this project through the Welcome Corps program launched by the US Department of State in 2023 designed to strengthen communities.

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.

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 Committee includes many more people from Shelburne Falls. (Let us know if you'd like to join!)

In order to begin the process, we are raising $30,000 (the $24,600 required by Welcome Corp required to ensure both families have adequate support to become settled and self-sufficient within their first 90 days plus another $5,400 to help them purchase a vehicle to get to work once they find employment). The money will cover costs for their first 90 days including housing, furniture, transportation, ESL education, assistance in finding employment, and their basic needs (food, clothing, etc.) as these 2 families settle into Western Massachusetts.

We want to raise these funds as soon as possible so that we can get as much of the immigration paperwork completed as we can before Jan 20, 2025. Can you help?

Make your tax deductible donation HERE to the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee's support funds.

Also, do you know of any 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: https://forms.gle/KEu2A4aBGUbmo2Tn8

Thank you in advance for any support you can provide.

Please Note: Immigration is complex and daunting. If one or both families are unable to come, we will use these funds to support another immigrant family to settle here in Western Massachusetts.

Thank you!

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 help!