We’ve reached a critical and urgent moment.
The United States has almost concluded our military withdrawal from Afghanistan. Along with this pull-out is an emergency evacuation of Afghans who worked alongside the U.S. military over the past twenty years. These people and their families are now being targeted by the Taliban, and our country has an obligation to offer them safety and refuge. From just the first planeload of arrivals to Fort Lee, Virginia, JFCS East Bay committed to welcoming six large families to begin their new lives in the East Bay. And the arrivals will keep coming. By the end of this month, we will resettle more than 60 new refugees here in our community, with more to follow.
JFCS East Bay is here and ready to uphold the Jewish values of welcoming the stranger and caring for the vulnerable, as our staff and volunteers work with compassion to resettle these interpreters, drivers, and other workers and their families.
Our country has not undertaken a refugee evacuation of this size in many years, not since the Vietnam War. It is therefore time for JFCS East Bay to put our 144-year history of successful and dignified refugee resettlement into hyperdrive.
Our Refugee Services team will need a significant amount of support to pull off the demands of the next few weeks and months. This is an all-hands-on-deck moment. We are one JFCS East Bay, and this is the time to come together in service to our newest community members.
It’s time to mobilize. Here are some ways you can get involved and support our immediate refugee needs:
VOLUNTEER: Please fill out our Community Sponsorship Groups form. These groups of 4 to 6 volunteers will assist our case managers with tasks such as airport pickups, signing up refugees for their social services benefits, helping register children for school, providing ESL language support, and other related needs.
DONATE: Your financial donations are needed now more than ever to ensure we have the proper staffing to support new refugees. Please click here to make a donation to JFCS East Bay.
SUPPORT: Please consider purchasing something from our Amazon Wish List. These items are shipped to our office in Concord and put directly into the hands of refugees.
CONTRIBUTE: We are looking for gently used household items and furniture in excellent condition. Dishware, small appliances, and pots and pans can be dropped off at our Concord office by appointment. Mattresses, small nightstands, small dressers, lamps, and rugs must be delivered to our storage unit in Walnut Creek. Please contact Ami Dodson at adodson@jfcs-eastbay.org for more information.
Thank you so much for joining us in this urgent effort. Together, we can replace fear and displacement with a new home and renewed hope.
