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 IRIS
works with houses of worship, businesses and other community
based groups to help them sponsor refugee families. Our sponsorship
developer recruits and trains sponsors and is available to
speak to civic organizations and other groups on a variety
of refugee-related issues.
There are two ways a house of worship or worship group
can sponsor a refugee family. In both forms of sponsorship,
a house of worship offers the chance for a new life to
a refugee family who is currently living under squalid and
often dangerous conditions in refugee camps around the world.
In a traditional sponsorship, a house of worship or group welcomes the family into a nearby community. With training
and support from IRIS, the sponsoring organization provides all
of the core services of sponsorship: it offers hospitality
and acculturation, locates housing and employment for the
refugee family, enrolls them in school and English as a Second
Language classes, and helps them to access educational, medical
and social services. Sponsors are asked to sign
a Sponsorship Commitment agreeing to help their family move
as quickly as possible towards the goal of early self-sufficiency.
In a partnership sponsorship, a group
works in partnership with IRIS to provide support for a refugee
family. IRIS finds housing for the family and helps them to
procure employment and access educational, medical and social
services. The group’s support is limited to specific
agreed-upon services. These frequently include:
- holding a furniture drive
- collecting household goods
- preparing welcome and cleaning kits
- setting up an apartment
- stocking the apartment with food
- welcoming the family on arrival in their new community
- holding a clothing drive
- contributing to IRIS to subsidize two months’ rent
If groups involved in a partnership sponsorship wish
to have an on-going relationship with the refugee family,
IRIS will provide training for the group or individual
volunteers.
Learn more about
how your group can sponsor a refugee family.
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