Join Us in Giving Hope this Christmas Season
Build Bags and Build Bridges
This Christmas season, World Relief Chicagoland is raising donations in support of immigrant and refugee children. With your help, they will be given a gift of learning and support that will aid their development for years to come.
Two Ways to Give
The program is called "Build Bags and Build Bridges" because you can give one of two ways, or if you're feeling generous, both ways.
Build Bags
For those that like customizing their gift, this is the option for you. With the "Build Bags" option, you create a special gift bag filled with fun and essential items of your choosing that will be given to a refugee or immigrant child in need.
Build Bridges
Every monetary donation will go toward providing refugee and immigrant children and young adults with needed mentors and tutors that will help them learn and grow in life and school.
How to Donate
World Relief Chicagoland offices in the suburbs and the city of Chicago are requesting different items for bag building. To create the kind of gift bag that will make a difference in the life of a refugee or immigrant child, please choose items from the list below, according to the region you'd like to assist (suburbs or city). Feel free to mix and match items from the different categories as long as the categories are listed under the same region.
To Build a Bag for Children in Chicago
The World Relief office in Chicago is requesting that gift bags include your choice of items from the lists below.
At Home Activities
- Children's toys, coloring books, crafts, etc.
- Variety of books for ages 1-18
- Flash cards, letter tracing books, or other educational materials
Winter Wear
- Coats & Gloves for children sizes 3T - Youth Large
Gift Cards
- Amazon - $10
- Walmart - $10
Art Therapy
- Paint brushes, watercolors, and paper for painting
- Crayons/markers/colored pencils, and coloring books
- Journal and pen
English Language Learning Kits
- Language learning flashcards
- English language workbooks
- Small whiteboard, markers, and Expo eraser
- Letter tracing notebook, blank notebook, and pen/pencil
For questions about bag building in Chicago, or to set up a time and place of delivery/pickup, please contact World Relief Youth Services Coordinator, Rachel Rasmussen at rrasmussen@wr.org
To Build a Bag for Children in the Suburbs
The World Relief offices in DuPage and Aurora are requesting that gift bags include your choice of items from the list below. The snack bags will be given to children 0-5 years old who are enrolled in World Relief's Early Childhood Program.
Snacks (5 individually wrapped snacks per bag)
- Goldfish
- Ritz crackers
- Vanilla wafers
- Cheerios
- Apple sauce
- Fruit snacks
- Other
The DuPage and Aurora offices will also accept a lump sum donation of $500 to cover the cost of snacks for 100 children in the Early Childhood Program for one month.
Or, if your church would like to do more, a lump sum donation of $1,000 provide snacks AND supplies for 100 children in the Early Childhood Program for one month.
For questions about bag building in the suburbs, or to set up a time and place of delivery/pickup, please contact World Relief Children & Youth Services Manager, Jenny Ferraro at jferraro@wr.org
To Build a Bridge
To help build a bridge for a young refugee or immigrant, please donate to one of the giving pages linked below. Every gift of $40 will match an immigrant or refugee child or young adult with a mentor or tutor.
More Giving Options for Churches
$1000 – Covers one month of rent & utilities for a new refugee family, a crucial first step in finding stability.
$2,500 – Support employment services and job readiness programs for immigrant and refugees eager to work.
$5,000 – Provide counseling services refugees processing the traumas of losing their home and navigating a new culture, especially in the pressures of the pandemic.
$7,500 – Support Immigration Legal Services specialized clinics for DACA and citizenship, providing a pathway toward permanent residency.
$10,000 – Support youth and families navigating virtual learning, enabling students to continue to grow in the midst of the pandemic.
For more information or to make a gift, contact Keith Draper at kdraper@wr.org or Sara Aardema at saardema@wr.org for any immediate requests.
