World Relief Wraps Up Month of Celebrating Refugees Across the Country

Local offices and thousands of advocates gathered to honor the individuals and families in their communities

Contact: Lauren Rasmussen, media@wr.org, 802.310.4255

BALTIMORE, Md. – Over the course of June, World Relief was joined by over nearly 3,000 community members who attended dozens of events and participated in numerous initiatives designed to support and elevate the stories of their refugee neighbors. This extended community gathered to honor and celebrate their refugee neighbors in local communities and around the world, calling on the church in America to believe in more and embrace a renewed imagination for refugees in the U.S.

“No one chooses the life of a refugee,” commented Myal Greene, president and CEO of World Relief. “Whether someone is running from persecution on account of race, religion or another factor, being severed from one’s home and everything one holds dear is excruciating. The refugees we are privileged to walk alongside, in partnership with local churches both in the United States and around the world, embody unimaginable courage and resilience. Many also hold incredible hope. To flee from is also to flee towards something better, toward safety, toward freedom and toward a better future for themselves and their families.”

In light of the World Cup games underway, several offices hosted soccer-related events, some in partnership with local pro and semi-pro teams. World Relief Tri-Cities’ soccer tournament featured seven teams and was chaired by Alie Eric Chia, a Cameroonian refugee who previously played on the Cuba National Football Team before being resettled in the Tri-Cities, WA, area. World Relief Upstate gathered their community in the Greenville, SC, area for two soccer-related events. Nearly 200 attended their first annual tournament, including 44 players. A few days later, the community attended Greenville Triumph’s fourth annual World Relief Night, which honored the refugees in the community, as well as the volunteers helping them get on their feet.

In Western Washington, World Relief hosted their third annual World Relief Cup soccer tournament at which over 20 teams registered to compete. During the event, local semi-pro teams Ballard FC and Salmon Bay FC hosted a free clinic, where children had the chance to learn from the area’s top athletes. Over 200 participants and over 60 volunteers contributed to the event, representing over 10 countries of origin. In Sacramento, World Relief hosted three youth soccer clinics, providing 150 children safe spaces for friendship, teamwork and confidence-building while bringing families together across cultures. On World Refugee Day, nearly 200 refugee and immigrant community members and partner organizations attended the Sacramento Republic FC match, where participating agencies were featured in the Fan Zone.

Several offices hosted or participated in festivals and events in partnership with other community members, including World Relief Texas in Austin and Dallas, World Relief Chicagoland, World Relief Wisconsin in Oshkosh and Appleton, World Relief Sacramento, World Relief Spokane and World Relief Quad-Cities. These events educated the broader community about the refugee experience and current policy environment while creating a festival atmosphere highlighting the home cultures of their refugee neighbors and connecting activities for the whole family.

A number of other offices hosted educational evenings or film screenings. World Relief SoCal offered a showing of Jesus is a Migrant, and World Relief Durham held a series of screenings in a library and church in downtown Durham. World Relief Chicagoland drew over 70 attendees for an educational event where they learned about the impact of current policies on the daily lives of refugees and how families are still pursuing and achieving their goals with the support of the World Relief community.

Many lifted their voices to advocate. In Durham, 50 participated in a day of education and advocacy, listening to refugees with international degrees or training who desire to have their expertise honored in the U.S. so they can practice in their respective fields. The day concluded with visits to state lawmakers advocating policy solutions. Across the nation, an additional 212 advocates attended more than 40 virtual congressional meetings with their U.S. Senate delegations, petitioning them to increase the refugee resettlement ceiling for Fiscal Year 2027, invest in foreign assistance and support bipartisan, comprehensive immigration reform.

The challenge extended by World Relief offices to the community extends beyond World Refugee Day. In Wisconsin, community members were invited to share notes of encouragement and care packages with refugees. In Sacramento, World Refugee Day marked the beginning of a summer-long challenge to dedicate Miles to Refugees, encouraging participants to log 100 miles or more on their bikes, raising funds to support refugees as they get on their feet.

“World Refugee Day and Immigrant Heritage Month may conclude with the end of June, but the community’s commitment to refugees remains,” commented Aerlande Wontamo, senior vice president of U.S. programs at World Relief. “We believe each and every one is made in the image of God, and we encourage the church in the U.S. to embrace the biblical exhortation to welcome the stranger within their midst, particularly as the nation celebrates and remembers its own history of arriving as immigrants.”

To learn more about World Relief and how to support refugees, visit worldrelief.org.