Dear friends and partners,
Thank you for the ways you are rallying around us during this challenging time. Keep it up!
The reality is we still need your help and generous giving urgently, so keep giving and keep spreading the word so that we can care for our newcomer neighbors well and fulfill our moral obligation to meet their basic needs (rent, food, employment, utilities, school enrollment, etc.). Together we can welcome these families well and show them the neighborly love they deserve! Below is my best attempt to bring you all up to speed.
By way of reminder this is what has happened thus far:
· January 20th – the national refugee resettlement program was suspended by an Executive Order for a 90-day period (with a low likelihood of reinstatement based on current indications)
· January 24th – World Relief (as well as all other resettlement agencies) received a specific memo pausing/revoking only one source of federal funds (i.e. Reception & Placement) which in our local context impacts 99 refugee individuals who recently arrived in our community and resulted in a $250,000 loss in funding to provide critical support for these 20+ families. THIS NEED STILL REMAINS CRITICAL!
· January 27th-28th – A nationwide memo (distinct from the one enacted on the 24th) halted all federal grants/loans which impacts World Relief’s other program areas. This memo has since been rescinded but the pause in funding over the course of this week continues to significantly disrupt all of our program areas. Currently, as I write this, we are unable to access federal funding so we are spending down private funds as a stop gap measure. So additional private funding is necessary to provide the sustainable support needed for newcomer families.
So let us clarify a few things to ensure you all have the most accurate information moving forward:
1. This week has been extremely disruptive and detrimental to our office funding, staffing, programs, and clients, but we are still well positioned to remain a vital resource for refugee/immigrant families in our community over these next couple years whatever changes and challenges may come our way. We are not going anywhere!
2. Regardless of the recent rescission of the federal grant memo, we are still in need of at least $250,000 to continue proving critical support for newly arrived refugee families. That original memo (sent on January 24th) still remains in effect for resettlement agencies and without legal challenge. So the need is ongoing and urgent.
3. We remain dependent on your support during this time (and so do our newest neighbors). We stand ready, with your support, to fulfill our moral obligation to serve and care for these families and ensure they are not abandoned, but actually find a home, take root, and flourish in their new community.
We are so grateful to those of you who have already given generously, and we continue to ask more of you to join us in responding to this need and partner with us in this vital and life-giving work of serving local refugee families. No gift is insignificant. This is the time for everyone to chip in to tackle a big need and make a big impact. Here are some options to give:
Online – World Relief Triad
Checks:
World Relief Triad
155 Northpoint Ave Suite 102
High Point, NC 27262
In this work together,
Jon Musser