Deb’s Refugee Volunteer Work: Sorting What Matters Most

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On the kitchen table, a stack of unopened mail began to build.

For a newly arrived family, each envelope carried pages of documents with detailed instructions and looming deadlines in bright red text. This mass of mail can be overwhelming for anyone adjusting to a new place, and even more so when adjusting to a new country and culture. Soon, bills were missed, and school notes went unread.

Like many families rebuilding their lives in the United States, this family wasn’t lacking resilience. They were navigating language, culture and unfamiliar systems. Though they had support, the mundane “everyday” tasks continued to mount.

That’s where volunteers like Deb Martin play a vital role: walking alongside families as part of a broader network of support, including World Relief staff and local churches, to help reinforce care and navigate everyday challenges together.

As part of her church’s Good Neighbor Team with World Relief, Deb walks alongside families as they begin rebuilding their lives. She helps them navigate systems, understand what’s in front of them and take their next step forward.

“Deb is such a blessing to have on our team of volunteers! She is so passionate about caring for others in the community, and her energy spreads to those she interacts with,” said Kalina Davis, a World Relief church and community engagement manager.

“We are incredibly grateful to have a whole village of dedicated and compassionate volunteers who commit to building relationships with our newcomer neighbors. These mutually transformative relationships create opportunities for us all to learn and grow together.”

Sometimes, walking alongside a family means helping them with what we might consider a small task, like sorting through a stack of unopened mail.

Prompted by what she describes as a nudge from God, Deb asked if they could go through the mail together. As they spread the letters across the table, a World Relief staff member — someone Deb had never met — arrived at just the right time. Together, they began sorting.

Soon clarity replaced confusion, junk mail was recycled, and only the few bits of mail that contained important information was left.

“These are smart, resilient people,” she said. “They’ve survived so much to get here. I just want to make the transition a little easier.”

Organizing for Impact

Whether she’s setting up apartments, shopping for culturally appropriate groceries or helping new arrivals practice driving, Deb meets each task with curiosity and care.

“I’ve helped some people practice their driving skills,” she said. “And I’ve gone to pick people up from a place — people who’ve never seen me before, who don’t speak my language. And they just get in the car with me. It’s so humbling.”

Deb’s support for refugee families is often practical: she helps stock apartments, drives families to appointments and supports ESL learning. She’s always looking for ways to remove logistical barriers. When she noticed food pantry clients riding the bus couldn’t carry enough groceries home, she bought and tested rolling carts on the city buses herself to make sure they fit — then got them into the hands of those who needed them.

Beyond logistics, Deb lends her voice to issues of justice and policy. She’s spoken at city council and school board meetings, especially around housing access and equity for immigrant and refugee families. Through advocacy organizations, she’s worked for years to address hunger, transportation and structural barriers in her community.

“I have been organizing people my whole life,” she said. And that instinct shows up in how she volunteers.

Deb sees volunteering as an opportunity for human connections, and she learns as much as she gives. “I realized there’s a lot of food I didn’t know about,” she laughed. “The first time I did the grocery shopping, I had to go to three different stores in town to find the right items.”

Each small interaction has opened her eyes to the everyday challenges newcomers face — things most Americans might not think twice about.

Her faith remains central.

Micah 6:8 — “Do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God” — serves as her daily compass.

And a verse given to her in school still shapes how she sees what’s possible: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

“I can’t do everything,” Deb said. “But I can do a lot more than I ever thought I could.”

Not able to serve right now?
You can still walk alongside families rebuilding their lives by joining The Path — our community of monthly givers committed to long-term transformation.

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