Circle of Welcome
Through this service, faith, business, community, and friend groups have an opportunity to walk with a refugee family as friends, supporters and advocates to help them become established more quickly.
We’ve created three different models that your team can participate in, based on what is the best fit for your situation and what our current needs are. Each model is a full year commitment with a financial contribution made by the group.
- New Arrivals: Volunteer teams work closely with refugees who have arrived in Minnesota within the last 90 days. Activities might include setting up furniture, helping adults find employment, practicing English, and running errands.
- Post Arrivals: With language barriers and time needed to adjust to a new culture, refugees can greatly benefit from longer-term support by caring volunteers. In the Post Arrival model, volunteers work with families who have been in the United States for longer than 90 days. Your friendship and support can make all the difference in helping refugees become well-connected to their communities.
- Distant Partners: With the Distant Partner model, any faith or community group in Minnesota, regardless of location, can help a refugee family gain greater stability more quickly by providing essential financial support for basic needs – including food, warm clothing for chilly winters, school supplies and money for bus transportation. Distant partner funds are paired with group of volunteers who provide the direct support to the family - a partnership that empowers groups to support refugees through Circle of Welcome regardless of their financial means.
Read Karen Bakkenist's testimony about the Circle of Welcome