Overview of JFCS East Bay’s Afghan Crisis Response
21 months ago, the U.S. military airlifted nearly 130,000 Afghans out of the country from Kabul’s airport in the final days of its withdrawal, carrying out one of the largest mass evacuations in U.S. history. JFCS East Bay has already resettled more than 1500 of these refugees, but around 160,000 Afghan allies were left behind or evacuated to neighboring countries awaiting a US entry visa. After almost two years of limbo their time has come, and hundreds of refugees are now arriving regularly to the Concord and Fremont area, the two largest Afghan communities in the entire US. We are here to welcome them!
- Afghan Refugee Surge Response #1 – August-October 2021 – JFCS East Bay resettled about 800 evacuated Afghan refugees following the Taliban takeover, Concord & Fremont are the largest Afghan communities in US. Our resettlement and Immigration Legal departments expanded with emergency assistance to accommodate the unprecedented # of evacuees.
- Afghan Refugee Surge #2 – November-December 2021 – US military bases closed & JFCS East Bay helped more than 200 additional Afghan refugees resettle to the East Bay.
- Afghan Refugee Surge #3 – RIGHT NOW – Afghan refugees evacuated to other countries are now arriving in the US and JFCS East Bay is receiving anywhere from 15 to 45 people per week.
Starting Monday May 8th through May 21st we will have four giving days to welcome our new neighbors arriving this Spring to the East Bay.
SPRING INTO ACTION: Day of Giving #1 – May 8th
This May, a new wave of Afghan evacuees is finally touching down in the East Bay after waiting almost 2 years in allied countries, and we need your help to provide a warm welcome. Currently, we are supporting the arrival of anywhere from 15-45 Afghan and Ukrainian newcomers each week, and we are running low on many of our supplies.
You can get involved by: donating, purchasing household items, volunteering, and advocating
AND… through May 21st, your gifts (monetary, wish list, time, and activism) will be financially matched up to $20,000 by a generous JFCS East Bay supporter.
Your generosity will be doubled!
(In order to support cross departmental refugee assistance, financial gifts will be designated as “unrestricted” unless otherwise specified. Thank you for this flexibility)
SPRING INTO CELEBRATION: Day of Giving #2 – May 11th
In celebration of Mother’s Day, this Sunday, make a gift dedicated to your favorite mother AND support refugee moms building new lives here in our own East Bay community. We have designed a special Mother’s Day Card for you to download, fill out and share. Moms give so much, and this honorary gift “pays it forward” to strengthen more families. It’s a win, win! AND… through midnight on Sunday, May 21st every donation will be financially matched up to $20,000 by a generous JFCS East Bay donor!
- Make a financial donation dedicated to mom to support needs such as rental assistance and ensure there will be a soft and supportive landing for every newcomer family with expert, culturally fluent staff. (In order to support cross departmental refugee assistance, financial gifts will be designated as “unrestricted” unless otherwise specified.)
- Purchase a $50 or $100 Visa gift card to go directly into the hands of new arrivals, allowing families the flexibility to purchase the items they need the most.
- Buy a household item from our Wish List to contribute the essentials to a family’s new home.
SPRING INTO KINDNESS: Day of Giving #3 – May 15th
THANK YOU!!! Last week, so many of you sprang into action by donating funds, gift cards, and household items to help welcome the latest surge of Afghan refugees arriving here in the East Bay from allied foreign countries.
This week we want to encourage you to donate your time to welcome a newcomer family. Below are a few ways you can share an act of kindness.
AND… through midnight on Sunday, May 21st every new act of volunteerism will count as $200 towards our $20,000 matching challenge goal offered by a generous JFCS East Bay donor. So please let us know via Facebook or email development@jfcs-eastbay.org if you take action.
2 minutes of your time:
- sending a heartfelt email to your friends and family encouraging them to purchase needed items from our wish List – these will be delivered directly to our office in Concord
- filling out our volunteer interest form & Follow our Volunteer Facebook Page
An hour or two of your time:
- hosting a “day of service” where any group can prepare welcome boxes for newcomer refugees
- delivering a meal to a family
- dropping off gently used items: lamps, rugs, and bikes to our storage space in Walnut Creek (contact wgreenberg@jfcs-eastbay.org for more information)
Ongoing Weekly help:
- helping a newcomer with resume building & job hunting
- practicing English with a newcomer
- asking the lawyers in your life to volunteer to help Afghan new arrivals apply for asylum.
JFCS East Bay will train and support ANYONE who is an active member of the bar in any state.
SPRING INTO ADVOCACY: Day of Giving #4 – May 18th
Make it last! Thank you to our community for showing up in so many ways to welcome our Afghan allies who put themselves in danger to support US military efforts in Afghanistan. JFCS East Bay’s Refugee Services team is resettling anywhere from 15-45 newcomers each week, and working hard to make these life and cultural transitions as smooth as possible.
Today, we widen our call to action by asking you to advocate for California refugee benefits and rights.
Senate Bill 85, the California Extended Case Management Act (CECM) is now being considered by our California state legislature. This law would support refugees and those granted asylum by extending the base number of days they are entitled to case management from 90 to 180, with additional days available for extreme cases.
- You can support this new legislation by writing or calling State Senator Nancy Skinner, Senate Budget Committee Chair, and letting her know how important it is for her to support funding for the California Extended Case Management legislation, SB85.
With your help we want to make a difference and to MAKE IT LAST!
AND…through midnight on Sunday, May 21st your contributions of activism will count as $200 towards our $20,000 matching challenge goal offered by a generous JFCS East Bay donor. So please let us know via a Facebook post or email development@jfcs-eastbay.org if you take action.