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Help Us Welcome Afghan Refugees to Pittsburgh
In the coming days and weeks, we’ll be welcoming American heroes and their families to the United States - and we need your help.On April 14, 2021, President Biden announced the unilateral withdrawal from Afghanistan. As our armed forces return home, Afghan civilians who worked for the US Armed Forces, as interpreters and in other roles, are to be evacuated to the United States.These civilians and their families, numbering over 53,000 people, will be resettled across the United States with Special Immigrant Visas (SIV) and will receive the same services provided to refugees.Pittsburgh has been identified as one of the cities to accept the influx of these families.United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania beneficiaries Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) and Acculturation for Justice, Access, and Peace Outreach (AJAPO) are responsible for the resettlement of families locally and have established a collaborative effort across organizations in Pittsburgh to make the resettlement successful.As these families flee Afghanistan, many will arrive without their worldly possessions. Help us help them build new lives here in Pittsburgh through donations, in-kind donations, and volunteer support.
Please make a tax-deductible donation as we welcome these heroes home. Your donation today will be allocated directly to help ensure their needs are met with safe housing, food and clothing.
Donate to our United Way campaign
United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania beneficiaries Jewish Family and Community Services (JFCS) and Acculturation for Justice, Access, and Peace Outreach (AJAPO) are responsible for the resettlement of families locally and have established a collaborative effort across organizations in Pittsburgh to make the resettlement successful.
As these families flee Afghanistan, many will arrive without their worldly possessions. Your donation today will be allocated directly to help ensure their needs are met with safe housing, food and clothing.
Please make a tax-deductible donation as we welcome these heroes home.
Donate furniture, gift cards, and more
When we’re welcoming refugee families, your in-kind donations are so important! Here’s what you can give:
First, donate items! There is a list of items below that will help make their house feel more like home. If you have items you’d like to donate, sign-up!
Second, gift cards! If you don’t have the items we’re looking for or don’t have time to shop, you can send giftcards- this way we can fill in any gaps, or buy items the family needs after they arrive.
Third, grocery shop! If you’re interested in donating the cost of groceries and are able to buy the groceries, sign-up to shop, buy, and deliver! We will contact you with the details and you can help stock the kitchen. (We’ll send you a culturally appropriate shopping list!)
Sign up for any of the opportunities to support incoming Afghan refugees, listed below.
Afghan Family Evacuated From Kabul – JFCS has just been notified that we will be welcoming an Afghan SIV family who was evacuated from Kabul just in time. They have arrived to a military base and are completing processing. We have limited information due to the nature of evacuations, but we do know that we will soon be welcoming a family of 8! The family consists of the husband, wife, four sons, and two young daughters. We are so thankful that they have made it to safety. Now it is our turn. Our staff is already hard at work preparing for their arrival- searching for housing, scheduling appointments, and gathering essential items. Please consider giving to help us welcome them to their new home. Donate items now.
Volunteer with us
Sign up to volunteer with JFCS! Volunteers can help us picking up donations and delivering them to a central location. Registered volunteers who have clearances can help families more directly as mentors, helping drive refugees to appointments, and also with apartment set up.
Our partners
In this critical time, we are working together with AJAPO and several other organizations to prepare to welcome Afghan SIV refugees to our city.
Our collaborative effort is comprised of three workgroups:
Our volunteer workgroup is comprised of ARYSE, JCC, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh (Volunteer Center), Jewish association on aging, The Global Switchboard, and City of Pittsburgh (Welcoming Pittsburgh)
Our housing workgroup includes Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh, Christian Associates of Southwest Pennsylvania, The Global Switchboard, Ansar of Pittsburgh, JFCS Refugee & Immigrant Services, and Action Housing
And finally our Shopping and in-kind donations workgroup is with United Way of Southwestern PA, Jewish Community Center of Greater Pittsburgh, The Salvation Army, Casa San Jose