WHAT ARE WE DOING?

We are raising money to privately sponsor a Syrian refugee family to come to Squamish, British Columbia.  This large family is currently living in a 6 x 3 metre container in a refugee camp in Turkey.  They left their home in Syria in April 2012 due to the war and have been living in refugee camps ever since. They have family in Squamish and are keen to have our support to help them move to Canada. 

WHAT DO WE NEED?

We need your help.  We need to raise a total of $45,000 (Canadian) to privately sponsor this specific family, as per Citizenship and Immigration Canada's sponsorship guidelines.  We have already raised $10,000 Canadian.

Please note that we used this fundraising website because they charge NO FEES for fundraising (fees are charged for the financial transaction). All projects are calculated in USD.  $27,000 USD is approximately $35,000 CAD, so please donate whatever USD equivalent you are able (sorry for any inconvenience). 

All monies raised go directly to the 12 months of support for this family.  Charitable receipts are likely possible - we will let you know!

WHO ARE WE?

We are a group of Squamish, British Columbia residents who want to do more for the global refugee crisis. Several of us helped to sponsor a family from Syria in 2016/2017, and are now involved in helping to sponsor their relatives.  Being able to relocate a refugee family has been an incredible experience; people who were displaced from their home due to war, and forced to lived in a tiny space in a refugee camp for years, were able to move to a safe place and begin to fully live life again. We would like to help support this first family by reuniting them with relatives and support them in their first year of life as Canadians.

FAMILY REUNIFICATION

I imagine what my experience would be like as a refugee - hoping that some other country would take me in, wanting to be reunited with friends or family that have long been displaced......

The family we originally sponsored has been in Canada for 13 months and are now thriving. We now aim to sponsor their immediate family so they can all be reunited. We hope to help this family with small children escape their self described hopeless life in a refugee camp . We know that many people feel empathy and sadness for the lives of displaced refugees in other parts of the world, but wonder what they can do to help. Your funds will alter the course of many lives and create positive change during this humanitarian crisis.

Thank you for your generosity and for making a difference.

“If you wait until you can do everything for everybody, instead of doing something for somebody, you’ll end up not doing nothing for nobody.” ~ Malcom Bane

"The most profound changes in our country have come when individuals have joined with other individuals in the stubborn belief they could make change" ~ Cory Booker