Will You Help Us Stand Ready to Serve an Unprecedented Number of Refugees this Month?
For many of you who have visited Nationalities Service Center in the past, you know the welcome area is always bustling with activity. This summer certainly has been no exception! One of NSC's interns, Kerry Coughlin, wrote a blog post about NSC's Growing Home Garden farmer's market that sprung up in NSC's lobby this summer:
When so much is unfamiliar, when the language is new, the urban environment is so different, the people surrounding you are not your family and friends but strangers, it can be momentous to bite into a bitter African eggplant for the first time in months or years, to be able to bring that to your family and cook a familiar dish you haven't cooked in so long. Not only do memories come flooding back, but your new home begins to feel a bit more like that - home.
The garden is just one way that NSC helps our clients begin to feel rooted in their new communities. NSC is committed to providing holistic services to each of our clients, and we serve people of all ethnicities, genders, and faiths who come to our door and need assistance. In response to the current global refugee crisis, NSC has agreed to exceed our commitment of welcoming 500 refugees this year, and during the month of September alone, we will help 117 refugees from countries such as Syria and the Democratic Republic of Congo start their new lives here in Philadelphia. These numbers are unprecedented in recent years, and we are delighted to resettle 559 refugees this year, surpassing our commitment by 111%. While we are privileged to exceed our projected goals, this pace of resettlement puts an enormous strain on systems that support this work. As such, NSC is greatly in need of your support.
Will you help us stand ready to serve by making a gift to Nationalities Service Center today? Your support will ensure that we have the capacity to serve all refugees and immigrants who seek our help in starting their new lives here in Philadelphia. Please make a gift to NSC today in honor of their extraordinary journeys.
