Volunteer groups get $1.3 million to resettle Afghan refugees in 32 states

Sixty community service agencies this week received $1.3 million from charitable foundations to help resettle Afghan refugees in 32 U.S. states.

The Schultz Family Foundation, Stand Together Foundation, The Starbucks Foundation and Hello Neighbor announced jointly that the $1.3 million, distributed in $45,000 grants, will help 10,000 volunteers resettle Afghan allies of the former U.S.-backed government in Kabul.

“Courageous Afghans fleeing their homeland, many of whom honorably served alongside our veterans, deserve to be welcomed with respect and dignity,” Sheri and Howard Schultz said in a statement emailed to The Washington Times.

“Helping our Afghan allies successfully integrate into our communities across the country reaffirms our shared humanity and common bonds,” the Schultzes added.

Brian Hooks, chairman of the Stand Together Foundation, said helping the Afghan refugees would also benefit the U.S. as the nation moves forward from the painful withdrawal.

“America has always been a welcoming country — a place where people come to make a better life for their families and in doing so, help make all of our lives better,” Mr. Hooks said in a statement.

The foundations said in a press release that Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Texas, California, Oklahoma, Washington state and Utah have the largest populations of Afghan refugees.

Shari Krull, CEO of the workforce mentoring nonprofit StreetWise Partners, said the agency will use its grant for a program that helps the refugees secure jobs in the nation’s capital.

“Having worked with skilled immigrants for years, we know how challenging it can be to transition foreign employment experience to the U.S. job market,” Ms. Krull said.

She said StreetWise will help refugees “receive the guidance, soft skills, industry knowledge and practice needed to successfully transition to employment.“

Other volunteer-led programs around the U.S. will use their grants for English instruction, driving lessons, donations of clothing and household goods, and events to welcome Afghans into their new communities.

The foundations said in their joint press release that “many of these allies and their families aided American diplomatic, military, or civic agencies as interpreters, translators, professionals, or other support personnel — and are actively at risk of persecution by the Taliban.”

More than 180,000 refugee-owned businesses generate more than $4.6 billion for local economies annually, the press release claimed.