Do you desire to make a difference and ensure that your community is welcoming to newcomers?
Consider partnering with the African Community Center (ACC) and co-sponsoring a refugee family!
What is the role of co-sponsors?
Co-sponsors help newcomers resettle in their local Communities and partner with ACC to provide the following:
- Collect in-kind and financial donations in order to supplement the one-time government grant amount allocated to each refugee.
- Welcome and mentor the refugee family so that they can feel comfortable and confident moving around and accessing services in the local community.
Who qualifies to be a co-sponsor?
Co-sponsorship is important work and therefore Teams must meet certain criteria to qualify. This includes:
- Organized team: groups of 7+ people with an identified team coordinator
- Funds raised: minimum $3000 cash contribution provided to ACC at the time of being matched with a family
- Household and personal items collected: furnish apartment prior to arrival with donations and purchased items
- Available long-term: several hours a week collectively for 9 months’ post-arrival
- Well-trained: all core team members required to submit background checks and participate in ACC’s co-sponsorship training
- Formally committed: willing to sign agreement and take on specific core services
What types of tasks are co-sponsors asked to take on?
ACC’s co-sponsorship program allows Co-Sponsorship Teams to choose a minimum number of core services they are prepared to provide for the refugee family with whom they are paired. ACC recommends that Co-Sponsorship Teams organize themselves into committees to divide up the work and allow members to specialize on a particular type of support, based on their individual interests, expertise, and time availability.
Committees should be organized around different key integration pathways, which include:
- Housing & Welcome: Assists in gathering household and furniture items, setting up the home, providing ready-to-eat food upon arrival as well as appropriate clothing.
- Transportation: Coordinates transportation needs and teaches the family how to access and navigate public transportation as well as apply for a driving license.
- Health: Assists the family in finding primary health providers, tracking and attending follow-up medical and dental appointments as well as teaches them how to stay healthy and safe in the American context (i.e. nutrition, hygiene, vaccinations, identity protection, etc.).
- Education: Assists parents/guardians in enrolling children in school and following up on participation as well as supports adults to access English language and job training classes.
- Jobs and Finance: Supports employable individuals to understand how to apply for jobs, network for employment, maintain a job once employment, set up a bank account, pay required bills, establish good credit, and plan for future goals.
What are the benefits of co-sponsorship?
Co-sponsorship creates opportunities for ordinary people to play a key role in supporting refugees as they settle into their new homes within local communities in the U.S. ACC recognizes that co-sponsorship is a significant commitment, but it is also an extremely rewarding one. Not only does it build powerful bonds between sponsors and refugees, it strengthens the host community by sparking new connections and enhancing those already existing. It can also help to foster positive attitudes towards refugees and resettlement. When new arrivals receive a warm welcome and support to integrate, it helps them feel at home and improves the likelihood that they will become empowered, contributing members to the community in a shorter period of time. Integration is a two-way process, and ACC expects that sponsors learn and benefit from the experience almost as much as the refugee family.