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HIAS Welcome Circle
OC Collaborative HIAS Welcome Circle
The Jewish Collaborative of Orange County is delighted to sponsor the
OC Collaborative HIAS Welcome Circle. Circle members include:
Sam Balchowsky, Marlene Burnett, Rudi Berkelhammer, Gail Dratch, Pamela Kauss, Barbara Rosen, and others.
Each HIAS Welcome Circle is composed of between 6-9 community members joining together to sponsor an Afghan family that was evacuated during the airlift out of Kabul in August, 2021.
Welcome Circle volunteers accept responsibility to:
- Raise $25,000-$30,000 to help cover 12 months of living expenses
- Help families find housing and furnishings
- Secure social welfare benefits
- Assist finding employment
- Provide transportation
- Connect them with the local Afghan community
- And all the aspects of helping a newcomer to the U.S. adapt to a new country and culture
In August 2021, over 70,000 Afghans were evacuated and taken to U.S. military bases where they were housed, further vetted, and provided medical care and vaccinations.
The U.S. government set a deadline for all Afghan evacuees, to be resettled in communities throughout the United States by February 15th. Our Circle's family was among the last to leave the bases and arrived to Orange County on February 19th.
Your donations will make a huge impact and fulfill the mitzvah of welcoming the stranger. Thank you in advance for your generosity.
Ways to donate are listed to the right on this page.
Mon, April 28 2025
30 Nisan 5785
HIAS WELCOME CIRCLE INFORMATION SESSION
Become a part of this sacred work! Join the Orange County Jewish Coalition for Refugees on Friday, March 18th* at 10am to learn all about forming a HIAS Welcome Circle.
Register here.
*If you missed this session and would like the recording email Jackie.Menter@HIAS.org.
Donate by Check
Please send a check made payable to JCoOC with "HIAS Welcome Circle" in the memo. Mail to:
Jewish Collaborative of OC
2913 El Camino Real #701
Tustin, CA 92782
JCoOC is an exempt organization in accordance with Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code EIN: 36-4844121
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