Nearly 70 organizations sign on to welcome people fleeing Ukraine
Sponsorship effort supported by $3.6 million contribution from Goldman Sachs
Today, following the announcement from the Biden-Harris Administration that people fleeing Ukraine will be eligible for humanitarian parole in the United States with a sponsor through a streamlined process starting Monday, April 25, Welcome.US. is launching an initiative to mobilize 100,000 Americans to sponsor people fleeing the war in Ukraine and seeking refuge in the United States.
To mobilize 100,000 Americans as sponsors, Welcome.US is partnering with a diverse coalition of public leaders and organizations, including nearly 70 Ukrainian American community organizations, resettlement agencies, service organizations, and other nongovernmental organizations with a long tradition of welcoming newcomers (full list below).
This historic effort is supported by a $3.6 million contribution from Goldman Sachs Gives. This contribution builds on the more than $3 million Goldman Sachs and its employees have donated to Ukrainian relief efforts to date.
Welcome.US is calling on Americans to step up as “Welcomers” and take action to welcome people fleeing Ukraine and seeking refuge in the United States.
Americans can be Welcomers by taking five key actions to help Ukrainians right now:
- Learn more about directly sponsoring people fleeing the war in Ukraine and seeking refuge at ukraine.welcome.us.
- Be a Welcomer by signing up to get updates and connecting to volunteer opportunities and other ways to help.
- Make a donation to the Welcome Fund, which allows Americans to easily donate to the nonprofit organizations working directly to address the most urgent needs of newcomers rebuilding their lives in communities across the country. 100 percent of Welcome Fund donations support frontline organizations responding to Ukrainians, Afghans, and others fleeing their homelands as they build new lives in the United States.
- Offer to temporarily open your home to newcomers through Airbnb.org. You can also donate to Airbnb.org to help cover the costs of temporary housing for newcomers.
- Donate airline miles through Miles4Migrants so newcomers seeking refuge can access a free flight to their new home.
“The last year has given us countless examples of the crisis and pain felt by those forced to leave their homes and the great capacity Americans have to help,” said Nazanin Ash, CEO of Welcome.US. “We, along with so many Americans, welcome the opportunity to help provide refuge to those fleeing Ukraine. Now, with today’s announcement that people fleeing Ukraine can find safety in the United States with the support of a sponsor, we are eager to help mobilize and support the many Americans who want to do more for Ukrainians and others seeking refuge.”
“The war in Ukraine has forced millions of people to flee their homes and, as we watched this crisis unfold, all of us at Goldman Sachs felt a responsibility to act,” said David Solomon, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. “We are proud to partner with Welcome.US to help 100,000 displaced Ukrainians seek safe haven in the United States, and we will continue to support the Ukrainian people in their hour of need.”
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon is a member of the Welcome.US CEO Council, a new effort launched earlier this month to accelerate and scale private sector support for those seeking refuge. The initiative announced today closely aligns with the initial goals of the CEO Council.
The partnering organizations and community leaders will leverage their vast networks to amplify this call to action to rally Americans across the country to raise their hand to support and welcome people fleeing Ukraine upon their arrival in the United States.
“We have seen how the support for Ukrainians is uniting Europe. Now is a moment to unite America,” said Metropolitan Archbishop Borys Gudziak, Archeparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia. “We are pleased to partner with Welcome.US to unleash the energy and compassion of the American people to welcome and support displaced Ukrainians.”
The White House announced that starting Monday, April 25 the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services will begin accepting applications for people fleeing Ukraine and seeking refuge for entry into the United States on humanitarian parole status with support from any U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or other lawfully residing individuals serving as a sponsor – including representatives of non-government organizations. There is no singular solution to supporting the needs of people seeking refuge in the United States, and Welcome.US is committed to working to grow the durable capacity of the U.S. resettlement system and other permanent pathways to safety.
Full List of Partnering Organizations and Public Leaders
Ukrainian American Organizations
- Archbishop Borys Gudziak and the Archeparch of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of Philadelphia
- His Eminence Archbishop Daniel and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the USA
- National Coalition Supporting Eurasian Jewry
- Razom
- Ukrainian American Bar Association
- Ukrainian Congress Committee of America
- Ukrainian National Association
- Ukrainian National Information Service
- Ukrainian National Women’s League of America
- United Ukrainian American Relief Committee
- U.S.-Ukraine Foundation
- World Federation of Ukrainian Women’s Organizations
Ukrainian American Leaders and Ukrainian Experts on Welcome Council
- Archbishop Borys Gudziak
- His Eminence Archbishop Daniel
- Alexa Chopivsky
- Ambassador Paula J. Dobriansky
- Andrew Futey
- Melinda Haring
- Ambassador John E. Herbst
- John Hewko
- Andrew Horbachevsky
- Minister Natalie Jaresko
- Irene Jarosewich
- Victoria Kulik
- Mark Levin
- Nadia McConnell
- Nadia Nynka
- Michael Sawkiw
- Yuriy Symczyk
- Ambassador William B. Taylor
- Ambassador Melanne Verveer
- Retired United States Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman
- Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch
- Marianna Zajac
Nongovernmental Organizations (including Service Organizations)
- Afghan-American Foundation
- Afghan-American Women Association
- Afghans of Puget Sound Alliance
- American Immigration Council
- Baby2Baby
- Blue Star Families
- Combined Arms
- Community Sponsorship Hub
- Concordia
- Every Campus a Refuge
- Fresh Start
- Global Emergency Response and Assistance (GERA)
- Goodwill Industries International
- Haitian Bridge Alliance
- Hello Neighbor
- Home for Refugees USA
- Immigrant Arc
- Inspiritus
- IRIS - Integrated Refugee & Immigrant Services
- Islamic Relief USA
- Lions International
- Mayors Migration Council
- National Partnership for New Americans
- Niskanen Center
- One Journey
- Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration
- REACT DC
- Refugee Council USA
- RefugePoint
- Rotary International
- Samaritan’s Purse
- Soldiers’ Angels
- Special Olympics
- TAPS
- The Mission Continues
- The Texas International Education Consortium
- Travis Manion Foundation
- Truman Center
- United Way of Central Massachusetts
- Viets for Afghans
- We Are All America
- Women for Afghan Women
- Upwardly Global
- USAHello
- Welcoming America
- Welcome to America Project
- With Honor Action
- World Learning
Resettlement Agencies
- Ethiopian Community Development Council (ECDC)
- Episcopal Migration Ministries
- HIAS
- International Rescue Committee
- Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service (LIRS)
- Migration and Refugee Services/United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB)
- U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
- World Relief
About Welcome.US
Welcome.US was founded to unite, inspire, and empower Americans to support those seeking refuge here, beginning with Afghan refugees evacuated to the United States after the fall of Kabul in August 2021.
Welcome.US has one overarching goal: to grow that outpouring of public support into building durable capacity and codifying commitments to welcome all newcomers. In partnership with local and national resettlement agencies, community organizations and leaders, refugees, community sponsorship groups, nonprofits, businesses, faith-based institutions, veterans, universities, four former Presidents and four former First Ladies, Welcome.US is the single point of entry for Americans who want to get involved and support those who are starting new lives in the United States.
To learn more about Welcome.US, please visit welcome.us.
About Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global financial institution that delivers a broad range of financial services across investment banking, securities, investment management and consumer banking to a large and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.
Through Goldman Sachs Gives, a donor-advised fund, Goldman Sachs’ current and retired senior employees work together to recommend grants to qualifying nonprofit organizations to help them achieve their goals. Since 2010, Goldman Sachs Gives has granted more than $2bn to over 8,000 nonprofits in 100 countries globally.
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