A note from our executive director: Support refugee resettlement and continued federal funding
Thank you for all of your notes, questions, donations, and kind signals of support over the past two weeks as the new federal administration came into office. We expected some of what happened (the pause of refugee resettlement); we did not expect other things that took place (the end of the program that supports refugees for their first 90 days in country and proposed freezes on federal spending). It means a lot during these uncertain times to know that we have you in our corner.
Given all of this, I would like to take a moment to provide an update about our work at Tapestry Farms, and share some of the ways that you can engage in supporting refugees as individuals, and refugee resettlement as a whole.
First, and most importantly, we are focused on the families in front of us. Tapestry Farms continues to support refugee families in our community in the areas of housing, education, work, basic needs, medical/mental health, transportation, community, and U.S. citizenship. Families come from Syria, Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti. Nothing about our work has changed, and we continue to be a centered and non-anxious presence for the families in our care.
We are meeting with people connected at the federal level, so that they, too, can see the families who are in front of us. For example, we are thankful for the time and attention that Quad-City-based representatives of Sen. Charles Grassley and Sen. Joni Ernst gave us in the past few weeks, by visiting our office, learning about what we do, and listening to our concerns.
We are partnering with World Relief Quad-Cities, our community's federally funded refugee resettlement agency, to help ensure that some of the 209 newest refugees to the QC have basic needs met. We also looked carefully at our own budget for 2025 as federal uncertainty moved to the forefront. We have worked hard over the past eight years to diversify our revenue sources—10 percent of our budget involves federal funds.
WHAT CAN TAPESTRY FARMS SUPPORTERS DO AT THIS TIME?
Advocate with your federal Congressional leadership.
Ask your elected leaders to encourage the president to resume refugee resettlement, to set the number of people to be admitted this fiscal year at 50,000. The president is the sole person who makes this decision. Refugee resettlement has its roots in Iowa, where Republican Governor Robert Ray, in the 1970s, worked with the federal government to craft the Refugee Act of 1980, signed into law by Democratic President Jimmy Carter.
Articulate that you strongly believe in the continuation of long-standing federal funding to ensure refugees have the support they need to rebuild their lives and become self-sufficient. Refugees arrive in the United States after thorough vetting. One important aspect of the federally funded refugee resettlement program is that refugees are able to work as soon as they arrive, and have a path to U.S. citizenship. In the Quad-Cities, employers such as Amazon, Xpac, and Tyson rely on refugees to fill their workforce needs.
Contact information for our federal representatives can be found HERE. If you would like guidance on what to say or write, we have created a phone and email script that you can access HERE.
Engage with refugees in the Quad-Cities.
If you would like to volunteer for opportunities with Tapestry Farms, check out the possibilities and sign up here.
Give to our organization. With the uncertainty at hand, financial donations will help continue our work. Money will go towards staffing and direct investments in the lives of refugees who now call the Quad-Cities home.
Thank you, again and again, for showing your support. We are grateful for each of you, now more than ever.
Sincerely,
Ann McGlynn, executive director
563-370-0004
ann@tapestryfarms.org