Tapestry Farms supports Welcome Corps, for refugee resettlement

Today, more than 200 organizations, including Tapestry Farms, signaled their support for the Welcome Corps, a new U.S. government community service program that allows everyday Americans to privately sponsor refugees from around the world — representing the boldest innovation in refugee resettlement in more than 40 years, grounded in the generosity and compassion of American communities.

Through the Welcome Corps, Americans work in groups of at least five to welcome newcomers by securing and preparing initial housing, greeting refugee newcomers at the airport, enrolling children in school, and helping adults to find employment.

Most importantly, they offer a sense of welcome, belonging, and inclusion for families that have left far more than their worldly goods behind — they have left behind friends, families, and the social networks that help us thrive. These shared acts of welcome bring communities together while making it easier for newcomers to adjust to life in the United States. The program aims to mobilize at least 10,000 Americans in 2023 to welcome refugees through private sponsorship. 

Leaders from across resettlement, faith, service, and government communities are voicing their support for this bold new program that will dramatically expand America’s ability to welcome newcomers.

“For the past year, we watched, and are so encouraged by, groups in nearby DeWitt and Kewanee, who came together and welcomed people fleeing violence in Ukraine and Afghanistan through the private sponsorship model. They brought genuine care to the work of welcoming families escaping those two countries,” said Ann McGlynn, founder and executive director of Tapestry Farms, a nonprofit urban farm system that invests in refugees who live in the Quad Cities.

“Meanwhile, we hoped for the day when people who also fled their homes because of war and violence but lived for years - often more than a decade - in refugee camps, would have the opportunity to be invited to the U.S. in the same way. Today is that day,” Ann said.

For the past 5 1/2 years, the staff, volunteers, donors, and board of directors of Tapestry Farms have worked to build our organization, and our community’s systems and partnerships, to welcome refugees well. We whole-heartedly embrace this change in federal policy. Individuals throughout the country, including the Quad-Cities, will now have the opportunity to gather together and welcome. We are confident that many of our local communities can be places of refuge. That confidence includes communities on the Iowa side of the Quad Cities, which have not been a part of direct resettlement efforts for the past several years.

Some may recall the leadership of former Iowa Governor Robert Ray, who stepped forward in the mid-1970s and answered the call to welcome refugees to the state. His legacy can be seen, very clearly, in today's announcement. The launch of the Welcome Corps comes as the state of Iowa is restructuring its Bureau of Refugee Services, providing up to $5 million directly to community-based organizations to support refugees throughout the state.

This week, Tapestry Farms signed onto the memo with more than 200 other organizations nationwide supporting the Welcome Corps and the expansion of refugee resettlement. We look forward to being a part of the effort. We know that refugees who are surrounded by a team of neighbors who are dedicated to their well-being have an increased chance of setting down roots and contributing to their community in meaningful ways. We clearly see that in the refugees that Tapestry Farms currently has the honor of knowing.

Applications for the Welcome Corps will be accepted beginning January 19, 2023.

The Welcome Corps was launched by the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM), and is being implemented by a consortium of six organizations with expertise in refugee resettlement, protection, and welcome. Led by the Community Sponsorship Hub, the consortium includes Church World Service/Refugee Welcome Collective, Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services (IRIS), International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP), International Rescue Committee (IRC), and Welcome.US. 

Read the announcement from the U.S. Department of State.

Refugee newcomers who arrive through the Welcome Corps will follow an established government process that includes extensive security vetting and health checks. They will have refugee status, employment authorization, access to key public benefits like health insurance, and can eventually apply for U.S. citizenship. The Welcome Corps program provides sponsor groups with access to tools and resources, including a budget template, fundraising support, an arrival checklist, and ongoing guidance throughout the initial sponsorship period.

”Our community has a solid foundation to welcome - a foundation that we know can provide refuge, safety, and care to the record number of people worldwide who have been forcibly displaced from their homes,” Ann said. “We are eager to continue building the Quad-Cities’ welcoming infrastructure on that foundation. Our greatest hope is that people who have endured much can find home again in the Quad Cities.”

More information about Welcome Corps can be found at www.welcomecorps.org.

For more information about Tapestry Farms, visit www.tapestryfarms.org, or contact Ann McGlynn at ann@tapestryfarms.org or 563-370-0004.