Welcome to our Monthly Newsletter from PCC4Refugees!
In this issue:
Register now for upcoming online events
- Feb 12 – Webinar: Advocating at the State and Local Levels (8 pm ET)
- Feb 19 – Conversation and Information Sharing (8 pm ET)
- Mar 4 – Webinar: Serving the Educational Needs of New Immigrant Families (8 pm ET)
Read below for more information on monthly webinars and conversations through April 2025.
Take Action Now!
- Support immigrants and refugees in your community and nationwide
Community Spotlight
- What do you do when it’s time to pivot?
We need your input!
- Take our short survey
In each issue, you are also able to register for all upcoming events, view recordings of past events, access “Welcoming Refugees: A Guide to Volunteer Opportunities for the Peace Corps Community,” volunteer with our PCC4Refugees team, link to our website, and follow us on social media. All of this is in the issue below!
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Register Now for Upcoming Events
February 12 at 8 pm Eastern – Webinar: Advocating at the State and Local Levels. Our speakers will provide an overview of state and local policies affecting new immigrants and feature strategies that work in building support for the desired policies. Speakers include:
- Josh Utter, RPCV and State and Local Advocacy Officer for Global Refuge
- Michael Kiernan, Media and Communications Consultant
- Sarah LaBounty, RPCVs of Colorado
See Global Refuge’s State and Local Advocacy Toolkit and the February 7, 2025 Legislative Bulletin from National Immigration Forum.
February 19, 2025 at 8 pm Eastern – Join the PCC4Refugees Conversation Series to share resources and information in an informal online setting.
March 4, 2025 at 8 pm Eastern – Webinar: Serving the Educational Needs of New Immigrant Families. Our speakers will provide an overview of state and local policies affecting new immigrants and feature strategies that work in building support for the desired policies. Speakers include:
- Merritt Groeschel, Executive Director and Founder, Solutions in Hometown Connections (SHC)
- Michael Morsches, Dean of Learning Enrichment and College Readiness, Moraine Valley Community College
- Lynn Reddy, Associate Director, External and Executive Communications, Northern Virginia Community College
March 15, 2025 at 1 pm Eastern – “Life Beyond the Walls: I am pursuing asylum; I don’t know how to give up,” by Grace James. Book reading and talk co-sponsored by Peace Corps Community for Refugees, Museum of the Peace Corps Experience, and RPCVs for Environmental Action at the International Peace Museum (Dayton, OH) and streaming as a part of their Season for Non-Violence. Details forthcoming.
See below for the full list of upcoming events and recordings of past webinars.
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Take Action Now!
The flow of new Immigrants is being suspended, and many of those already here are being threatened with deportation, with little legal recourse. Refugee agencies and their partners that have helped guide and sustain new immigrants are losing funding. The system is in crisis and needs your help now more than ever. Don’t wait, take action now!
- Offer direct support to refugees. Work with community organizations and informal groups to teach English, help families sign up for benefits, learn English, find affordable housing, and more.
- Donate to groups providing essential services.
- Advocate on their behalf at the local, state, and national levels.
- Educate yourself and your neighbors about the needs of the refugee community (e.g., read our blog post and/or view our webinar recording on the rights of immigrants and refugees, attend an upcoming webinar, or join an online conversation, write op-eds)
- Share this newsletter and encourage people to sign up with PCC4Refugees
- Volunteer with Peace Corps Community for Refugees. We need people to monitor legislation and mobilize the community to act, share information and resources on social media, write articles/blog posts, keep our website and online guide updated, write and send this newsletter and targeted alerts, manage our database and website, and more. If you can help us, please email info@pcc4refugees.org. The commitment is but a few hours a month, but very rewarding
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Community Spotlight: What do you do when it’s time to pivot?
Each month, we highlight groups or individual RPCVs who are supporting refugees in their community to thank them and to perhaps inspire you! To spotlight an individual or group or to share your story, please contact info@pcc4refugees.org.
From its inception in 2019, Homes Not Borders (HNB) has drawn RPCVs and other volunteers to assist in fulfilling their mission to “provide the refugees and other forced migrants in the D.C. area with what they need to thrive and feel at home in the United States.” Most volunteers have not only donated household items, but then used them to transform bare apartments into completely furnished homes for refugee and forced migrant families. HNB is highlighted in our online guide, Welcoming Refugees: A Guide to Volunteer Opportunities for the Peace Corps Community.
In addition to collecting furniture and furnishings and organizing apartment set-ups for refugees, Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) Recipients and asylum seekers in partnership with Refugee agencies, HNB supports the career development of the families served through a number of programs. With the abrupt cutoff of federal funding for refugee reception and placement, HNB is pivoting to fill the gap in meeting recently arrived refugees’ basic needs. From now until the end of April it will try to provide services to which new arrivals would have been entitled before the funding cutoff. It will be hiring laid off case managers, providing case management for refugees in their initial 90-day period, home set ups, and selected rental assistance based on need. It will soon be piloting its Newcomers to Neighbors (N2N) to provide ongoing support.
Many organizations supporting the refugee and immigrant community are having to pivot to help those in need. PCC4Refugees urges you to reach out and step up within your local community to help at this critical time. Be sure to share these stories. Thank you!
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We need your input!
The mission of Peace Corps Community for Refugees (PCC4Refugees) is to inspire and mobilize the Peace Corps community to help those seeking refuge in our country and to advocate and educate on their behalf.
PCC4Refugees is an all-volunteer organization with limited resources. To help us focus our efforts for maximum impact, we need your input. Tell us what you are doing, the resources you are using, what you find helpful and what you need. And please consider joining our all-volunteer team!
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Archived Webinar Recordings
Welcoming Refugees – An introduction to our newly-launched guide and Switchboard, a one-stop online resource hub (recorded Sept. 26, 2024)
Career Pathways in the Refugee Resettlement Sector, co-hosted with RPCVnexus (recorded Oct. 21, 2024)
Advocacy Forum to Review Refugee-related Legislation (recorded Nov. 18, 2024)
RPCV/RPCV Group Showcase (recorded Dec. 11, 2024)
Know Your Rights (recorded Jan. 28, 2025)
(Note: the content of each webinar is as of the dates noted. Some content may now be outdated.)
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Welcoming Refugees: A Guide to Volunteer Opportunities for the Peace Corps Community
This Guide, developed by the PCC4Refugees team, is to inspire more RPCVs and others to use their unique cross-cultural and language skills to welcome refugees and help them resettle in the United States. The guide provides information on a wide range of welcoming services that individuals and groups of RPCVs can provide for refugees in their communities and along the border.
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Register for Upcoming Events
- February 12 at 8 pm ET – Advocating at the State and Local Levels
- February 19 at 8 pm ET – Conversation and Information Sharing
- March 4 at 8 pm ET – Serving the Educational Needs of New Immigrant Families
- March 19 at 8 pm ET – Conversation and Information Sharing
- April 16 at 8 pm ET – Conversation and Information Sharing
Note that we will add further details on individual sessions as we get closer to their dates. Details subject to change. All conversations are from 7:30 pm – 8:30 pm (note the new time!) in the Eastern U.S. time zone.
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PCC4Refugees Needs You!
Volunteer Opportunities with Peace Corps Community for Refugees
Join our Advocacy, Communication, Partnership, and Membership teams! We need writers, editors, graphic designers, reporters, advocates, recruiters, speakers, organizers, relationship builders, and innovators. All around, pinch hitters are welcome too!
Please email info@PCC4Refugees.org to express interest.
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Support PCC4Refugees!
PCC4Refugees is run entirely by volunteers, but our website and crucial database are not free. Help us best share key information with you and facilitate networking with your financial contribution.
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The mission of Peace Corps Community for Refugees (PCC4Refugees) is to inspire and mobilize the Peace Corps community to help those seeking refuge in our country and to advocate and educate on their behalf.
Please visit these pages of our website for regularly updated resources and opportunities: