Third’s Refugee Ministry
We believe that we are called to offer God’s love to those who have been forced to leave their home in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. We form teams to coalesce around one family at a time, in order to offer focused and practical support and help as they settle in Richmond.
The Latest
In 2022, we have been supporting two families, one from Afghanistan and one from Russia/Ukraine.
In each case, we support our families though finding donations for clothing, furniture, and food; submitting work permit applications; arranging and accompanying them to medical and dental appointments; obtaining medical insurance and other government based benefits. We also help to enroll the children in school, assist them in preparing for driver’s licenses tests, collecting donations for all the items needed to furnish a home and a host of other vital needs.
About our Ukrainian family: The Veremchuks are a Ukrainian family who fled from Russia’s invasion. They are a family of eleven, with nine children. Daniil is a pastor from Dubno, Ukraine, and served in Russia for 16 years as a missionary, pastor, and teacher. After fleeing on March 1, the family stayed in Poland and the Czech Republic. On April 15, they entered the US under the designation of Humanitarian Parole.
How we’ve partnered with them: We have been supporting the Veremchuks in many ways since the Spring, They are currently in a rental house that Third furnished with donations from the congregation, and we have helped the children enroll in Henrico schools which offer specialized language instruction for the 2022-2023 academic year.
Our goals going forward: We’ve set for ourselves two goals:
Assist them with home rental costs for one year (2022-2023).
Assist them in retaining an immigration attorney in order to apply for asylum in the US.
About our Afghan Family: We officially began sponsoring our Afghan family in January of 2022 in partnership with a resettlement organization, the International Rescue Committee (IRC). For security reasons, we are not mentioning their names, and although the attached photos include the family members, we are not identifying them specifically.
How we’ve partnered with them: The family includes four adults and two children (two of the older children are over 18 and can work to help support the family). Over the past year, we have helped them move into two different homes, furnish their spaces, secure jobs, and more. After six months, they fulfilled much of their responsibilities toward the family and now play a less active role in the family's care.
Our goals going forward: Although the family purchased an older car, we hope to help them buy a second vehicle to make it easier for the adults to get to and from work. Our ongoing commitment to this family is predominately in the area of helping them acclimate to life in their new environment.
How you can help:
100% of your gifts to this special fund directly support our immigrant and refugee assistance efforts.
Please consider giving generously to these needs!
Are you interested in caring for refugees?
Both families need ongoing support in areas such as tutoring, transportation, job assistance, school registration, driving lessons,
and generally learning to navigate life in the US which is so foreign to them. They also need friendship, something that is easy to provide and an excellent way to welcome those who've left their homes.
Contact Rebecca if you would like to help out: rebeccah@thirdrva.org.
