A local solution to the global refugee crisis.

Community sponsorship relies on harnessing the power of community volunteers and partners to offer a soft landing to newly arrived families. Volunteers form cohorts to provide anywhere from 3-12 months of support built to ensure the independence and self-sufficiency of our new neighbors. Learn more about how it works here.

The Benefits

It’s twofold. Refugees receive far more support than traditional resettlement models and for longer periods of time, promising more sustainable and realistic chances for successful integration and independence.

Meanwhile, communities experience the power of welcoming and develop a deep and meaningful connection with refugees, creating stronger and more diverse communities.

Dating back to the Refugee Act of 1980, refugees who entered the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program were placed with a resettlement case manager in one of nine non-profit resettlement agencies across the nation. In 2016, Hearts & Homes for Refugees followed the lead of our neighbors at IRIS-Connecticut and partnered with these resettlement agencies to provide additional support to the refugees with the goodwill of volunteers located in Westchester County, NY. Since then, HHR has mobilized more than 4,000 volunteers across the Lower Hudson Valley to provide direct assistance to over 1,000 refugees.

In January 2023, the State Department built off this growing grassroots movement, and launched Welcome Corps, a new program that empowers any group of five Americans to sponsor and resettle refugees. Today, thanks to Welcome Corps and a blossoming grassroots movement of welcomers, it’s easier than ever before to step off the sidelines and join this welcoming movement.

Hearts & Homes for Refugees is a NY-based organization with the majority of its volunteer opportunities in the Lower Hudson Valley. As of 2023, HHR operates nationally through Welcome Corps by supporting volunteers to create Private Sponsor Groups.

Regardless of where you are, our team is here to help you help refugees in need. Click on the link to sign up below!

If you live in Southern New York, we have a plethora of volunteer options available. You can start your own private sponsor group to work directly with a refugee family, or you can take on a smaller commitment, like joining our Employment Committee, which helps refugees find jobs, or our Driving Cohort, which provides driving assistance to our many cohorts in Southern New York.

Just click on the link below to sign up, and we will work with you to figure out the best volunteer opportunity for you!