“How can we help?” Supporting afghan Refugees with CC+WP
CC+WP has committed to support resettled Afghan refugee families in partnership with our longtime Outreach Partner, Good Neighbors of Capitol Hill.
Made up of many local faith organizations, GNCH has assigned one area of need to each organization; for CC+WP, that’s school supplies, books and puzzles for the hundreds – if not thousands – of children being resettled in our area.
We would like to have both a ready arsenal of backpacks pre-filled with school supplies as well as ample additional supplies on hand to fill backpacks on short notice as we learn specific ages/gender of arriving children.
To that end, there are three ways you can help:
1) bring filled backpacks to church for children of any grade and genders (please label these by grade/gender, and bring them in the Parish Hall loft for storage. Feel free to include welcome notes for the children in the backpacks); or
2) bring or send school supplies or backpacks to Christ Church; or
3) sign up on the outreach hub to be on call to quickly fill the gap with a completed backpack for a particular age/gender we do not have on hand, or buy supplies we have run out of.
This list of requested supplies by grade is also linked on the Outreach Hub and printed out in the Parish Hall. Often we only have a few days to get the children what they need to start school, so all of your efforts are appreciated. With questions, contact our GNCH liaison Lisa Nickerson or Jordan.
OLIVIER DOULIERY/ AFP via Getty Images 
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
In addition to the backpack effort above, we are also collecting items that encourage fun and play for these kids who have been without either for some time. That translates into a call for books, puzzles, and toys, as well as sports equipment or gear – especially for the older children, aged 11-16.
All of the above can be brought to a table in the Parish Hall or taken directly to the loft for storage if you’re able.
If you would like to get more involved – either by mentoring a family or setting up an apartment, or more – consider filling out this form & dropping it in the basket in the Parish Hall so we can connect you with the right GNCH team.