MEDIA ADVISORY 

June 7, 2021

Arlington, VA—The U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants (USCRI) once again is pleased to announce the gift of $678,000 from the Latter-Day Saint Charities (LDSC). This donation ($474,600 in cash and $203,400 of in-kind commodities) will help USCRI provide newly settled refugees with the critical assistance they need to begin their lives in communities across the U.S. LDSC announced the grant in a press release saying, “The funds are expected to help more than 9,000 refugees and immigrants through some 190 organizations affiliated with the…nine…resettlement agencies in the United States”

This generous donation will allow USCRI to provides newly arrived refugees with essential tools include arranging housing, employment, navigating the health care system, enrolling children in school, facilitating English language instruction for adults, and indispensable cultural orientation to help refugees adapt and succeed in their new environment.

Since 2016, LDSC has generously contributed more than three million dollars in cash and in-kind commodities to USCRI in our shared efforts to support the resettlement of refugees from around the world. “The LDS church donations further USCRI’s goal of helping refugees and immigrants to become self-reliant and contributing members of their new communities. Refugees and immigrants make valuable contributions to American life and economy —in science, medicine, business, the law, education, government, and the arts. During these difficult times for refugees and immigrants, we are immensely grateful for the support of the LDS church to help us preserve the promise of America as a beacon of hope and freedom,” said Eskinder Negash, President and CEO of USCRI.

LDSC’s support for USCRI’s refugee resettlement program comes at a time when almost 26 million refugees are languishing in refugee camps for decades and surviving on the margins of urban centers. Forty percent of all refugees worldwide are children who have escaped extreme poverty and violence only to have their young lives put on hold while waiting for resettlement.

During the past four years, the U.S. refugee admissions ceiling was drastically cut, reaching a historic low of 15,000 this year. With the new Presidential Determination setting the ceiling at 62,500, USCRI and its partner agencies are quickly scaling up its capacity to respond to previous levels of resettlement with the generous support of donors like LDSC.

We hope and encourage individuals, foundations, and corporations to follow the moral leadership of LDS and support newly arrived refugees and immigrants and the work of the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants. USCRI, founded in 1911, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit international organization committed to working on behalf of refugees and immigrants and their transition to a dignified life.

For more information contact: Annette Sheckler (571) 289-1731 or asheckler@uscrimail.org

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