About Welcome Neighbor STL
Welcome Neighbor started in 2016 with a group of volunteers delivering toiletries to Syrian refugees, and has grown to helping over 500 immigrants and refugees navigate their new American lives and over 4,000 supporters.
In our Family Partnering program, we connect a team of volunteer partners to a refugee family to assist with everything from school registration, medical needs, social outings, and much more. The goal of the program is self-sufficiency for the refugee family and lasting friendship between the refugee family and the family partners. Our program started with Syrian families, and five years later, we have many family partners still in active relationship with their Syrian families! Today, our new family partners work mostly with Afghan families.
To supplement income and learn business practices, we started our Supper Club program in 2017. We teach our refugee friends how to manage catering events/supper clubs where refugee cooks keep 80% of the proceeds and the rest covers the cost of food, kitchen rental, utensils, etc. Currently, we have served over 16,605 guests at 320 events and raised over $578,096.
Our other programs include:
- St. Louis Teens Aid Refugees Today (START) - Created as student-led group at St. Louis Priory School, START now has chapters at SLUH, John Burroughs, among others. START teen volunteers help refugee families move by loading and unloading moving trucks, volunteer at our Supper Clubs, do yard cleanup, go on trips to the thrift store or Walmart with the families, do swim lessons and tutoring for the kids, deliver furniture, and volunteer at local international festivals. Click here for more info.
- HumanKIND Transportation - HumanKIND's helps refugee families with transportation. We raise funds to purchase reliable, used cars for refugee families, and we also accept vehicle donations. Funds are used for safety inspections, emissions, repairs, and any unexpected costs. HumanKIND has provided 50 vehicles to date, helping refugees access work, education, and daily necessities.
- English as a Second Language (ESL) - Our ESL program is geared towards people who cannot easily leave the house for class and with little to beginner level English. Click here for more info.
- Mother's Support Group - We have two bi-weekly therapeutic support groups for refugee mothers. Jillayna Adamson, MA, LPC, LMHC, of Bright Tribe Therapy and Wellness is the creator and clinician running the Mothers' Support Groups. Click here for more info.
- Meal Delivery to Unhoused Individuals - Our refugee chefs wanted to give back to Americans in the same way we have given back to them. So, we started a meal delivery program for unhoused individuals. Twice a month, our chefs make meals and they are distributed directly to our unhoused community. We have provided 11,644 meals to unhoused individuals. Click here for more info.
- Literacy Program - Our Literacy program helps refugee students with general literacy and academic support. Adult volunteers tutor students during our weekly evening tutoring sessions.