Churches raise funds to sponsor Syrian family

West Island congregations raise money to sponsor Syrian family

Wondering what they could do to help the cause, three West Island congregations have banded together to raise enough money to sponsor a Syrian refugee family to come to Canada.

The Summer lea Refugee Support Coalition is made up of the Church of Merging Waters, in Ste-Annede-Bellevue, Summerlea United Church and Lakeshore Unitarian Universalist Congregation, both in Lachine.

The initiative goes back to September, before the federal Liberals were elected and began working on their plan to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees to Canada by the end of 2015.

Frustrated by a lack of action from the government, the congregations wanted to see what they could do to help, explained Susan Hawker, a member of the Church of Merging Waters.

After looking into their options for sponsoring a refugee family, the church was intimidated by the minimum cost of $30,000 to sponsor a family. Other churches expressed a desire to help and, finally, the three congregations came together on the project.

“The amount of money sounded a little overwhelming at this point. Between the three of us it seemed much more possible.”

Through fundraising and private pledges, the group has managed to raise close to $25,000 out of the $34,000 they are raising to sponsor a six-person family.

Some fundraisers, like a soup luncheon that raised $280, is not as much money as the pledges, but it helps, explained Hawker.

It’s a big undertaking, however, and the coalition has been meeting with other congregations, and Action Réfugiés Montréal, a not-forprofit group that facilitates refugee sponsorships, to get a better grasp of the process. “We’re working together, sharing knowledge so that the process goes a little easier,” said Hawker.

Thanks to a lot of help, research and resources from the community, the coalition is feeling ready.

“All we’re missing is a family,” laughed Hawker.

They’ve also started a help system that is already operational, dubbed the West Island Refugee Network.

The Summerlea Refugee Support Coalition will be matched with a family through Action Réfugiés, hopefully after their next meeting in February.

The not-for-profit group has been busy with refugee applications in the past four months. Before September, the organization received an application from a congregation maybe once every two years. They’ve since received 10.

Action Réfugiés offers extra support to congregations trying to help out as opposed to their usual clients, people who live who are sponsoring family members.

They held an information session in October for religious organizations that want to sponsor a family, and have a lot more face-to-face meetings with congregations. Also, because there is no relation, the matching process can take longer to facilitate.

“There are so many benefits (to sponsoring a family as a congregation),” explained Lauren Lallemand, sponsorship coordinator at Action Réfugiés. “It allows people in the congregation to discover an entirely new culture, there’s a period of exchange between the refugee family and the members of the settlement committee that is often beneficial to both.”

Importantly, however, the resources from a congregation are hard to match.

“If you’re being sponsored by one family member, you don’t know how many contacts that person necessarily has,” Lallemand explained. “But if you’re being sponsored by people in a congregation, they will invariably know employers, schools, doctors. They have a very big network to refer though.”

The benefits are beyond helping the family. “It’s often a really good community-building exercise. It really strengthens the ties of the church,” said Lallemand. The Summerlea Refugee Support Coalition is holding a spaghetti supper on Valentine’s weekend to raise more money while they are in the homestretch of their fundraising. “Heartto-Heart” will take place Saturday, Feb. 13, at 24 Maple St., Ste-Annede-Bellevue. Tickets are $25.

For information, call Nancy Gelsthorpe at 514-453-7564 or email jim.gelsthorpe@videotron.ca.