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MAPS-MCRC Leads Afghan Resettlement Efforts in the Washington 

With Afghan refugee arrivals increasing in recent months, one of our provider partners recognized a need and stepped in to help. Muslim Association of Puget Sound-Muslim Community Resource Center (MAPS-MCRC) is working in collaboration with a consortium of service providers to identify the most urgent needs and meet them. As the social and humanitarian program of MAPS, MCRC has been engaged and coordinating the efforts to help incoming Afghan families as part of the Afghan Refugee Collective. When asked about their involvement, MCRC Founder/CEO Nickhath (Nicky) Sheriff said “Through our previous experience working with refugees from Iraq and Syria over the last few years our organization has developed deep expertise in working with refugee families. Many of these families happen to be Muslims and they arrive at our mosques seeking to help.”

There have been over 600 Afghans resettled in WA state in the last year, with about half of those arrivals in the last month or so through the refugee resettlement program. We also expect at least 1,600 Afghan arrivals in the next few weeks. The families arriving will need to rebuild their lives from scratch here. 

Here are some highlights of the work that MAPS-MCRC has been doing: 

  • Over 1,000 people have signed up via the Google form that is being used as a centralized intake and processing tool. Volunteers led by MAPS-MCRC have been actively reaching out to those who sign up to volunteer for their help!  
  • The joint Emergency Fund campaign has raised over $80K from 550+ donors on the Launchgood page, and an additional $25,000 by check, so far to help the incoming Afghan refugees to WA State.  
  • Over 65 Afghan families have been provided rental assistance.  
  • 20+ homes have been furnished through the MAPS-MCRC furniture warehouse. 
  • 30+ families have received clothing and hygiene essentials in collaboration with SCM Medical Missions and Kits for Peace. 
  • A useful refugee resource booklet has been translated into Dari and Pashto and is being prepared for printing and distribution. 

Along with their involvement in the Afghan Refugee Collective, MCRC is an organization that serves people of all faiths and backgrounds and they continue to provide a variety of services from their office in the Together Center, including food and gas card distribution, homelessness and eviction prevention, senior services and more.  

Ways to help:

  • Sign up to volunteer:  www.tinyurl.com/WAHelpAfghans
  • Joint campaign for emergency funds to help the incoming Afghan refugees to WA state www.launchgood.com/WAafghanFund
  • Gift Card donations (Costco, WinCo, Safeway, Fred Meyer, Amazon, Target) for Kits for Peace – any denomination is welcome. 

Mailing address:

Kits for Peace

15600 NE 8th Street Suite B1 PMB 453 Bellevue, WA 98008

To learn more about MAPS-MCRC visit mapsredmond.org/mcrc/ or find them on Facebook. 

Contact Us

info@togethercenter.org | 425-869-6699

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