Refugee Resettlement Collection

This year, Saint Joseph’s focused on refugee stories for Mercy Week. Keeping in line with this, the Mercy Center is working with the Jewish Community Alliance in Portland to collect donations for their Refugee Resettlement program. The JCA helps recent and incoming refugees find housing, jobs, schooling, and more! These refugees come from all over the world; currently most are from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Ukraine. Some refugees come on their own and others come with their whole families.

Each refugee is given a budget of how much can be spent on setting up their new life. Unfortunately, that number doesn’t always cover some of the smaller necessities such as toiletries and kitchen supplies.

In order to help, the Mercy Center will be running a drive now through the end of the semester to collect these smaller items and bring them to the JCA for the Resettlement program.

Needed items include: cleaning supplies, kitchenware, toiletries, towels, linens, mops, bath mats, shower curtains, and waste baskets.

If you would like to donate any of these items, you can drop them off in the box by McKenna’s desk in the Mercy Center labelled, “JCA Supplies”.

If you are interested in helping move refugees into their new homes, you can email McKenna at msmith@sjcme.edu and she can help get you set up with the JCA.