Refugee Committee
As you may know, the Archdiocese has asked us as either individuals or as a parish, to host Ukrainian families fleeing the war in the Ukraine. The numbers are stunning. Canada has received 676,000 applications; 378,000 applications have been approved and 115,000 Ukrainians have arrived. (Nov 15) The challenge now is accommodation. Our parish refugee committee is committed to hosting a Ukrainian family but the challenge we have run into is the cost of rental accommodation in the Toronto area. The committee currently has funds to house a family for only three months. This does not provide much stability for newcomers while they get settled, learn English and find employment. We would like to provide a longer time frame for accommodation and support for the newcomers we will sponsor to provide more stability and support. To that end, we have been looking for private rental accommodation and are also looking to team up with other parishes who might like to support our efforts. We are also asking for your assistance by asking you to contribute to a second collection the weekend of Nov 26 & 27. Hopefully we can, together, live the gospel of Mathew. As you are aware, our parish has committed to sponsor a Ukrainian refugee family to Canada as permanent residents. Our sponsorship makes us responsible to support and assist this family during their first year in Canada. Our Parish committee of 20 members will assist them with everything from securing and equipping housing, language training, education where needed, banking, shopping, recreation, medical appointments and all the other things it takes to settle into our country. This will be the fourth refugee family our parish has assisted in the last 10 years. The prior three families are all doing well and all have become Canadian citizens. We have yet to be matched with a Ukrainian family but we are aware of a local church that has received their refugee family. We will, of course, need your financial assistance to make this sponsorship a success. The government of Canada requires us to raise a minimum of $35,000 to support a family of 4. To achieve this we are now accepting donations through the parish office. With your support we can live the gospel to which we are called. From Mathew 25: For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in. Thank you.Ukrainian Family Sponsorship – Nov. 2022
Ukrainian Family Sponsorship – July 2022