Mission

Ithaca Welcomes Refugees was formed in December 2015 as an all-volunteer, grassroots gathering of community members responding to the global displacement crisis. Initially, we provided supplementary support to refugees through a local, federally-designated refugee resettlement agency at Catholic Charities of Tompkins/Tioga in the form of cultural orientation, financial assistance, and apartment setup. We founded our Global Roots Play School in 2017 to empower refugee and immigrant parents of pre-school-age children to attend English classes. 

Many small resettlement agencies like that of Catholic Charities ceased operations between 2017 and 2020 due to two roadblocks:  a presidential administration which decreased refugee and immigrant admissions into the US to historic lows and the COVID-19 pandemic. When resettlement increased again dramatically beginning in 2021, IWR faced a new local landscape. Without the existence of a resettlement agency, IWR began offering new services: identifying and helping pay for housing, providing financial assistance for driving lessons, and offering more holistic support through volunteer teams who work alongside our refugee partners. 

IWR now has a small staff and a robust team of volunteers who assist our refugee partners in their resettlement journeys. Between our Welcome Home, Response Project, and Global Roots Play School programs, we have worked alongside more than 250 people from more than 15 countries since IWR’s founding. 

Under the current presidential administration we are working flexibly to best support refugee and immigrant newcomers to our community amid new sources of vulnerability and shifting needs.