This past weekend, we saw hundreds of people from across Portland (and beyond) come together, empowered to show our newest neighbors that they are seen and cared for. Over 1,000 restart kits were received in a single day!

Brand new household essentials for the kitchen, bedding, school supplies, gift cards, and so much more. We are inspired and encouraged by the response of our city and community. Our team will be organizing and distributing these restart kits to the hundreds of people arriving in the coming weeks and months. Gift cards will be used for groceries and clothing for so many of the families who left Afghanistan with only the clothes they were wearing. We’re also expecting many of these families to arrive with even fewer possessions than most who arrive through refugee resettlement, due to how quickly so many had to evacuate from Afghanistan.

From the beginning, Refugee Care Collective set out to re-envision what it could look like to welcome our newest neighbors, and this weekend was a beautiful picture of the power of a collective united around love, generosity, and hospitality. We are grateful for the opportunity to extend care to our new neighbors in this way.

Learn more about our Restart Kit Program here.