Ukrainian Assistance Project

July 18, 2023 – The FUS Ukraine project team is happy to report that, after months of planning, two of the three Ukrainian families sponsored by FUS members have now arrived in Minneapolis, one on July 13th and the other on July 15th. The third family is expected in early August. Our teams have been busy getting them acclimated to their new environment and connecting them with resettlement services and benefits. Thanks to the generosity of our members and friends, we have exceeded our fundraising target. If you haven’t already, you will eventually have an opportunity to meet the families once they have settled in.

June 27, 2023 – The US Customs and Immigration Service (USCIS) has now approved the sponsor applications for all three of our teams. In addition, US Department of Homeland Security has authorized travel for all three families. And, we expect them to arrive in Minneapolis during the final two weeks of July!

June 16, 2023 – We’re excited to announce that our three congregations (FUS, DUUC, and MVUUF) have exceeded our fundraising goal. That goal was based on what we estimated necessary for our three beneficiary families to travel to the U.S. and transition to self-support. It’s hard to determine the total financial need for these three families so we’re still welcoming gifts. In addition, we will be soliciting donations of lightly used household furnishings and supplies to outfit their long-term housing needs. We expect our families may need a vehicle to get around, especially the family of five who will move into a rental duplex in August.  Many thanks to everyone who has donated to this effort, especially those who made challenge grants, the Dodd and Ginger Wilson Fund and two anonymous donors. This outstanding generosity demonstrates the power of our three congregations to work together to make change.

June 9, 2023 – One of our three sponsor teams, each in the process of sponsoring a refugee family that will come to the twin cities, is looking for the loan of a car for 2-3 months (we think August-October). The project will cover the insurance during this interval. The father is a car mechanic and will leave the car in terrific shape. If you have one to lend, please let us know by using the contact form above.

June 9, 2023 – Our fundraising is off to frothy start. A couple weeks ago, the FUS Foundation made a $5,000 Wilson Social Justice Fund challenge grant which was exceeded within days. Then, two anonymous donors made additional $5,000 challenge grants, one of which has been received. We are about $1,000 shy of meeting that challenge – the graphic above shows money in the bank.

We’ve made progress since our kickoff earlier this year. More than 50 FUS members and friends have stepped up to help. As of May 26, we formed three sponsorship teams and each identified a Ukrainian family to help and submitted information to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to demonstrate ability to support them. We hope they will soon be authorized to travel to the Twin Cities. Stay tuned for information on the families in future posts. Now on to fundraising!