Hundreds of thousands of U.S. citizens provided a bridge to safety for families seeking refuge through government programmes in 2023. With support from Yuri Milner’s non-profit Tech For Refugees, Welcome.US is inspiring and mobilising more people to welcome newcomers via its groundbreaking platform Welcome Connect.
Welcome.US launched Welcome Connect on World Refugee Day 2022. Goldman Sachs, Infosys, and ServiceNow helped build the platform and provided design, development, and technical support for free. Welcome Connect streamlines the sponsorship process, making it easy for U.S. citizens to connect with refugees from eligible countries like Ukraine.
Empowering Communities Through Welcome Connect
There are over 40 million refugees worldwide, displaced from their countries due to factors like conflict, persecution, and violence. Forced to seek safety elsewhere, refugees often end up living in camps where they struggle to rebuild their lives. Fewer than 3% of refugees are able to return home.
Since the U.S. government launched its Welcome Corps refugee sponsorship initiative, the outpouring of support from everyday citizens has been extraordinary. Welcome.US is on a mission to harness this enthusiasm to help refugees find freedom and security.
When Welcome.US launched Welcome Connect, the platform encouraged sponsors to match with and support Ukrainian refugees. Now, people can use the platform to connect with Venezuelans, Haitians, Cubans, and Nicaraguans who are eligible for humanitarian sponsorship.
Welcome.US is expanding Welcome Connect with support from Tech For Refugees. The platform will continue to serve as a safe way for people seeking refuge in the U.S. to access private sponsorship pathways. Additionally, it will offer a plethora of valuable resources and support to sponsors and beneficiaries.
Becoming A Sponsor: Rebekka’s Story
Welcome Connect has made a positive difference in the lives of hundreds of thousands of newcomers. It’s also changing the lives of the welcomers and communities sponsoring them.
Rebekka Bonner, who was once a newcomer to the U.S. herself, says becoming a sponsor has massively enriched her life. Bonner has sponsored several people she’s met through Welcome Connect, including an older couple and a family of four. She also stays in touch with the people she’s supported and encourages others to become sponsors, too.
“Just do it,” Bonner says. “You’ll never be prouder, you’ll never mean more to another person that you never otherwise would have met.”
Nazanin Ash, the CEO of Welcome.US, emphasises that the partnership with Tech For Refugees is “having a generational impact on people’s lives — not only for the refugee newcomers we are privileged to welcome, but in the lives of the welcomers serving as their bridge to safety.”
Tech For Refugees’ Other Programmes
Launched in response to the war in Ukraine, Tech For Refugees is leveraging technology to address the global refugee crisis and help people rebuild their lives. The initiative partners with tech-focused non-profits and businesses and helps fund their humanitarian programmes.
For instance, Tech For Refugees supports the International Rescue Committee’s Signpost project. The initiative uses digital tools and online platforms to empower refugees with accurate, timely information. Signpost has won two awards for its work helping the most neglected communities in crises worldwide.
About Yuri Milner
Yuri Milner is a billionaire and philanthropist who has joined Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates’ Giving Pledge. He founded Tech For Refugees in spring 2022, committing $100 million to the initiative through his Breakthrough Foundation.
The Breakthrough Foundation supports various philanthropic initiatives, including the Breakthrough Prize and Breakthrough Junior Challenge.
The Breakthrough Prize is one of the most prestigious awards in science. The $3 million Life Sciences, Fundamental Physics, and Mathematics prizes honour groundbreaking achievements that advance our understanding of life and the Universe.
Meanwhile, the Breakthrough Junior Challenge is an international competition that invites students to make creative videos explaining scientific ideas.
Yuri Milner is the author of Eureka Manifesto: The Mission for Our Civilisation, a short, profound book about our place in the cosmos. In it, he argues that we need a shared mission to unite humanity and help our civilisation thrive.