Who We Are

The CSI Refugee Resettlement Committee is a group of CSI members and friends dedicated to providing a welcoming and supportive community for refugee families. We are trained by Church World Service (CWS) and HIAS as an official “Community Sponsorship Organization” and prepared to welcome and integrate refugee families in our community. In addition, to prepare ourselves to for the work, we received ESL and Cultural Orientation training. There is still a lot of work to be done to help our new neighbors restart their lives locally and eventually become self-sufficient, independent members of our community. Join us!

Our First Refugee Family

On February 28th we welcomed our first refugee family into our community. We came together as a caring community to rent, furnish, and create a new home for the K family — Afghan refugees who are starting new lives in the United States. They moved into Briarcliff in February and are starting to acclimate to life here. The CSI community and friends made this possible. The K family is so appreciative of all that we’ve done. They now feel welcomed and supported already!

The CSI Resettlement Committee stepped up in so many ways. Committee members have provided hours of ESL training, arranged medical appointments, taken the family grocery shopping, and in so many large and small ways welcomed this family.

Committee members have forever changed the lives of these 3 (soon 4, baby due in April) people. It is very real and concrete when you see the two-year-old starting to feel comfortable playing with her new toys and recognizing friends, while her parents adjust to a life in which they are safe and supported.

In the late spring or early summer, we are planning to host an event at the CSI Farm to welcome to K family to meet our congregation.

CSI Refugee Resettlement in the News

Press about the CSI Refugee Resettlement Committee:

• Patch article about CSI Refugee Resettlement Committee
• River Journal article Briarcliff Manor Synagogue Joins Local Effort to Resettle Afghan Refugees
• Patch article about Ossining for Refugees, our partner

Learn More About Refugee Resettlement

• HIAS Resettlement Video about a refugee warm welcome in Tulsa, OK. 

Advocacy

• HIAS – Advocacy Resources
• International Rescue Committee – Advocacy Resources

Events

• CSI Refugee Shabbat – held on March 4th, 2022
• Welcome the K Family to the CSI Farm (Date TBD)

Get Involved

Contribute to the CSI Refugee Resettlement Fund

The CSI Resettlement committee is preparing to welcome a refugee family from Ukraine.
To do so we need additional volunteers! Please let us know how you may want to get involved by filling out this form or emailing us at resettlement@csibriarcliff.org with any questions on how you can help.

Thank you!
Abbe Marcus & Julie Pescoe

Co-Chairs, CSI Resettlement Committee