Our Work
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BRIDGING THE GAP TOGETHER
SURGE SUPPORT IN VIRGINIA & MARYLAND
We were approved by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) and State Department (PRM) to be the lead in running a pilot program to hire newly arrived refugees as Case Aides and Project Managers to help the Resettlement agency have the necessary staff to support the refugee population. We hired 40 individuals in Virginia and 24 individuals in Maryland. This project was to help the refugees get the support they need and train and build the recently arrived refugees' resumes to start new positions with their cultivated experience. We provided jobs for 64 individuals, and the resettlement agencies hired the majority, and found other employment opportunities. The majority of our staff was the newly arrived refugees.
UNACCOMPANIED MINORS (UAM) MENTORING
MAV was approved by the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR) as the subcontractor to The Providence Group (TPG), one of the largest government contractors. We provided mentorship to 61 unaccompanied minors under the federal government's care in shelters all over the US. We hired 25 mentors that were Muslim-Afghan-Americans and a team of admin staff to provide support seven days a week. We hired a Muslim-American teacher to lead a group to create a primary civic curriculum, cultural competency, career, training, education, and basic Islamic studies for the children. We created an essential manual for the mentoring program that TPG now uses for other programs. We were able to use the funds to help purchase iPad, headsets, keyboards, and gift cards for the children. The minors were allowed to use iPads for educational purposes per shelter guidelines.
QUOTES FROM MENTEES in UAM Project
"I learned good behaviors and morals and how to be more active and social in the community."
"I learned about school and colleges and how to study in the US."
Mentees Name - NK
"I feel so optimistic about my future."
"If the programs set up are based on our level, we can be whatever we want to be in future."
"Based on our mentorship program, I can notice more nuances about culture and US environment."
"My friends and I dream of becoming a positive and fruitful person in community." Mentee - HK and FT
The situation she had gone through with her two little brothers was challenging, and they had no one to talk with and nobody to be with except these mentors.
"The mentor has become our everything, a father, a mother, brother, and family member."
"Whenever I face any issue at school, I share it with my mentor, and based on her mentor’s advice, she found the best ways to solve it.
"I learned driving rules and prepared to get my permit."
She has got help and motivation to learn the English language, and recently she is able to solve her problems most of the time whiteout the need for an interpreter.
She was asked how she can rate her mentors from 1-10. "She said 10, and even if it were 100, she would give a 100 score.
Mentee’s Name: M N
HIRING FAIR SPONSORED BY WELCOME US & TENT
Sponsored by Welcome.US and Tent- Welcome.US is a new national initiative built to inspire, mobilize, and empower Americans from all corners of the country to welcome and support those seeking refuge here. They began with the new Afghan neighbors and have expanded to those fleeing Ukraine while also building a durable capacity and ability to welcome other newcomers. They operate on the evidence that direct participation with newcomers transforms both the welcomer and those being received. Their ultimate ambition is for every American community – and the nation as a whole – to have the resources and willingness to welcome newcomers, now and in the future. This is the foundation created by Presidents Obama, Bush, Clinton, and Carter to help and welcome refugees worldwide.
-We established a productive relationship with Welcome US. Therefore, with our support, they sponsored a Hire Fair at Hilton Hotel in Tysons Corner in partnership with Tent (a refugee organization created by the founder of Chobani) and Talent Beyond Boundaries. We had over 500 applicants registered at the event 321 were hired on-site, and over 100 during the second round of interviews for management and higher positions.
-We were also able to receive a grant in the amount of $50,000 from Welcome.US to support the refugee programs
- We also received a $10,000 Amazon pilot program sponsored by Welcome.US to purchase household items for refugees.
Partnerships:
First Hiring Fair – North Virginia
•Welcome.US
•REACT DC
•Muslim Association of Virginia (MAV)
•Talent Beyond Boundaries
-310 Afghan attended
-555 Interviews took place
-130 got job offers on the site
-35 employers attended
-Mobilized over 50 volunteers
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Pillars 4 Humanity is working hard to create a collaborative pilot program to provide a unified ESL program throughout Northern Virginia.
