We’re so thankful for the many people who want to help welcome refugees to Canada, as sponsors, volunteers or donors. If you want to get involved there are a number of ways you can help: 

Sponsorship

Since 1979 MCC has helped refugees who have no prospect of returning home to start a new life in Canada through our sponsorship program.

Sponsorship is a one year commitment. The sponsoring group helps the refugee family with practical things like housing, finances, and grocery shopping, as well as offering friendship and emotional support.

While the legal sponsorship lasts a year, the relationships that are formed are often transforming and everlasting. Throughout the stages of the sponsorship process, MCC provides the sponsors with training opportunities and support.

Sponsors can be a church congregation, a community group, or collection of people who have the time and resources to help.

Watch this quick video to learn the basics of how sponsorship works.

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How to sponsor a refugee family

Today, there are more people displaced than at any other time since World War II. Canadian churches have a unique opportunity to respond through private refugee sponsorship. Here's how it works.
 

If you feel called to help welcome a refugee family read our Frequently Asked Questions about sponsorship, or contact the MCC office in your province to see how you can become a sponsor.

Afghan refugees

MCC is currently partnering with supporting church denominations to sponsor refugees from Afghanistan. For more information, please contact your local denominational office or email afghanrefugees@mcccanada.ca.

Donate

You can make a donation to support the refugee resettlement program in your province, helping our coordinators match refugees with sponsoring groups, provide support during the government process and develop settlement and support plans for each family. 

Or you can donate to a specific group that has already been approved as a refugee sponsor, browse the list of groups here to make a donation. 

MCC is also working on long-term development to solve the causes of conflict and reduce the number of people becoming refugees. We are appealing for donations to support our humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding programming in Syria, Iraq and surrounding countries.  

Volunteer

Even if you don’t have the resources to donate or become a sponsor, you can still get involved by donating your time to support newly arrived refugees. Some programs need translators, people to accompany newly arrived families or help with paperwork.

Learn more about the provincial refugee sponsorship programs and contact your local office to see how you might be able to help. 

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