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Afghan Continued from Page 1
$725,000 in donations between
Aug. 14 and Sept. 21, Executive
Director Cathryn Miller-
Wilson said.

The monetary donations
to HIAS PA are the tip of
the iceberg. HIAS PA has
long partnered with area
synagogues to
organize supply drives for refugees and
newcomers, and the Jewish
community’s response to the
arrival of the Afghan evacuees
was no exception.

“There’s a role the
community — the Jewish
community — can play,” said
Judi Bernstein-Baker, former
executive director of HIAS
PA and a member of Mishkan
Shalom, one of the synagogues
with which HIAS PA has
worked. “We have a sensibility
for this. Didn’t we go through
this? It’s almost in our DNA.”
“The amount of stuff that is
in our building is both heart-
warming and overwhelming
at the same time,” said Amy
Krulik, executive director of
Main Line Reform Temple in
Wynnewood. MLRT has partnered
with HIAS PA for almost 13
years, accepting donations of
blankets, kitchen appliances,
dishes and gift cards.

Since mid-Aug ust,
MLRT volunteers have been
overwhelmed with donations;
they rented an off-site storage
facility to accommodate the
supplies received.

Previously, MLRT mostly
relied on donations from the
community. After the fall
of Kabul, Krulik said that a
“caravan of cars” from people
across the area lined up at the
synagogue with donations.

She received hundreds of calls
asking if people can donate to
HIAS PA through MLRT.

More donations meant
more help was needed to sort
through the supplies, ensuring
that they were of appropriate
quality to give to evacuees.

Linda Brock, an MLRT
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM the way ... to make
sure that the families
are being welcomed
into the Philadelphia
community.” Mishkan Shalom
also has gathered
donations to HIAS
PA, but after the fall of
Kabul, the synagogue
is taking a different
approach to helping
evacuees. On Oct. 6, Bernstein-
Baker, who’s a member
of the congregation’s
Refugee and Immigrant
A flight from Kabul to the U.S. on Aug. 15
Rights Committee
carrying 640 Afghan evacuees
Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons and co-chair of the
Philadelphia Chapter
congregant who has volun- of the American Immigration
teered to help HIAS PA Lawyers pro bono committee,
through the synagogue for 11 held a training session for
years, said volunteer numbers congregants interested in being
have doubled since August, sponsors for Afghans still in
from five to 10 or sometimes Afghanistan or a third country.

12. Along with congregant
Being a sponsor allows
Adele Margulies, Brock has someone to provide referrals
delegated tasks and trained the to Afghans applying for social
newcomers. services and doesn’t necessarily
Brock and Margulies entail supporting an individual
usually work alongside volun- financially.

teers from the synagogue, but
Recruiting sponsors for
now volunteers are “people Afghan families is particularly
from churches, people who challenging. The U.S. immigra-
have worked in other organi- tion system was not designed
zations, people who read about to assist in this type of human-
us and call and offer [to help].” itarian crisis, meaning that
For Brock, it’s crucial sponsor application forms
that the quality of the items don’t completely align with the
sorted for donation to HIAS needs and circumstances of the
PA doesn’t falter due to the Afghan community, Bernstein-
overwhelming amount.

Baker said.

Blankets and sheets cannot
HIAS PA is also feeling
be frayed or stained. If they frustration around the limita-
are, they are donated to local tions of the U.S. immigration
animal shelters rather than to system. It is equipped to take
evacuees. in more than 100 evacuees, as
HIAS PA also wanted to is Nationalities Service Center
ensure that the items given to Philadelphia, which is reset-
evacuees are culturally appro- tling 200 evacuees. However,
priate and useful. Single-use they are unable to now because
kitchen appliances like waffle the resettlement pipeline is so
irons are a no-go, as are wine slow.

glasses and bottle openers, as
The federal government
many of the donation recipi- authorized
humanitarian ents are Muslims who do not parole to be given to Afghan
drink alcohol.

newcomers, which is an entree
“Everything needs to be visa for evacuees but does not
really in pristine condition provide a legal status, such
because it’s the way you would as refugee status, that would
treat a guest,” Krulik said. “It’s allow evacuees to be eligible
JEWISH EXPONENT
for cash assistance. There’s
also confusion about whether
evacuees come to the U.S. with
a work authorization.

A backlogged asylum appli-
cation process means that for
arriving Afghans, applying for
asylum, which gives similar
benefits as refugee status, could
take years.

Because of the lack of
government assistance to
evacuees, HIAS has to take a
greater intervention, providing
housing, groceries
and prescription drugs.

“These folks have no way to
support themselves, no way at
all,” Miller-Wilson said.

The sheer number of
donations have put stress on
HIAS PA and MLRT, who
are requesting a pause on
donations until 2022 unless
they are contacted beforehand.

However, HIAS PA has a
Target registry from which
& & TAY-SACHS
CANAVAN CANAVAN
SCREENING SCREENING
CALL (215) 887-0877
FOR DETAILS
e-mail: ntsad@aol.com;
visit: www.tay-sachs.org
■ Screening for other
Jewish Genetic Diseases
also available.

This message is sponsored by a friend of
Nat’l Tay-Sachs & Allied Diseases
Association of Delaware Valley
individuals can buy supplies to
donate. The organization is still
accepting Target and Dollar
Tree gift cards. For more infor-
mation, contact Anneke Kat at
community@hiaspa.org. l
srogelberg@jewishexponent.com; 215-832-0741
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