State Department celebrates one-year anniversary of Welcome Corps program

WASHINGTON (Gray DC) - One year ago, the U.S. State Department launched Welcome Corps, a program that allows everyday American to assist refugees arriving in the U.S., and help them integrate into the country.

The department says more than 15,000 Americans have participated in the program and have helped 7,000 refugees settle into their new homes and lives in the country.

The program works by setting up sponsor groups with refugees. The groups greet the refugees at the airport, help them find new homes and jobs and also help get their children enrolled in school.

Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Populations, Refugees, and Migration Ambassador Julieta Valls Noyes says the department has been very pleased with the way the program has been going and says the welcoming spirit of a program like it, is part of America.

“I think it’s our history. It’s who we are as a nation,” said Ambassador Noyes. “We’ve always welcomed newcomers. We’ve always been a country of immigrants and a country that welcomes people who want to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps and who are willing to work hard and to and to do what it takes to be successful in America, because they know that this is the land of opportunity. And Americans are really great at welcoming newcomers.”

To learn more about the program, visit welcomecorps.org.

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