JOIN THE 1000 SCHOOLS CHALLENGE

Get started

All it takes to get started is a core group who can solicit help from your community. Just a few people to spearhead fundraising, working on the application process, and coordinating commitments to help settle a family. Five core group members is an excellent start, with at least a few of them being adults. To understand the sponsorship and settlement process, review our FAQ’s; and arrange to have a representative from your group attend  a refugee sponsorship training session. This slideshow provides an overview of the Private Sponsorship of Refugees program in Canada (excluding Quebec),  this video covers general background information and a synopsis of the process and this handbook from Lifeline Syria gives a detailed step-by-step guideline for sponsorship groups as they go through their one year commitment to support refugees as they integrate to life in Canada.

 

Get your school community onside

- Touch base with your principal and the leaders of your school council.

- Survey your school community to see gauge interest and locate a likely group of volunteers (see sample survey here)

- Approach the School/Parent Council to discuss the idea at a meeting. Here is some info on pitching the idea to your school council.

 

Develop tools for communicating with your school community and volunteers/supporters

- Logo: If you don't have one already, you may use this one here.

- Email account: get a dedicated email account for your community. We are using a free Gmail account.

- Website: create a website – there are many ways to do it easily and for free. If you would like to use this one as a template, contact us and we will help. If you're ready to build a website on your own but would like some of our material, you can use this logo (the typeface for this is Myriad Pro Semibold). For the colours on our site, you can refer to this chart.

- Create social media accounts: for example Twitter, Facebook, etc to spread the word. Don't forget to spread the word about the1000 schools challenge - you can use this flyer.

- Arrange an initial meeting of volunteers, split into task-focused groups, and exchange phone numbers and emails.

 

Plan a fundraising campaign

- Ask for pledges or donations. You may use this pledge form here.

- Build a web-based fundraising page: we recommend CanadaHelps, YouCaring and Tilt as they have comparatively lower fees

- Make plans for what to do with donations: can they be kept aside within an existing school council account? Will you set up a bank account as an unincorporated non-profit?  Who will be signing officer?

- Keep us informed of your events!

 

Two possibilities for what happens next:

Do you know an individual who needs sponsorship? This is usually someone here who wants to sponsor family overseas. If that person has been recognized as a refugee, you can apply directly to the government to sponsor them - see CIC website for information about the process and documentation requirements, which can be daunting.

 

Most likely, however, you will find a family to sponsor by connecting with a Sponsorship Agreement Holder. This will be the case if you don’t know any particular person or family, or if they have not been formally recognized as a refugee. You might also go this route if you wish to be part of the Blended Visa Office process where the government pays half the cost. Many refugees in this program still need sponsors - they are from all over the world, but there are currently no Syrian refugees. Sponsorship Agreement Holders are recognized by the government to handle the sponsor side of the refugee process. Each has its own process, and they will guide you through it. Many are run by volunteers, so note that there may be a few issues due to volume of interest right now.  

 

As our school community moves though the sponsorship process we’ll post information and resources along the way. We’re also hoping that the process will be changing to become a bit simpler. 

 

Once the application is submitted, the waiting begins! 

 

When the family arrives, your group will be involved in providing support – from finding housing and meeting at the airport to providing practical supports throughout. Sponsors take on a legal and financial responsibility for only the first year, but many sponsors form ongoing relationships with refugee families.