Refugee Tutoring Program Receives Generous Donation Match

By St. Louis Daily

A nonprofit that helps refugees get a foothold in St. Louis sounded the alarm last week about how the Trump administration’s cuts have imperiled several of its initiatives—including a tutoring program designed to help Afghan immigrants. Welcome Neighbor set up the program at a cost of $45,000 per year at a time when the U.S. was welcoming Afghans after the military’s withdrawal left many American allies in peril. Attorney Jerry Schlichter worked to make St. Louis a destination for those Afghans, believing they could help reverse years of population stagnation. Now the federal government has not just turned off the refugee pipeline, but also cut funding for programs that ease their resettlement—and charities like Welcome Neighbor must raise private funds or terminate their services.

But last week’s call for help yielded an amazing opportunity. Welcome Neighbor executive director Ann Wittman says a generous donor agreed to match up to $20,000 to keep the tutoring program alive.

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