The IRC in Phoenix was awarded the Good Neighbor Award for 2012 by the American Red Cross, Grand Canyon Chapter. The award honors IRC’s partnership with the Red Cross to reunite families through the Red Cross Restoring Family Links program.
The chaos and confusion that accompany war and disaster can separate families when they need each other most. As resettlement staff we hear stories of mothers fleeing with their children and being forced to leave their husbands behind to fight, often not knowing if they have survived. For children living in war zones, being separated from family is particularly frightening. IRC partners with the Red Cross to help locate lost family members, facilitate contact between them and hopefully aid reunification.
According to the Red Cross Good Neighbor Award:
The International Rescue Committee in Phoenix has worked closely with the Red Cross International Humanitarian Services team for many years serving the needs of the refugee community, but this year has been an exceptional one.
The IRC has truly partnered with us to support the Red Cross Restoring Family Links efforts, whose goal is to reconnect refugee families separated by armed conflict. The IRC has helped us establish connections and trust with the refugee communities in Phoenix. They have welcomed us to staff meetings, shared their experience with Red Cross volunteers and staff in Lunch and Learn programs, and been the ultimate good neighbors to Red Cross and the refugee communities we all serve.
The International Rescue Committee and the Red Cross have truly come together as good neighbors, bringing two different organizations with one common goal together.
IRC is thankful for this critical partnership, and will continue to work with the Red Cross in reuniting families that have been torn apart.
For more information on how you can help refugee families who have been forced to flee, please contact Nicky Walker at Nicky.Walker@Rescue.org or 602-433-2440 x 213.
