Refugees and immigrants are an important part of not only our Phoenix community but our entire country, and, right now, our new neighbors are in need of support. COVID-19 is disproportionately affecting newly arrived refugee families, and many of our local families are struggling. New refugees to Arizona often become employed in four main industries: restaurants, airports, custodial work, and hotels. As we know, these industries are the ones being hit the hardest by COVID-19, and it has resulted in a significant increase in the already stressful financial burdens for refugees. Imagine if you were forced to flee everything and everyone you had ever known, and then not long after you arrived at your new home, the world around you was shut down, leaving you without a job, without a support system, and often still struggling to learn the language.
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Because of this, HeartBEATS is asking for your support. We are hosting Music Feeds the Soul, a virtual benefit concert on June 11th that will help to feed refugee families in the Phoenix area. We are working with our partner, The Welcome to America Project (wtap.org), a well-respected and well-established 501(c)(3) non-profit refugee organization here in the Valley that has been helping to feed refugee families for the last two months. We are hoping that through this benefit concert, we can help continue to feed refugee families throughout the summer.
If you are unable to participate, but would still like to donate to help refugee families, you can do that here https://wtap.org/donate/ and note “Music Feeds the Soul” in your donation. Just $20 allows you to share a meal with a refugee family. If you prefer to send a check, you can write it out to "The Welcome to America Project" and then mail it directly to WTAP at: The Welcome to America Project, 1711 W University Dr #158, Tempe, AZ 85281 and note “Music Feeds the Soul” in your donation.
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During times like these, it is important that we stay connected and help each other out to make our community stronger, and I believe that music is a powerful force to do that. Please join us on Thursday, June 11th at 7:00 pm for our Music Feeds the Soul benefit concert to make a difference in the lives of refugee families.