June and December: Work with refugees, asylum-seekers, immigrants

June 20 is World Refugee Day. December 18 is International Migrants Day. December 10 is Human Rights Day. Global forced displacement is at an all-time high, with the number of forcibly displaced people doubling over the past decade. Today, the global figure exceeds 110 million people forced to flee from persecution, conflict, violence, and human rights violations. The Russian invasion of Ukraine caused the fastest and the largest forced displacement crisis since World War II — and other emergencies and climate-driven events pushed the figure over the dramatic milestone of 110 million by May of 2023. While war and conflict inflict suffering on everyone, women and girls are disproportionately affected: they are often targeted for sexual violence, as a "weapon of war."

Laura Molinar, co-founder and co-director of Sueños Sin Fronteras de Tejas (SSFTX) and Andrea Székely, board member of Gondviselés (Providence) Charity Organization of the Hungarian Unitarian Church.

In April of 2022, the Gondviselés (in English: Providence) Charity Organization of the Hungarian Unitarian Church launched a kindergarten class for 22 Ukrainian refugee children in Kolozsvár/Cluj, supporting their education.

From the onset of the war in Ukraine, our partner, Gondviselés (in English: Providence) Charity Organization of the Hungarian Unitarian Church has responded to the needs of refugees and those internally displaced.

In January 2022, ICUUW completed its first U.S. project focusing on building capacities and resilience of asylum-seeking women and their children, in partnership with with the Asylum-Seekers Sponsorship Project.

Is your congregation doing a Share-the-Plate contribution for ICUUW? Contact us to find out how.

ICUUW Chalice Award certificate sample 2026

Congregations with a Share-the-Plate for ICUUW in 2026
(* indicates 3+ years in a row):

  • Brisbane UU Fellowship Australia
  • Edmonds UU Congregation, WA *
  • UU Fellowship of Los Gatos, CA
  • UU Fellowship at Stony Brook *
  • Universalist Unitarian Church of Joliet *
  • First Unitarian Church of San Jose

Congregations with a Share-the-Plate for ICUUW in 2025
(* indicates 3 years in a row)

  • All Souls Unitarian Church, Tulsa, OK *
  • Edmonds UU Congregation, WA
  • Emerson UU Church, Houston, TX
  • European UUs *
  • First UU Church Houston, TX
  • San Marcos UU Fellowship, TX *
  • UU Church of Joliet, IL *
  • UU Community Church Park Forest, IL *
  • UU Congregation of Monmouth County, NJ
  • UU Fellowship at Stony Brook *
  • Westminster Unitarian Church, East Greenwich, RI