United Way London and Middlesex CEO, Andrew Lockie at the launch of LondonUnitedforRefugees.ca, December 11,2015. Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburnnews.comUnited Way London and Middlesex CEO, Andrew Lockie at the launch of LondonUnitedforRefugees.ca, December 11,2015. Photo by Miranda Chant, Blackburnnews.com
London

London Launches Online Campaign To Help Syrian Refugees

A new online campaign is offering Londoners another way to help Syrian refugees coming to the city.

LondonUnitedforRefugees.ca was launched Friday by United Way London and Middlesex, the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre (CCLC), and the City of London. The focus of the online initiative is to raise funds to help settle and support Syrian refugees coming to London.

"We have two streams. One stream is going directly to CCLC which is the federal government's established priority centre here in London. The other stream is going to go to the United Way," says United Way CEO Andrew Lockie. "We have a preset tried and true allocation procedure which uses a fully transparent process that uses volunteers to assess need in the community and then apply that to the need."

Funds raised through London United will be invested in front-line mental health supports, employment services and community inclusion programs.

Reactions from Canadians on the federal government's plan to bring 25,000 Syrian refugees into the country by the end of February have been mixed. However, Lockie is confident Londoners will do all they can to embrace these new residents.

"Our community is a great community that wants to welcome these people who have been through horrific circumstances," says Lockie. "Once they are here we can do the best we can do to create a positive setting for them and have them successfully settle in our community and that is exactly what we are going to do."

London will welcome 200 Syrian refugees before the end of the year.

"I look forward to an opportunity to welcome refugee families here to London in person but I don't expect to be meeting with people," says Mayor Matt Brown. "This is really about fleeing a terrible situation and getting to know a new community. We are certainly going to welcome them with open arms but also respect their privacy as they work their way through a very difficult transition."

Prior to the London United launch, the province announced the London Cross Cultural Learner Centre would be one of eight organizations getting top-up funding to help resettle Syrian refugees. The organizations will split a total of $3.7-million, although London's exact share of that money is not clear.

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