USA for UNHCR (United States Association for United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees)

We help Americans support the lifesaving work of the UN Refugee Agency, which provides protection, emergency assistance, health care and education for refugees worldwide, especially women and children.

Why do we exist?

The United States has a proud tradition of helping those in need, and refugees --- those forced to flee their homes because of fear of persecution -- qualify as some of the most disadvantaged people on earth.

Our organization supports the work of UNHCR by raising awareness about its work, conducting advocacy on its behalf, and accepting contributions for its activities. As the national association for UNHCR in the United States, our organization joins with others around the world, building a constituency of those who believe in protecting refugees and giving them a chance to rebuild their lives and homes.

More than 80 percent of refugees are women and children who hail from dozens of different countries and every continent. As Americans we should all care about refugees because like us, they believe in freedom.

What have you accomplished?

We have provided millions of dollars in assistance that has translated to lives saved and futures secured. We have informed thousands of Americans about refugees and the work of UNHCR, and we have helped build a constituency for UNHCR that secures the organization's future.

While the war raged in Kosovo, for example, our "FilmAid" project provided much needed entertainment for tens of thousands of children in the refugee camps of Macedonia. Children whose families had been uprooted were given a chance to spend a few happy hours watching Charlie Chaplin and Tom and Jerry.

USA for UNHCR also sponsored the travel of a team of physicians to Pristina Hospital, in the capital of Kosovo, to assist the medical staff in rebuilding health services for kidney patients. Our organization has also raised funds to purchase communal cooking facilities, and necessary firewood for refugees in Sudan.

	How do you help people in my community?		Why do you need my support?
	How can I be sure that you will use my money wisely and won't waste it?		Can I Volunteer? How?