Welcoming the Stranger
The Beth El Temple Center Refugee Response Team (RRT) is open to helping people of all religions, ethnicities, and origins. Our goals include:
- Serving the needs of refugees and other recent immigrants making a new home in the US
- Partnering with one or more established refugee support organizations. Our current partner is RIAC (Refugee and Immigrant Assistance Center), based in Roxbury
- Determining ways we can help, not just as individuals, but as a BETC community
- Offering direct contact (e.g., shared meals) as well as indirect contact (e.g., donations of supplies) to families in need.
RRT largely focuses on providing support to refugee families in Boston. Since we began partnering with RIAC in early 2016, we have volunteered with families from Sudan, Syria, the Congo, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran. In our work with these families, we have helped them become familiar with the Boston area and its many resources, donated household items and furniture, helped them practice their English, assisted them in finding jobs and housing, and established ongoing friendships.
We have also helped welcome refugee families as they arrived at Logan airport; conducted a backpack drive for refugee children in Boston; collected and delivered household supplies, furniture and clothing for refugee families; helped BETC members sign up for advocacy updates; developed an insert for the Passover seder related to the plight of refugees; made and delivered welcome baskets for new families; collected hundreds of pairs of shoes for a refugee camp in Greece; hosted a Thanksgiving dinner bringing together refugee families and Beth El Temple Center members; co-sponsored a film series on themes related to refugees along with the Belmont World Film Series and the First Church in Belmont; hosted baby showers for two refugee families; and much more. When the Taliban took Afghanistan in 2021, three teams of BETC members intensively supported three Afghan families as they settled into their new life in Boston.
Beth El Temple Center is proud to have received an Irving J. Fain Award in 2017 for our refugee response work. The Fain Awards honor URJ congregations doing exemplary social justice work.
Selected Resources
- HIAS (The Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society) works throughout the US and in many other countries on refugee protection and resettlement. It is the only Jewish organization designated by the federal government to undertake refugee resettlement. The HIAS Resources page has excellent information on the global refugee crisis and how congregations can respond. They also have Passover materials.
- The Refugee & Immigrant Assistance Center (RIAC), a community-based, grassroots organization dedicated to promoting educational and socio-economic development in Massachusetts refugee and immigrant communities.
How you can help:
- Take direct action: Volunteer your time or skills by contacting Arlyn Roffman at
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . - Educate: Raise this issue with friends and neighbors; discuss it over coffee or dinner.
- Advocate: Sign up with the Religious Action Center at www.RAC.org to receive action alerts on many Social Justice topics, and at www.HIAS.org for refugee-specific alerts. Call your representatives on matters that affect refugees.
- Give: Consider donating one day of your earnings or whatever you can afford to support refugees in transition and advocacy efforts. You can contribute via BETC online by clicking on Type and choosing "Refugee Relief" in the dropdown menu. Alternatively, a check payable to BETC with "Refugee Response" on the memo line will direct your donation to the support of this important work.
If you would like to be added to our e-mail list so you can learn about ways to volunteer, donate, or learn about issues related to refugees, contact Arlyn Roffman (
