International Rescue Committee in Sacramento

Closing the distance takes action, and it takes going beyond the last mile. Take action today at Rescue.org/Sacramento, and donate at Rescue.org/SacramentoStrong.

Thank you to the 41 generous donors who helped us raise $5,245 during Big Day of Giving!

Your support helps newcomers and families in our community build safe, stable, and hopeful futures. 💛

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For this year’s Big Day of Giving, we’re highlighting the work of the IRC’s Anti-Trafficking Program—a program built around one urgent reality: children cannot wait for systems to catch up.

This team supports young people who have been exploited, overlooked, or silenced. By the time help arrives, their needs are immediate, complex, and deeply human.

The work begins in the most critical moments. As Program Supervisor Sarahid explains, what happens in those moments can shape whether a child moves toward safety or remains in harm.

Every response is guided by a survivor-centered approach: restoring safety, dignity, and agency while ensuring that each young person leads their own path forward. Services range from housing and healthcare access to legal support and education—always delivered with consistency, trust-building, and cultural understanding at the center.

But the impact of trafficking extends beyond individual cases. Across Sacramento, community members often recognize warning signs but hesitate to act—uncertain of what to do or how to help.

That gap is exactly where this program extends its reach: through outreach, partnerships, and training that help communities recognize risk and respond safely. The goal is not only to respond to trafficking, but to prevent it.

This work is urgent because circumstances change quickly—and every delay matters. Without intervention, harm continues. With it, young people can begin to rebuild stability, trust, and a future beyond exploitation.

Protecting children from trafficking is not work any one organization can do alone. It requires a coordinated community response—and sustained investment in prevention, awareness, and care.

💛 Give today and help make that response possible.

For this year’s Big Day of Giving, we’re highlighting some of the voices of those who help make the IRC’s work possible every day. Supporting our hard-working staff is a team of dedicated volunteers and interns, like Kelley.

As a Youth Programs intern, Kelley supports students through after-school programming—helping facilitate activities, offering academic support, and creating space for youth to build confidence, skills, and connection as they prepare for college and future careers.

Her path to the IRC is rooted in personal experience. Growing up in a Mexican family, she witnessed firsthand how immigration policies and enforcement affected people in her community, shaping her empathy and deep commitment to supporting immigrants and refugees.

In her role, she helps create a safe, welcoming environment where students can learn and grow. One of her favorite moments came during a simple exchange with a student—teaching each other phrases in different languages, laughing together, and finding connection across cultures.

For her, the most meaningful part of the work is simple but powerful: helping young people feel seen, supported, and encouraged.

She describes the IRC as a place where support is intentional, and where everyone is working toward the same purpose—helping others build stability and opportunity.

💛 Your support helps make spaces like this possible.

For Big Day of Giving, Hedayatullah’s story is a reminder of how quickly everything can change—and what it takes to start over.

Just a few years ago, his life in Afghanistan revolved around school, family, and preparing for graduation alongside his sister. Then, almost overnight, that future disappeared. His sister was barred from continuing her education, and within a single day, his family made the decision to leave—selling their home and packing up their lives in 24 hours.

They spent months in a refugee camp in Pakistan, in limbo—unable to work, unable to study, waiting for what might come next.

When Hedayatullah arrived in the U.S. in 2024, the challenges didn’t end there. Navigating a new language, a new system, and daily life from scratch took time. After relocating to California, he walked into the IRC looking for help finding a job—and found far more than that. With support, he began building the skills and confidence to move forward, while his mother started learning English.

Today, his family is in a different place than they were just a few years ago—one where education, work, and independence are possible again.

Your support helps make that shift possible.

💛 Give today and help someone take their next step forward.

For this year’s Big Day of Giving, we’re honored to share Shakiba’s story—a story of resilience, sacrifice, and hope.

Shakiba is a single mother of two from Afghanistan who spent over a decade working in humanitarian aid, supporting others through crisis. But her own journey has been marked by immense hardship.

As a result of the Taliban takeover in 2021, Shakiba was forced to sell her home with her children—navigating new countries, without language, resources, or support, and struggling each day to survive.

"The hardest part was feeling alone while trying to stay strong for my children. My world has always been my two sons."

Years later, Shakiba was finally able to arrive in the United States. With support from the IRC, she was welcomed at the airport, moved into stable housing, and connected to critical resources—from financial assistance and food programs to guidance navigating complex systems.

Today, she is working, learning English, and taking steps toward her dreams: writing her story, starting a business, and building a stable future for her family.

To anyone going through a similar journey, Shakiba offers this wisdom:

"There will be challenges and difficulties. What matters most is consistency and effort. If I, as a single mother who moved through multiple countries without knowing the language, can continue forward, then others can too."

Your support makes stories like Shakiba’s possible. When you give, you help ensure that refugees and newcomers are not rebuilding alone.

Give today and be part of what comes next. 💛

Big Day of Giving is here! Join us for a powerful day of impact from now through May 7th!

For this year’s Big Day of Giving, join the International Rescue Committee as we help refugees, immigrants, and newcomers rebuild their lives with dignity, safety, and hope.

Every day, families in Sacramento are working to create a new beginning after fleeing conflict, persecution, or crisis. Your generosity helps provide critical resources — from housing support and legal services, from job readiness training to youth programming — and beyond.

When you give, you help ensure that newly arrived families are not rebuilding alone. You become part of a community that welcomes, uplifts, and invests in our neighbors’ futures. You join a grand tradition in the United States of welcome, of new beginnings, and of embracing opportunity.

Give today and make a lasting difference for families building a new life in our community. 💛

Help Refugee Families Thrive in Sacramento Today Your gift supports immigration services, workforce training, youth programs, and survivor services for refugee families rebuilding their lives in Sacramento. Give today and help families move from arrival to stability and long-term success.