BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The International Institute of Buffalo needs all hands on deck. The agency is working overtime to welcome 70 new refugees to Western New York before Christmas and is looking for community support to help.
"We are in overdrive," said Jennifer Rizzo-Choi, Executive Director of the International Institute of Buffalo. "We are literally having about triple the number of people we would normally have come in, and we are trying to receive them and get them set up into apartments."
To help with the resettlement effort the International Institute of Buffalo is asking for generous Western New Yorkers to donate:
- New and used household goods
- Furniture
- Pots
- Pans
- Dishware
- New pillows
- Visa gift cards
To schedule a donation you can email donations@iibuff.org or call (716) 883-1900 ext. 329.
Rizzo-Choi told me the refugee families being resettled in Western New York are from countries including Afghanistan, Burma, Congo and Syria.
"These are people that have waited in refugee camps for years run by the United Nations," said Rizzo-Choi. "They have been through various background checks and shots. They have been through various levels of security clearances."
The International Institute of Buffalo is also looking for volunteers to clean and set up new apartments for refugee families. You can learn more here.
