One Happy Family

We will not allow the fact that we can’t do everything keep us from doing something.

 

That’s the promise we made together – you, me, & Together Rising – on December 23, 2015 as we watched families flee a horrendous war in Syria only to drown in tiny, overflowing rubber rafts and freeze on faraway beaches.

 

We made that promise together and we have kept it ever since.

 

Through Together Rising, you have turned our collective heartbreak into effective action with $5,069,118 to help these precious families across Europe and the Middle East have the food, warmth, shelter, and peace they deserve.

 

Today, we are sharing the story of your investment in One Happy Family–a site of vibrant hope in a most unexpected place: the refugee camp Moria on the island of Lesvos, Greece.

 

Daily, volunteers line Lesvos’ shores, pulling rafts of families (and frozen bodies) out of the water. About half the population-5.6 Million Syrians-are now refugees, and thousands are forging makeshift homes in overpopulated refugee camps like Moria.

 

One Happy Family, a bright and thriving community center, opened 2 years ago, offering a women’s center, playground, fitness classes, cafe, barber, library, education center, a medical center, and more.

 

They say: WITH THE PEOPLE, NOT FOR THEM. The refugee community is not served by the center–they create it: running the kitchen, teaching the children, and building new spaces.

 

Winter is the most excruciating. They need food and medical help desperately. Through you, Together Rising sent $82,000 to fund One Happy Family through the harshest months of winter. Your money will serve an estimated 550 people per day– including 700 lunches and 170 dinners for the school children each day, and medical care for 1,000 people.

 

Thank you for that promise you made 3 years ago, and for keeping it. The work of Together Rising is only possible because you are brave enough to not turn away, to not forget. Your recurring monthly donations to Together Rising–some as little as $5 a month–is your rally cry commitment to be with the people, always.

 

 

Please join us with monthly tax-deductible donations of any amount: https://togetherrising.org/give/.