Over $1,700 was raised at the Future Filled With Hope benefit concert on September 14 held at Third Presbyterian Church, Rochester, N.Y. The funds benefit the family of an Afghan interpreter for the U.S. military who have been impacted by the Taliban takeover. The interpreter and his wife are already in the States while the remainder of the family is in a U.N. refugee camp waiting to emigrate here. They, like many other interpreters and their families, have been left behind and in danger when U.S. troops from Afghanistan were withdrawn (learn more here and here).

 

A variety of prior fundraisers hosted by the Presbyterian churches of York and Perinton, among others, has yielded over $16,000, part of which covered visas to get all six family members (the mother and five siblings) safely to Pakistan. The generosity of donors at the Future Filled With Hope concert closed the final gap, reaching the total sum needed for this UNHCR-registered family to take its next steps and be safely reunited.

 

The Future Filled With Hope benefit concert featured an all-Presbytery choir and performances by Jerome Bell, Jason Cloen, James Kealey, and Lee Wright, musicians at Perinton, Third, and Downtown Presbyterian Churches.

 

UNHCR – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees