New Brunswick Businesses Helping Refugees
MONCTON –New Brunswick has opened its doors and hearts to receive more Syrian refugees on a per capita basis than any other province. The business community has been quick to help.
While some businesses are helping out as a whole, individual business folks are getting involved as well. In Saint John, Siteflo founder Brent MacDonald and some friends joined a YMCA Welcome Team.
“I’m usually the guy who says he’s too busy to do stuff. But for whatever reason that’s not what I said this time,” MacDonald said. “I went along for the ride and it’s been very rewarding and I’m just really happy we did it.”
MacDonald’s team welcomed the first Syrian refugee family in Saint John: Mohammad and Arij Mousas and their two kids.
Now the team is raising money to sponsor Arij’s sister and her family to come to Canada. They also have a Facebook group for people interested in helping out.
“One of the first things Arij asked us when she arrived was when she would see her family again,” he says. “We’re hoping that happens very soon.”
MacDonald says the city’s business community has been tremendously helpful to the cause. Whether it was donating beer, food and space for fundraisers, or even hiring Mohammad as a chef.
“I just think it’s the Canadian thing to do and it’s the right thing to do for people who need our help,” MacDonald says. “Whether they stay in Saint John or go to Toronto…if we can play a part in that, we should. It’s our responsibility.”
Moncton startup Ongozah knew they needed to get involved.
“It’s a huge undertaking, but also a huge opportunity for companies like us to be able to give back and get involved directly related to our business,” said Ongozah CTO Denis Daigle.
So they’re doing what they do best. Ongozah is offering their platform to any organization to help them coordinate their efforts to support refugees, for free.
Ongozah is an online tool that simplifies corporate giving. It offers nonprofits a simple way to plan projects and share them with people and businesses in order to gather resources (cash and non-cash). It gives businesses a seamless way to offer their employees opportunities to contribute to what they want while automatically measuring and tracking the impact people are having.
For local nonprofits, they can fully utilize their community’s resources without the headaches of spreadsheets and email. Meanwhile businesses can show the community and stakeholders all the work they’re doing.
Daigle says Ongozah is offering their help to organizations and businesses on how to best use their resources.
“We understand it’s more than having something built and offering it, it’s helping out a conversation, helping organizations think outside the box. Because we have a privileged position to be looking at the bigger picture.”
So far, New Brunswick has welcomed around 900 refugees, with roughly 600 more expected to arrive. Resettling them is a huge and overwhelming task. Daigle says from his experience in the Moncton business community, people want to help, but just don’t know how. A lot of business support has been ad hoc, meaning businesses are pitching in anyway they can, whether it be offering free haircuts, meals, or donating products.
“I think the appetite really is there to give back. Syrian resettlement is something that needs to be addressed and it’s just really tough for businesses to know exactly what to do,” he says. “So everybody is sort of at the ready and trying to get involved in the different initiatives.”
Shilo Boucher, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Saint John, says though both community and business support has been overwhelming, there’s still lots to be done. She says the business community will play a crucial role as refugees transition into work. Though English is an obvious barrier when it comes to refugees finding employment, the YMCA does provide them English language courses. They can also help them train for particular sectors.
“It’s important to have people be aware of what’s happening, because we’re going to need the companies and businesses to get involved in a big way when employment comes into play for our newest members of the community,” Boucher says. “[Businesses can] start to think about cultural diversity and inclusion, and how we start to integrate and understand the culture that they’re coming from as well.”
If it’s not hiring season, businesses can also help by encouraging their staff to get involved.
“Although we have over 500 volunteers engaged [in Saint John], we still need more welcome teams,” Boucher says. “They could give their staff some time to volunteer, because it’s very historic what’s happening in Saint John and across the country. It is a humanitarian crisis so it’s a chance to really get involved on a grass roots level.”
Bottom line, it’s not too late to get involved. In fact, it’s just the beginning.
“This isn’t slowing down,” Boucher says. “We have an opportunity to create a bigger strategy here in Saint John around immigration and retention. Each [business] can be a part of it.”
You can find out how to get involved in your area here.