Yukon Cares fundraising for Syrian refugee family of 10

A Yukon group has chosen a Syrian refugee family to sponsor and is making arrangements to welcome it to the territory in the coming months. 

Yukon Cares is barely two months old and already the group has raised $17,500. It started the process of sponsoring a family of 10. Raquel de Queiroz, Yukon Cares organizer, says little is known about the family other than it includes two parents and eight kids aged three to 21.

The family is currently at a camp in Lebanon, where it will meet with the visa officer and be offered the opportunity to come to the Yukon. De Queiroz doubts the family will say no. 

"I imagine they are fleeing for their lives."

De Queiroz says Yukon Cares was originally fundraising for a family of four. Upping that number to 10 means the group still needs to raise $32,000. Together with money matched from government, $80,000 is needed to provide everything a family of 10 needs for a year, including food, rent and bus passes.

"We want to set them up for success," says de Queiroz.

"We don't want them to think that they're going to live in luxury here, but we want to really support them in that first year so they can focus on learning English ... versus focusing on survival and getting food and where the next pay cheque is going to come from."

Michael Dougherty, another Yukon Cares organizer, says one of the reasons the committee decided to bring a family of 10 to the Yukon was because they thought it might be difficult for such a big family to find a private sponsor. He says Yukon Cares has secured a four-bedroom house for the family's arrival, although that date has yet to be determined.

Eat spaghetti, raise money

Yukon Cares is hosting its first fundraising event tonight at Porter Creek Secondary. There will be a dinner, silent auction and live music. 

"The spaghetti will be so delicious, it's a professional chef who's cooking it," says de Queiroz. 

The event starts at 5:30 p.m.