Ways to Donate

  • Monetary donations are obviously a major need.

    CAIRS is made up of 100% volunteers and therefore overhead and administrative costs are negligible. Your donations will go directly to supporting the efforts to relocate Refugees in the Carbondale area. It will be used to pay for housing, food, transportation, medical care, tuition for English language learning, and all of the other ways you can imagine would be necessary a family would need monetary support. CAIRS currently has zero administrative costs since it is made up entirely by volunteers.

  • Would you like to join our group and donate your time and efforts to CAIRS?

    See below for more information about ways that you can contribute your time.

Monetary Donations

Donate To CAIRS

Carbondale Area Interfaith Refugee Support INC is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization effective as of October 1, 2024. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

We accept tax exempt donations by sending a check:
Payable to: Carbondale Area Interfaith Refugee Support Inc
Mailing Address:
The First Presbyterian Church of Carbondale
Care of Pat Manfredi
310 S University Ave
Carbondale, IL 62901

In what ways can I donate my time?

  1. Attend CAIRS Meetings - we meet on the third Thursday of every month (except December) subject to change.

    • We need people who are willing to jump in and take direct action. For obvious security and privacy reasons, a background check will be required for anyone working with CAIRS. You may be able to volunteer for activities like:

      • finding and organizing housing

      • helping newcomers obtain and understand necessary services

      • collecting, moving, organizing household items

      • providing transportation to appointments

      • publicity and fundraising efforts

      • engaging in advocacy

  2. Help us spread the word about CAIRS by inviting us to speak at your meetings.

    CAIRS (Carbondale Area Interfaith Refugee Support) has a speaker program available to interested organizations. The program reviews the history of the organization, the families that have received assistance thus far, and an overview of the current status of the country’s Afghan refugee efforts. Groups that would like to have a presentation can contact CAIRS either on their Facebook page: www.Facebook.com/CarbondaleCAIRS/ or by emailing us.

  3. Start a group of your own

    The organization is also actively seeking individuals or groups that would like to assist with supporting some of the Afghan families who have received asylum with the expenses incurred in applying for permanent residency status (Green Card). The application fee is $1,440 per adult and $950 per child and we have six individuals that can use financial help. Email us if you’re interested in starting a group and would like our support.

  4. Join our mailing list for more details about attending meetings.

    Don’t have the ability to attend meetings but want to hear about our activities in the community and ongoing needs as they arise? You can signup for our mailing list and receive periodic emails. Don’t worry, we won’t spam you and we never have, never will share your information with anyone else. We typically send out only a few emails a month (perhaps 2-3 is normal). See below for the sign up form.