Why CAIRS? Because Carbondale cares.

CAIRS is the Carbondale Area Interfaith Refugee Support, Inc - a network of community members dedicated to relocating refugees from around the world right here in Southern Illinois. On October 1, 2024 the organization filed our Articles of Incorporation with the State of Illinois and received approval. On July 31, 2025 we received notice from the IRS that our application for tax exempt status was approved. 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 effective as of October 1, 2024.

The CAIRS organization first started through the Carbondale (Illinois) Interfaith Council as a response to the Syrian Refugee crisis. A group of community members, devastated by the events unfolding in Syria in 2016, began searching for ways to support refugees. In August of 2021 when the humanitarian crisis erupted in Afghanistan, CAIRS again began looking for ways to help. In 2022 when the U.S. State Department announced a new resettlement program called Sponsor Circles, the group immediately started organizing, fundraising, and submitting applications. CAIRS has supported and assisted the relocation of 4 Afghan families and 1 Iraqi and his family to the area as of 2025. While we remain connected to the Carbondale Interfaith Council, CAIRS has established itself as a separate entity both with the State of Illinois and the Federal government.

Who are we individually? Our members are everything from retirees to working professionals in both the public and private sectors, living in the Carbondale/Southern Illinois Area.

Carbondale is a small, welcoming community located in the large, welcoming State of Illinois.

Put simply we are a community committed to resettling refugees from around the world into the safe, caring, and supportive environment of Southern Illinois.