We’re raising money for Miry’s List today! This episode of the podcast is so important to me so we’re opening it up to all subscribers to be able to listen.
I am so excited to bring this podcast episode to you (recorded in October before the election), to introduce you to Miry and to Marzia — who started as a recipient of Miry’s List and is now a volunteer with the organization. She was able to get herself, her husband and her three kids to America one day before the Taliban took control of Kabul City. “We are the lucky people,” she tells us.
Our call to action:
We’re trying to raise $5000 for Miry’s List today via small donations on Venmo. And then, Gee Thanks! is going to match $5000!
This $5000 will directly support 20 families resettling in the US in 2025.
You can Venmo any amount to SOCAROLINESAYS or PayPal SOCAROLINESAYS@gmail.com — usually we ask for $2 donations but today we’re asking that if you can afford $10 to send $10!
You can cruise the family wishlists and buy things for families, if you have a shopping itch! Make sure you write a gift note; it’s the most important part for the families receiving your gifts!
If you can afford to be a monthly donor to Miry’s List, please consider making a tax deductible monthly donation!
How I got involved in Miry’s List:
Last October, like as in October 2023, I came across a GoFundMe project on the GoFundMe website. I was looking for a $2 Thursday project for Gee Thanks! and the headline read, “Reunite Afghan Mama & Daughter w Their Fam in LA” and it was hosted by a woman named Miry Whitehill.
The story is this: Ahmad, his wife, and their three little kids were separated at the Kabul airport in Afghanistan in August of 2021. It was fear of the Taliban that drove Ahmad—who had worked for the Afghan government—to flee their home country and to the United States, a place that was foreign to them but seemed to be safer.
Ahmad, his wife and their two youngest kids made it onto the cargo plane and realized their older son had gotten separated from them in the chaos and crowds. Holding their daughter’s hand, Ahmad’s wife got off the plane to look for her son, who they later learned had ended up on another cargo plane with Ahmad’s brother-in-law. But by then, his wife and daughter had been pushed past the gates, and no one would let them back onto the plane.
What began then was a two year separation. With the help of Miry, Ahmad had all of the paperwork in place to get the family back together. What they needed was 17k to make it happen, and some sort of miracle. Miry had gotten them to 11k, and then the GoFundMe had stalled out.
In 48 hours, Geezers got them over the 17k goal.
Miry happened to live in LA (like I did at the time! Same neighborhood and everything! Random!), and she reached out to me, saying, “Who are you, and what, why, how, and omg?” That’s when I discovered she wasn’t just Miry Whitehill—she was Miry of Miry’s List, one of the most prominent organizations dedicated to welcoming resettling families to the USA. Her work focuses on creating opportunities and building community for our new neighbors by providing essentials (like beds, mattresses, dishes, and winter coats to name a few), along with mental health resources, job opportunities, community events, English lessons, and so much more.
She invited me to Afghan Thanksgiving, where the Miry’s List team and the families they serve come together to eat the most delicious food and be in community together ahead of the holiday season. It was there that I met Ahmad and his two sons, and learned that thanks to the 17k raised, his wife and daughter would be arriving in LA in the spring of 2024. (And they did!)
Three months ago, Miry asked me to join Miry’s List as a board member and it is the honor of my life.
Thanks for donating, for listening to Miry and Marzia’s story, and for showing up in the world the way that you do. Wishing you all a healthy and happy holiday season and 2025.
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