Founded five years ago in Davenport, Tapestry Farms helps families already re-settled here by government agencies find housing and other services, and grow food. Executive Director Ann McGlynn says now it can work with refugees as soon as they arrive in the US.
"The private sponsorship was initially essentially an emergency response to what happened in Afghanistan and Ukraine. And as the government saw that this was a model that for the most part could really work, they decided to make it a longer term solution."
She says since Tapestry Farms started in 2017 it has worked with 60 to 70 families mainly from Africa and Afghanistan.
The US State Department says its goal for Welcome Corps is to mobilize at least 10,000 Americans this year to welcome refugees through private sponsorship.
