Volume 1, Issue 5
April 12, 2022
Fresh Start Khabar
Khabar, "news" in farsi, is Fresh Start's monthly newsletter. Have a story or photo of Fresh Start members making an impact? Please share them with our team and it will be included in the next issue.

March was a busy, but a fun month for us at Fresh Start! We attended the much anticipated Nawruz celebration held by AYRF, met candidates for the technical skill building classes offered by Operation Code, held orientation for our PM and case aides, and kicked off the BEST program, aimed at helping refugee families find employment opportunities.

Your generosity has given Fresh Start the ability to help over 350 individuals with direct resettlement efforts, employment search, and skill building initiatives. We would like to thank you for the continued support that has made this possible and hope to continue these efforts as we strive to develop and implement more programs with our partners for the evolving resettlement needs of Afghan families. Whether you can help with linguistic needs, create resumes and line up jobs, or provide transportation, Fresh Start needs you! Visit our website and sign up to become a volunteer.
Operation Code Technical Skill Classes
Operation Code & Fresh Start Refugee Assistance Center Luncheon
Fresh Start Refugee Assistance Center and Operation Code held a luncheon attended by candidates who will be attending technical skill building classes offered by Operation Code. Operation Code is a certified 501(c)(3) made up of a large community of veterans and service members that train to become software developers & professionals within the technology sector. We look forward to the next round of classes with Operation Code.

Thank You to Our Partners
Fresh Start would like to thank our partner organizations for all their help and support!
We would like to thank our friends at Husayn for Humanity for their generous contribution to our driver’s education program Road to Independence in partnership with NoVA Raft. Donations like theirs help Afghan refugees pay for driving school expenses and become independent.
We would like to thank Women for Afghan Women (WfAW) and AirBNB for their generosity in providing emergency housing for Afghan refugee families facing homelessness. Our friends were able to help us secure housing for a very vulnerable family of 5 with young children within 24 hours and we are incredibly grateful to them for their help.


Fresh Start Refugee Assistance Center recently received a very generous donation of desktops that will be donated to refugee families to help them in their employment search. We needed to secure Microsoft licenses for these machines in order for them to be functional. We would like to thank Rotary International for obtaining MS licenses and installing everything on our desktop
Nawruz 2022
Nawruz Celebration for Afghan Refugee Families & Friends

Fresh Start Refugee Assistance Center participated in a Nawruz celebration event hosted by our friends at Afghanistan Youth Relief Foundation that was attended by many newly settled refugee families and friends. The event featured live music, poetry reciting, activities for children, and food.  
Beauregard Employment Support Team (BEST) 

NOVA RAFT and Fresh Start are proud to launch the BEST (Beauregard Employment Support Team) program. The goal of the BEST program is to mentor refugees in need of employment and work with them one on one until they are employed.

NOVA RAFT and Fresh Start will work with organizations to identify the vacancies that refugees could fill, find appropriate candidates for those positions, and help them apply for the jobs. NOVA Raft & Fresh Start will provide a designated Employer Liaison who will present good candidates to employers.
DONATE
Please consider donating to Fresh Start Refugee Assistance Center