Asalaam alaikum (peace be upon you):
We have the real opportunity to achieve a significant victory for refugees in our state. Will you spend just a few moments to help us achieve this much-needed win, at a time when refugee-serving organizations are overwhelmed and struggling to respond to an unprecedented crisis?
MAPS-AMEN (American Muslim Empowerment Network) has been leading an ad hoc coalition to get $30 million in state funding for resettlement agencies and community organizations serving refugees in our state, including MAPS. This funding is critical with the roughly 3,000 Afghan arrivals we have had in Washington just in the past 6 months, and the alarming crisis unfolding now in Ukraine. Due to our collective advocacy, we have been able to get the House Appropriations committee to include $18 million in its proposed budget. We are pushing the House Appropriations committee to increase that funding amount to $30M, and for the Senate Ways & Means committee to also include this $30M request in its budget. Our time is limited, as budget negotiations are happening NOW.
Will you please take the following simple actions TODAY to help us achieve this critical funding to help refugees in our state (whether from Afghanistan, Syria, Somalia, Ukraine, or anywhere else)?
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Action 1 (less than one minute): send an email to your own legislators asking them to support this $30M budget request by using the simple form here.
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Action 2 (less than one minute): send an email to the budget committee members in the House and Senate using the simple form from IRC here.
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Action 3 (5-30 minutes): call your own legislators and other priority legislators using the script and spreadsheet provided here.
The legislative session ends on March 10, and we will know for certain by then whether we are successful in our campaign for this critical funding. We hope to celebrate this collective win with you, insha'Allah (God-willing)!
We are also holding an in-person celebration on Friday, March 18, at 7:30pm, and you are invited to join us! This event will honor the political journey of our Muslim community and celebrate the many Muslim candidates who ran for office in Washington State along with those who are now elected/appointed leaders! Get inspired and learn ways for YOU to become further engaged to make a difference in our cities, counties, and country! You won't want to miss this special, in-person celebratory event.
The event is free, but registration required as tickets are limited. Register below.
We look forward to celebrating with you, insha'Allah (God-willing),
