A group of North Island residents has begun the process of bringing a Syrian refugee family to Port
Hardy. "We've all been watching what's happening and talking about doing something, and we decided we
wanted to do something to help," said Chrystal Menzies, one of the members of the North Islanders 4 Syria
group. The group has been meeting for several weeks and have so far established temporary housing for the
family, located two volunteer instructors for English classes, found an interpreter, and made a good start on
raising the funds necessary to support this family. The group is officially responsible for financially, socially, and
emotionally supporting the family for one year, and have committed to extending beyond this timeframe should
the family need additional help. Malcolm Island's Sointula Refuge Group is also bringing a Syrian family to
Canada. "There's been tremendous community support already," said Menzies. Based on Citizenship and
Immigration Canada's detailed budgets for different family sizes, it was decided to sponsor a family of four. The
group took a unique fundraising strategy that requires each of the five members to ask six friends or groups to
commit to $50.00 a month for 12 months. This, combined with support from government under a blended funds
program, has them nearing their goal of $27,000.00.Community support, in the form of clothing, furniture, or
financial donations in any amount will help to make this project successful. An account in trust has been set up
at the Scotia Bank in Port Hardy. Equally important is the emotional support this family will need to feel
welcome in our community. Ultimately, the group wants the family to "feel accepted in the community and feel
welcome," said Menzies.The North Islanders 4 Syria group is Michael Paul, Laura Field, Doug Abbot, Chrystal
Menzies and Dave (Dazy) Weymer. You can contact the group at 250-949-3049 (Chrystal and Dazy) email
ni4syria@gmail.com or find them, and the Sointula group, on Facebook.