We respectfully acknowledge that we work, play, and volunteer within the traditional territory of the people of Kwanlin Dün First Nation and the Ta’an Kwäch’än Council.

Yukon Cares was founded in September 2015 in response to the Syrian refugee crisis. We are a local group of committed volunteers in the territory working to bring refugee families to our community. We are a grassroots community organization with no religious affiliation.

To date, we have welcomed 38 former refugees, helping them to begin their new lives in the Yukon. During each one-year sponsorship period, we assist a family with all living expenses and provide the social support that newcomers need to settle into their new homes. Yukon Cares volunteers assist with registering children for school, medical appointments, banking, language lessons, employment, and education. We have had an incredible amount of assistance from Yukoners, and have received support from the Canadian, Yukon, and Whitehorse governments. We are partnered with the Office of Refugees, Archdiocese of Toronto (ORAT). ORAT is a Catholic organization which has a formal relationship with the federal government to resettle refugees. ORAT also manages our donations and can provide tax receipts.

We recognize that all kinds of people can become refugees – people who live in fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, or membership in a particular social group, or of a political opinion – and no one is a refugee by choice.