Stamford Interfaith Refugee Settlement-SIRS

01/26/2026

On Sunday, February 8th, IRIS is holding its Run for Refugees as its major fund-raiser to cover the expenses of its (reduced) staff and their work in ESL, job-finding and immigration law.

SIRS is again supporting IRIS with virtual fund-raising
If you can donate to support IRIS, please contribute at this link:

Since 2016 Stamford Interfaith Refugee Settlement (SIRS) has welcomed and resettled -- with coaching by IRIS -- eight refugee families in Stamford. In appreciation for IRIS's support, for the past four years SIRS held an afternoon walk in Stamford to raise funds to support IRIS. In this year’s...

09/05/2025

As summer sails away we remember the fun picnic we had at Cove Island park back in August. Here are a couple of snapshots of the SIRS families and volunteers on that happy day:

06/30/2025

Together in Welcome. A Vigil.

On June 26, 2025 SIRS volunteers participated in a “Vigil Reclaiming Commitment to Welcoming Immigrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers” held outside the Stamford Government Center. Many SIRS volunteers either helped organize the vigil or attended to show support. Jean spoke and lit a candle "in honor of those who came to our country seeking refuge… They built lives with protected status that the government is deliberately allowing to expire…” Amy read the “Refugee Welcome Day” proclamation from the Mayor’s Office of the City of Stamford. Both statements were well received at the gathering.

06/19/2025

Stamford proclaims "Refugee Welcome Day” June 20th
At SIR’s screening of “I Come From Away. An Immigrant in Maine” this evening Bridget Fox, Chief of Staff for Stamford’s Mayor, read a proclamation in support of refugees. The proclamation ends with these words: “I, Caroline Simmons, Mayor of the City of Stamford, hereby proclaim June 20, 2025 to be REFUGEE WELCOME DAY in Stamford and let us commit to building a community that embraces compassion, inclusion, and opportunity for all who seek safety and a better life.”

Here’s the complete proclamation:

06/13/2025

SIRS periodically hosts an interesting documentary that personalizes the refugee crisis. “I Come from Away. An Immigrant in Maine” will be shown at the Stamford library on Wednesday, June 18th — in just a few days! The young immigrant at the heart of this film is impressive and good company. A panel after the screening will give a brief update on the refugee situation and share some local refugee perspectives.

The screening is free, but we ask that you register at this link: https://tinyurl.com/mthhz89d

02/18/2025

Here you can see some of the 17 hearty people who joined — despite the cold and snow! — in the SIRS 2025 Walk for Refugees at Stamford’s Cove Island Park. The SIRS team raised over $1000 for IRIS, with many donations made through the SIRS page on the IRIS Run website: https://runsignup.com/Race/69148/Donate/AqcRgK7SS57BmapF

And two of our youngest walkers made snowmen to “join” our walk!

Thanks to all walkers and donors!

02/04/2025

Join SIRS this Sunday at 4th Annual Walk for Refugees!
If you cannot attend the SIRS Walk, but are interested in contributing to IRIS, please donate to the SIRS page on the IRIS Run website: https://runsignup.com/Race/69148/Donate/AqcRgK7SS57BmapF

07/23/2024

On a lovely day in July SIRS hosted a pot-luck picnic at Stamford’s Cove Island Beach for the three still-local families who resettled in Stamford with SIRS’s help and for the SIRS volunteers who were also in town. We were pleased that IRIS’s Director of Sponsorship, Ann O’Brien, was also able to join the picnic and talk with these families to learn their stories. There were smiles all around.

06/20/2024

World Refugee Day is celebrated each year on June 20

This year, World Refugee Day focuses on solidarity with refugees – for a world where refugees are welcomed.

Refugees need our solidarity now more than ever. Solidarity means keeping our doors open, celebrating their strengths and achievements, and reflecting on the challenges they face.
UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency

04/29/2024

This short documentary follows young student musicians from Afghanistan National Institute of Music forced to abandon their school, family and country to keep music and themselves alive. Speaker: Kevin Bishop, musician former director of the orchestras of the school and current director of Cuatro Puntos, a non-profit that amplifies silenced and persecuted musicians. Register here: https://www.fergusonlibrary.org/event/documentary-screening-last-song-kabul-36704

02/19/2024

SIRS Walk for Refugees 2024
Every year, IRIS—Integrated Refugee and Immigrant Services— holds a Run for Refugees in New Haven during the morning of “Super Bowl Sunday.” We in SIRS appreciate the training and support we get from IRIS, so we like to support their fundraising. But we choose to walk… locally… and in the afternoon! We call it our “Walk for Refugees.”

SIRS held our third annual “Walk for Refugees" on February 11th. Fifty people gathered at Cove Island Park for our fund-raiser for IRIS. Walkers included three refugee families, SIRS volunteers, friends, and dogs!
We hope you can join us in 2025.

01/30/2024

Please join us!