On Thursday, September 9, at 11:00 a.m. CDT, World Relief Memphis will host a press conference with Memphis Mayor Strickland and Shelby County Mayor Harris to highlight how the Memphis community can best prepare to receive Afghan allies and parolees in the coming weeks.
Since 2012, World Relief Memphis has served 2,500 refugees and immigrants per year alongside the local church and their partners. The Memphis community now has a unique opportunity to collaborate and welcome their newest neighbors from Afghanistan. A united community effort can help ease the integration process and provide stability as new and aspiring Americans begin to rebuild their lives in the greater Memphis area.
Speakers will also include Lieutenant Colonel Kevin Rardin, Renewal Church pastor Chris Bennet and an Afghan refugee resettled in 2014 through a Special Immigrant Visa. The group will address the need for a community wide effort to welcome our newest neighbors from Afghanistan including the support of public, private and faith-based institutions and individuals in order to help meet resettlement expenses for newcomers in Shelby County and the City of Memphis.
WHAT: World Relief Memphis, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris and Memphis Mayor Jim Strickland Host Press Conference on Creating a Community of Welcome for Afghan Allies and Parolees
WHEN: Thursday, September 9, 2021, at 11:00 a.m. CDT
WHERE: World Relief Memphis Office (Outside) , 5340 Quince Rd Suite A, Memphis, TN 38119
WHO: Speakers will include:
- PJ Moore, executive director of World Relief Memphis
- Jim Strickland, Memphis Mayor
- Lee Harris, Shelby County Mayor
- Andesh Saifodeen, Special Immigrant Visa holder resettled in 2014
- Kevin Rardin, Lieutenant Colonel Rardin, US Army, Retired, and current assistant Shelby County public defender
- Chris Bennet, lead pastor at Renewal Church
MEDIA RSVP: If you would like to set up an interview with any of the panelists, please reach out to Audrey.Garden@pinkston.co.
About World Relief
World Relief is a global Christian humanitarian organization that brings sustainable solutions to the world’s greatest problems – disasters, extreme poverty, violence, oppression, and mass displacement. For over 75 years, we’ve partnered with churches and community leaders in the U.S. and abroad to bring hope, healing and transformation to the most vulnerable. Learn more at worldrelief.org.