A Community Thrives Havenly Fundraiser

Havenly is a non-profit food business dedicated to building the community power of refugee and immigrant women through job training, education, and organizing. Our flagship fellowship is a paid job and advocacy training program that combines work experience at our restaurant with educational workshops and community building. 

Please help us increase the number of women we can train this year from 10 to 20 - with your help, we can reach more than 120 refugees and immigrants in New Haven and help refugee and immigrant women gain the skills they need to care for themselves and their communities!

Our founder, Nieda, resettled to New Haven from Iraq five years ago. In Iraq, she had a business degree and managed two restaurants and a bakery. But in New Haven, she could barely land a job. She did not speak English, and could not prioritize attending unpaid English classes over getting an immediate income. Nieda is not alone - 58% of refugee women in the United States are unemployed, and many are underpaid or deprived or worker protections. With COVID, this situation has only gotten worse. Refugees and immigrants often do not qualify for federal and state aid, so families are struggling with food insecurity, unemployment, and sudden evictions. 

At Havenly, we strive to break this cycle of marginalization by providing paid work experience and education, at the same time. We offer 6-month, paid fellowships that combine work experience at our restaurant with English, digital and financial literacy, advocacy, food safety classes, and more.  At the end of the program, we continue supporting our alumni as they secure jobs, advocate for themselves and their communities, and advance their education. 

A year ago, we dreamt up the next step in our vision. We imagined a space that would allow us to hold classes, prepare our food and build community. Thanks to the support of hundreds of grassroots donations, our dream became a plan. In the hardest year we have ever faced as a community, we launched a food relief program, reached ten families through our training program, and, finally, opened our cafe. 

But as we recover from COVID-19, we are seeing more need than ever. We've received more than 40 applications for 9 open spots in our training program. Without community support, we will not be able to increase the number of women we serve. 

Your donation will allow us to close the gap in funding for our next cohort - we need only $48,964 to support more than 80 family members and generate more than half a million in additional income for refugee families.

Please join us in supporting refugees and immigrants in our community - each and every donation counts!