World Refugee Day 2024 in Richmond

This year, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Richmond is bringing the community together to celebrate refugee families who now call the Greater Richmond area their home. On Saturday, June 22, the Richmond Kickers soccer team will take on the Northern Colorado Hailstorm at 7:00 pm in City Stadium. Tickets purchased through the link below will benefit IRC programming right here in Richmond!

Buy your tickets today!

https://richmondkickers.group/IRC_in_Richmond

Please join us and create a welcoming community for newcomers to Richmond! Buy tickets to the game through the link above! Bring your family and friends to the game, share this event with your networks, and help us make it a huge success!

The IRC in Richmond supports the resettlement of refugees, immigrants, asylees, and survivors of trafficking. The IRC staff help new arrivals adjust to life in Virginia by providing comprehensive case management, connecting them with housing, facilitating school enrollment, making referrals for medical care and much more. Many IRC programs continue to serve client families years after their arrival date, helping them reach personal goals, become self-sufficient, advance their careers, and apply for U.S. citizenship.

What is World Refugee Day?

Each year on June 20, people across the globe celebrate World Refugee Day. Created by the United Nations in 2001 to commemorate the 50th year anniversary of the 1951 Convention that defined the term ‘refugee’, the rights of refugees, and international standards for the protection and treatment of refugees, World Refugee Day is one of the most exciting community moments of the year.

This year, the International Rescue Committee’s theme for World Refugee Day is Every Number has a Story. Every year an updated number of displaced people in the world is released—more than 100 million in recent years. That's more than double the number of displaced people 10 years ago.

Nobody wants to be reduced to a number—one among millions. This World Refugee Day the IRC is creating a space where refugees take over the narrative. They will share their stories using a different sort of number—the numbers that make up their lives. Even as we observe the large scale of displacement around the world, we find hope in the people. Each refugee is one among millions of displaced people, but their story—and their numbers—are unique.

In 2024, policies around refugees, migrants and asylum seekers are being debated all over the world—often without the input of refugees. More than ever, it's time to welcome refugees and rethink what it looks like for them to fully belong in their new communities. World Refugee Day provides a global opportunity to focus on the rights of refugees, their needs, their dreams, and come together to mobilize political action to help individuals forced to flee their home countries to not only survive, but to thrive. Learn more about Refugees and World Refugee Day from the United Nations Refugee Agency UNHCR at the links below.

World Refugee Day: https://www.unhcr.org/us/world-refugee-day

Refugees in America: https://www.unrefugees.org/refugee-facts/what-is-a-refugee/