New Neighbors Partnership Association

Our organization aims to bolster three of the five documented “protective factors” in our refugee families from the Strengthening Families Approach: (1) building social connections by partnering refugees with other families in their neighborhood, (2) fostering parental resilience through the informational support provided by partner families, and (3) sharing concrete support in times of need through the material support of clothing hand-me-downs, as well as other baby supplies.

Our core clothing partnership program serves refugee families by matching them with local families who have older kids and can share ongoing clothing hand-me-downs from season to season. This model reimagines in-kind giving by turning what would normally be a one-time, blind “charity” donation into a longstanding relationship between families, providing the longer-term security and comfort to refugee families that they will have clothes for their children for years to come, as well as the connection to a local family with similar aged kids. Our upstream, early intervention supports at-risk families arriving in New York to mitigate poverty and help provide stability to families that have experienced the severe trauma of displacement.

Our organization's credentials are based in our track record of success serving refugee communities, our multinational staff and empowerment of refugees in leadership positions, and the strong network of local partnerships we've developed.

We center the refugee experience at every level of our organization, hiring recently arrived refugees / immigrants. Our staff brings advanced degrees from around the world in translation, public policy, business administration, international relations, and economics; work experience at the UN Mission in Kabul, IRC, NYC Department of Education, Columbia University, and more; and extensive translation, interpretation, and social services expertise. In addition, our staff collectively speaks nearly 20 languages, including French, Spanish, Pashto, Dari, Arabic, Mandarin, American Sign Language, Ukrainian, Russian, and Urdu.


At the highest levels of our organization, several clients who benefited from our program — including women from Lebanon and Central African Republic — now serve on our board of directors, along with leaders from Human Rights First and The Equity Project.


The molding of our program by members of the community we serve, as well as our strong partnerships with key organizations, makes us well-positioned to carry out this program. Our partners at HIAS, Catholic Charities, IRC, and Human Rights First help us identify the families with the highest need who would most benefit from the material and community support of our program. We also have a robust referral network with local New York City partners, including Emma’s Torch, Sakhi for South Asian Women, Women for Afghan Women, Ruth’s Refuge, and more.

The proven foundations of our program, coupled with our talented multi-national staff and strong network of partners, has helped us build our success. With the help of the WellMet Philanthropy, we can grow our capacity to provide a warm community welcome to more refugees making a new home for themselves in New York.

Our clothing partnership currently serves nearly 300 children from 34 countries. 80% of refugee families in our program surveyed said our organization was their primary source of support and community in the US. “I cannot imagine my survival without New Neighbors Partnership,” says a single mom from Pakistan, who has formed a close friendship with her Brooklyn-based partner mom. The local community support New Neighbors provides — both through material clothing donations and through community connections — helps refugees feel welcomed and encouraged in their new lives.