Refugee Support

UNB supports Syrian refugees

UNB is eager to do our part to help refugees settle in our community. We are currently working with the Multicultural Association of Fredericton (MCAF) and other community groups on a coordinated effort. This page will be updated regularly with opportunities to get involved, volunteer and donate as they arise.

Supporting the needs of Syrian newcomers in New Brunswick

Thank you, UNB! With your support, we raised over $1800 to provide beds and car seats for Syrian families. We have been able to buy a bed for a father suffering from scoliosis, and car seats and booster seats for five Syrian families, including one with a newborn on the way. Our Fredericton First Friends and Syrian families are so grateful of your efforts. Thank you for helping us show them what a welcoming and generous community they have joined.

We have also had wonderful support from our UNB Summer Camps. We have newcomer children on campus all summer long in our DesignWorks and Worlds UNBound camps. This helps children integrate into their new community, practice their English and make new friends. Thank you!

In June, URec hosted the Sweat for a Cause bootcamp and yard sale, and raised $325 for the Multicultural Association of Fredericton to support their ongoing efforts helping newcomers in our community.

Our efforts don’t stop here. We have some social and more informational activities planned in the coming months. Mark your calendars for October 6, when Dr. Stacey Wilson-Forsberg, a UNB alumna (PhD ’10), will return to campus to talk about the integration experiences of immigrant adolescents in small-town New Brunswick. If you have an idea for an event, please feel free to get in touch with us!

Thank you again for your support of these initiatives and for helping to welcome our new neighbours.

Get involved

Clothing Fredericton campus

We ask that people drop off their clean clothing at UNB’s Gregg Centre (Tilley Hall Room 43, 9 Macauley Lane, UNB). Clothing of all sizes is needed. All donated clothing will be distributed to donation centres in Fredericton. Settlement coordinators will accompany newcomers to these centres where they can try on and select the clothing of their choice. This way, any extra clothing becomes available to other people in need in our community.

Clothing Saint John campus

People are encouraged to donate clothes to the Value Village in East Saint John (212 McAllister Drive). Mark your bags “Y Newcomer Connections or Refugee Assistance."

Money

The province of New Brunswick has information about how you can help sponsor a family or donate money. You can also call the province’s hotline at 1 855-444-6554.

Resettlement agencies are also accepting financial donations to help them provide essential services to the refugees coming to New Brunswick.

Other organizations sponsoring refugees or providing food, shelter and other necessities for refugees currently in transit are:


MCAF is looking for Arabic interpreters and translators to help with things like information sessions, doctors’ appointments and parent-teacher interviews.

Volunteers are also needed in Saint John for the YMCA Newcomer Connections.

If you are fluent in Arabic or Kurdish but are looking to help in a more flexible way, there may still be ways for you to help. Please contact UNB’s Gregg Centre at greggcentre@unb.ca to find out more.


  • #WelcomeRefugees: Stay up to date with the Government of Canada’s initiatives to support the refugee resettlement process.
  • #RestoreHope: the New Brunswick Multicultural Council's online campaign to show support and solidarity with refugees.
  • A warm welcome: a call for warm, handmade goods for newcomers