SHELBURNE FALLS — A group of local residents are raising money to help a Syrian refugee family that hopes to move to the village.

With help from community members and $24,250 in donations, the Rimeh brothers and their families will join relatives in western Massachusetts through Welcome Corps, a program enabling communities to sponsor immigrants.

The two brothers, Mohammad and Khaled Rimeh, are currently living in a refuge camp in Syria with their wives and children — three boys and three girls, ages 3 through 9. They hope to move to Shelburne Falls to improve their living conditions and be closer to family members who are already living in western Massachusetts, according to Shelburne resident Jackie Walsh.

The parents, sisters and a few cousins of the Rimeh brothers live in Springfield. They have been working with Walsh to help bring the rest of the family over through Welcome Corps. The program is relatively new, having been launched in 2023 by the U.S. Department of State. It enables groups of citizens to sponsor refugees’ resettlement, with no marriage or familial ties necessary, as is required by some other immigration pathways.

Welcome Corps requires that sponsor groups include five people from the community and raise at least $2,425 per refugee. As the Rimehs are a family of 10, Walsh and other sponsors need to raise a little over $24,000, but they hope to bring in $30,000. The money raised will be used to pay for the families’ housing, food and other basic needs until they can find jobs and begin supporting themselves.

Walsh hopes to raise the funds by the end of the month to submit the application to Welcome Corps in January, as there are concerns the program could be canceled by the Trump administration. She added it will take a few months for the application to be reviewed and approved, and about a year before the family actually arrives, but if the application is submitted in January, she feels there is good chance the family will be approved after background checks are completed.

The sponsors will be tasked with supporting the family for the first 90 days after their arrival in Shelburne Falls, helping them find housing and secure employment.

“They’re eager to get find jobs to support their families,” Walsh said.

Donations are appreciated, but no financial investment is necessary, Walsh said. Community members can also support the family by donating clothes or volunteering their time. Once the family arrives in Shelburne Falls, Walsh said they will need help assimilating, so they would also appreciate people setting up play dates with the children, getting coffee with them, showing them around the region or volunteering to drive them to medical appointments or to visit relatives in Springfield.

“There’s a lot of different things people can do,” she said.

Walsh has been getting to know the family members in Springfield and communicating with the brothers and their family in Syria using WhatsApp. She said the kids have been learning English by watching television and they enjoy math, horses and nature. The parents, she added, are incredibly friendly.

“They’ve really enriched my life,” Walsh said. “They’re lovely and quirky and fun.”

To donate, visit bit.ly/4gmuLK0

Walsh said anyone with questions about fundraising efforts or the Welcome Corps program can contact her at shelburnejackieb@gmail.com.

Reach Madison Schofield at 413-930-4579 at mschofield@recorder.com.