Dear Friends,

We want to take this opportunity to thank our volunteers, newcomers, partners, and supporters for an incredible year.

2025 marked a milestone in our initiative’s history, representing an important transition from what began as a grassroots initiative to a truly national endeavour.

On the strength of the multiyear evaluation of our Welcome Group Program that concluded last year, we were incredibly excited to start off 2025 with an opportunity to scale our work across Canada.

Bringing volunteer-led social support for refugee newcomers to three new, diverse regions of the country — Atlantic Canada, the Prairies, and the West Coast — has fulfilled an objective that we’ve shared since founding Together Project, and we’re incredibly excited to build and learn from new partners, new staff, and new communities.

To read more about our year, check out our impact report here!

Meet Farah Kurji, our new Steering Committee Chair!

As a second-generation Canadian, lifelong volunteer, and Senior Manager, Social Impact at TD Bank Group, Farah brings a wealth of experience in creating social impact.

Read more about her here!

As a Welcome Group Program volunteer, Idalia and her fellow members threw a surprise party for their matched newcomer! As a former newcomer herself, she found that volunteering was a special way to give back.

“As a team, we’ve learned and grown together, and our match has taught us invaluable lessons about life, resilience, and hope.”

Read Idalia’s interview here!

Meet Welcome Group Program volunteer and United Way Greater Toronto employee Fatemeh! After she arrived in Toronto as a newcomer, Fatemeh began volunteering with our Welcome Group Program– an experience that helped lead to her current position with United Way Greater Toronto.

“I was in a networking session and I saw someone from United Way. I reached out and said that I’m really interested in working at United Way and I’m also volunteering with Together Project…”

Read more here!

Thinking of applying to be a Welcome Group Program volunteer in Vancouver, Winnipeg, Moncton, Mississauga, or Toronto?

Check out this video for tips on filling out our application form!

Apply here: www.bttr.im/a772o

Learn more about Together Project here: www.togetherproject.ca/volunteer

After coming to Canada as an immigrant, Ishika was driven to help other newcomers feel at home in Ottawa. After finding out about the Welcome Group Program, she was excited to sign up:

“I was looking for a volunteer opportunity with the potential to have a genuine positive impact on newcomers’ experience and the Welcome Group seemed ideal.”

Read our interview with Ishika here!