Bozeman Drive Collects Welcome Kits for Newly Arriving Refugee Families

Refugee families arriving in Montana often step off the plane with little more than the clothes they are wearing. Gallatin Refugee Connections, a Bozeman-based nonprofit founded in 2017, has spent nearly a decade making sure those families don't walk into an empty apartment. This Saturday, March 28, the organization holds its Kit Packing Day at Pilgrim Congregational Church, located at 2118 S. 3rd Ave. in Bozeman, where volunteers will sort and assemble donated household goods into room-by-room kits ready for delivery.

Volunteers will assemble kits of household supplies for refugee families to help start their new lives in Billings and Missoula. The kits include kitchen items, cleaning supplies, toiletries, bedding and childcare materials.

The kits are organized by room to help families get a new start and speed up their process of integrating into the local community. Gallatin Refugee Connections has supplied Missoula's resettlement effort, which is managed by the International Rescue Committee and Soft Landing Missoula, since 2017. This year, a new resettlement effort is also underway in Billings, run by Lutheran Family Services.

The scale of previous drives reflects how seriously the Gallatin Valley has taken this work. Gallatin Refugee Connections thanks all volunteers who gather at Pilgrim Congregational Church each year; in cooperation with Lutheran Family Services and the International Rescue Committee, over 200 kits were assembled and delivered to help refugee families start their new lives around the state. In 2023, that number climbed even higher: the organization was able to assemble and deliver over 400 kits.

Marty Albini, the kit drive coordinator for Gallatin Refugee Connections, said there are several ways people can support the drive. People can donate a pre-packed kit or just a single item to drop off Saturday at the church from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and can also volunteer to help out on Saturday. Those who cannot volunteer or drop off items can also spread the word about the event to inspire more donations, or consider a monetary donation for Gallatin Refugee Connections or their partner organizations.

Donations fund kit packing day and provide ongoing advocacy in support of refugee resettlement in Montana. Gallatin Refugee Connections can be reached at gallatinrefugees@gmail.com or by calling 406-209-0971, and full kit lists are available at gallatinrefugeeconnections.org.