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Blog → June 20, 2018

Four Ways to Make a Difference on World Refugee Day

Refugee Boat

Written by Megan Carson

Today is the official World Refugee Day. There are events scheduled in many areas all throughout the week, with major events in major cities all around the world planned for Saturday, June 23rd.

If you’ve been wondering what you can do to participate in World Refugee Day, here are some suggestions:

1. Do a search for World Refugee Day events in your area, then show up! If you live in or near Salt Lake City, UT, or Oakland, CA, come find our TSOS Booths at each of those locations!

Here is a flier about an event in Salt Lake City TODAY:

Here’s a flier about the event in SLC on Saturday:

World Refugee Day Facebook
Saturday Event in SLC - World Refugee Day

Here’s a flier about the World Refugee Day event in Oakland.

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Oakland World Refugee Day
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2. Take a photo with a sign that expresses your support of refugees and then change your Profile Photo and come back and share it with us in the comments on Facebook.

Take your pick for your poster caption: Their Story Is Our Story, Their Story Is My Story, Welcome Refugees, Pray for Refugees, What If It Were You?, or be creative and come up with something original! We can’t wait to see your photos! Use the hashtag - #TSOSRefugees.

3. Update your Social Media Profile Photo with this TSOS Frame. You can find it on our Facebook Page.


4. Turn your talents into a fundraiser! Our friends at Talent Pledge have made it super easy to be pro-active in a fun and meaningful way. You can pick your cause to donate to and you can pick your talent to share with your friends to donate to your cause.

If you’d like to choose TSOS, just go HERE to their Choose Your Cause page, then scroll down to the bottom, and in the SEARCH BAR, type in “Their Story Is Our Story” and Bam! We’re all set!

WHAT WILL YOU DO?
We often hear the phrase, “Go big or go home!” But, maybe it doesn’t matter so much if we go big or go small, just as long as we GO. So, pick something that works for you, find some way to do good in the world, and go out there and make it happen!

What would you do if you had to leave everything behind?

By the end of 2024, more than 123.2 million people worldwide had been forcibly displaced from their homes due to war, persecution, or human rights abuses.

An increase of 7.2 million over 2023, that’s more than 19,619 people every day — roughly one person every 4.4 seconds.

They arrive in refugee camps and other countries, like the US, seeking the one thing they’ve lost: safety.

Fleeing political imprisonment, ethnic violence, religious persecution, gang threats, or war crimes, they come with what little they managed to carry:

Legal papers – if they’re lucky.

A single backpack.

Sometimes a child’s hand in theirs.

They also carry the weight of what they left behind: fractured families, homes they’ll never return to, professions they loved, friends and relatives they may never see again.

They carry loss most of us can’t imagine – but also the truth of what they’ve endured.

At TSOS, we believe stories are a form of justice. When someone shares their experience of forced displacement, they reclaim their voice. And when we amplify that voice – through film, photography, writing, and advocacy – the world listens. Hearts soften. Communities open. Policy begins to shift.

That shift matters. Because when neighbors understand instead of fear…

when lawmakers see people, not politics…

when a teacher knows what her student has survived…

Rebuilding life from the ashes becomes possible.

We’re fighting an uphill battle. In today’s political climate, refugee stories are often twisted or ignored. They’re reduced to statistics, portrayed as national threats, or used to score political points.

The truth – the human, nuanced truth – gets lost, and when it does, we lose compassion.

We are here to share their truth anyway.

At TSOS, we don’t answer to headlines or algorithms. We are guided by a simple conviction: every person deserves to be seen, heard, and welcomed.

Our work is powered by the people we meet — refugees and asylum seekers rebuilding after loss, allies offering sanctuary, and communities daring to extend belonging.

Your support helps us share their stories — and ensure they’re heard where they matter most.

“What ultimately persuaded the judge wasn’t a legal argument. It was her story.”

— Kristen Smith Dayley, Executive Director, TSOS

Will you help us keep telling the truth?

No donation is too small — and it only takes a minute of your time.

Why give monthly?

We value every gift, but recurring contributions allow us to plan ahead and invest more deeply in:

  • New refugee storytelling and advocacy projects
  • Resources to train and equip forcibly displaced people to share their own stories
  • Public education that challenges fear with empathy
  • Local efforts that help communities welcome and integrate newcomers

As our thank-you, monthly supporters receive fewer fundraising messages — and more stories of the impact they’re making possible.

You don’t have to be displaced to stand with those who are.

Can you give today — and help carry these stories forward?

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