How This Inspiring Non-Profit Is Supporting Millions Of Refugees Around The World - And How You Can Help
MUHMMAD AL-NAJJAR
Written By Afdhel Aziz
Choose Love started back in 2015 when a group of friends began collecting donations for refugees in Calais. They have gone on to become a global organization supporting refugees and displaced people all over the world.
6 years ago, they opened their first Choose Love shop. A shop like no other, here shoppers can buy real items and life-saving interventions which will go to refugees and displaced people across the world. Not every shop can claim that everything it sells will change a life, but for Choose Love, that’s the truth - and starting from today New Yorkers can help by visiting the pop-up at 204 Front St in the Seaport neighborhood.
Over the last 7 years, through the help of their community, they have achieved some incredible things:
Supported almost 4 million (3,860,000) people worldwide
With all of their partners, they’ve distributed more than 5 million hot meals, almost 3 million nappies, and over 650,000 items of clothing.
They’ve also rescued over 20,000 people at sea, funded almost 200,000 medical consultations, supported more than 130,000 legal cases and built almost 600,00 shelters.
They’ve funded a total of 393 organisations across the world.
They recently received a major multi-million dollar grant from Mackenzie Scott. This inspiring non-profit has also been supported by celebrities like Benedict Cumberbatch, Harry Styles, Dua Lipa, Jameela Jamil, Olivia Coleman, Trevor Noah, Michael Caine, and many others.
Josie Naughton, CEO and Co-Founder of Choose Love | CHOOSE LOVE
I caught up with Josie Naughton, the CEO and Co-Founder of Choose Love to find out how they transformed from a small initiative into a global organization helping millions of refugees all over the world.
“Choose Love started seven years ago, as myself and some friends wanting to raise $1000 and collect some aid for refugees during the 'refugee crisis' in 2015. That year over a million people arrived in Europe seeking sanctuary, primarily from Syria but also from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Eritrea, South Sudan to name a few. We were moved, like so many by the image of the little boy Aylan Kurdi who washed up on the Turkish shore and we were driven by a sense of empathy and responsibility for our fellow humans,” Naughton reflected.
Fast forward to today and Choose Love is a global organization working in 26 countries to support refugees and displaced people. It does this by partnering with and funding over 200 local community-based organizations, prioritizing organizations led by displaced communities, who are more often than not the primary responders on the front lines of this crisis. It works across the world, including Europe, The Balkans, Ukraine, The Middle East and the US/ Mexico border. Choose Love funds everything from urgent medical care, search and rescue operations, food, humanitarian aid to legal support and a special focus for support for marginalized communities.
The size of refugees and migrants problems globally is massive and it’s getting worse. When Choose Love started its work 7 years ago, there were 65 million displaced people in the world and today the number just gone over 100 million - with approximately half of that number being children. With no resolutions to existing conflicts and the effects of climate change really starting to be felt this number is continuing to increase. There are estimates that there will be a billion displaced people in the world by 2050. Naughton explained, “As the numbers of displaced people increase so does the need for funding but we are seeing a reduction in global funding for those who are forcibly displaced as well as a political shift to the right, which creates more hostile environments for refugees. Refugees and asylum seekers are having to make heartbreaking choices about whether to buy food or medicine for their children. As we head into winter we are facing a real crisis as families can't keep warm. Given all of this we urgently need raise more funds to meet the ever increasing needs.”
Choose Love recently hit a milestone in helping over 4 million people helped globally. We talked what it meant to get to this stage. “When we started we never could have imagined that the organization would be working at this scale. In fact we always worked to put ourselves 'out of business' but it's clear the needs are ever increasing and that our work is needed for the foreseeable future, “ she noted. A milestone like this is incredible because it shows the power of solidarity and what is possible when people come together to make change. Hundreds of thousands of people, from all walks of life and every corner of the globe, have supported Choose Love over the years and that number is really testament to every single donor, fundraiser, volunteer and partner organization that we have the privilege to work with. “We never take the trust people place in us for granted and will always make sure our funds are used as effectively, efficiently and transparently as is possible,” she added.
Choose Love has also been a recent beneficiary of a multi-million dollar grant from Mackenzie Scott. Naughton shared how Choose Love is planning on investing this capital. “We so admire the giving strategy of MacKenzie Scott and her recognition that philanthropy needs to shift power back to the people, and working with a trust-based model that is rooted in vales of dignity, equity and empowerment. Choose Love's model as a funder moving resources to community-based organizations globally means they are really value aligned. In her recent announcement of new grantees, in which we were so honoured to be included, she stated, 'I can share what I have with them to stand behind them as they speak and act for themselves' and believe it or not this is very revolutionary way for a billionaire to be giving,” Naughton explained. The grant will enable Choose Love to continue to leverage more resources for the communities it serves and support partners in a more sustainable way while continuing to respond to emergencies like the recent invasion of Ukraine or the fall of Kabul and Afghainstan.
Finally we talked about the immediate upcoming plans and a new store opening. As of December 1st, a new holiday Choose Love store is open in the New York City. You can find it in the Seaport neighborhood of New York City, 204 Front St, and it will be open until December 23. The Seaport has generously donated Choose Love a beautiful space.
Naughton explained, “Throughout the store you'll find items and visual representations of services Choose Love provides to refugees and displaced people across the world, spanning winter essentials, life-changing interventions, and long-lasting support. Items available for donation include basic necessities, including winter clothing, hot food, and fuel, as well as much-needed services such as reuniting families, long-term accommodation, evacuation support, and lifesaving medical treatment. Whatever you buy, you don't take away with you, instead we use your donation to buy that product for someone who really needs it this winter. You can even buy one of everything in the whole store for $565.”
“You can also buy supplies on the behalf of friends and loved ones as a holiday gift that keeps on giving. And we have Choose Love merchandise for sale if you'd like to take something away with you. All the profits from the sales also fund our winter emergency response,” she added. This year’s Choose Love Shop marks the charity’s third year hosting a physical shopping experience in New York for visitors. It also has a store online www.choose.love for those who can't make it down.
100% of funds raised through the shop go to supporting displaced people from all over the world, including working in The middle East, Greece, on the U.S./Mexico border as well as supporting its Ukraine Emergency Response, which the charity began earlier this year. Choose Love is currently working with over 70 organizations to help the people of Ukraine seeking care, refuge, and more. Buying from The Choose Love Shop offers people something that can make a real, tangible difference. “In showcasing basic items in dire need for millions worldwide, we want to not only raise awareness of how displaced people and refugees are stripped of basic necessities but remind those more fortunate of what to be grateful for,” Naughton concluded.
