Since Bethany Christian Services closed its Delaware refugee resettlement office a year ago, Jan, who formerly directed Bethany’s Delaware office, has stepped up in a remarkable way. Over the past 12 months, she has provided critical immigration and refugee support across Northern and Central-Delaware, all as a full-time volunteer. Her efforts have included helping clients secure IDs, driver’s licenses, EBT cards, jobs, medical care, and transportation to essential appointments.

     Many refugee families in the region have found safe, affordable housing thanks to Crystal Clear Property Management, which Rich co-owns. It has been so meaningful to provide comfortable, renovated homes in safe urban neighborhoods and sending his work crews to assist with household repairs when needed.

     Jeremiah has played a vital role in launching our new nonprofit, bringing sharp technical and operational insight to help us build a more sustainable future. Having traveled multiple times to Africa with Compassion Corps, he brings a deep personal commitment to serving vulnerable communities. Thanks to his guidance, we have been legally certified to operate both in Pennsylvania and Delaware under the Compassion Corps banner - originally co-founded in 2005 in PA by Jan Bean and Beth McMillen, and now we are also registered as a new 501(c)(3) entity to operate in DE as Compassion Immigration Services.

     Much of our success to date has been made possible through generous partnerships with individuals, churches, and civic groups. The Chairman of our Board of Directors, Rev. Jonathan Seda, has personally logged countless hours supporting refugee families in his Dover, DE, community. We are grateful for our two other Board members, Maria Glockner and Paola Oviedo, as well as for Jason Groves, a corporate lawyer, Danielle Bossert, and Chris Bliden, who are serving on our Board of Advisors.

     Our work takes place wherever our families need us, whether in their homes, state social service offices, medical clinics like TriState Health in Newark and Elkton, USCIS offices in Dover and Philadelphia, or churches like Grace Church in Dover. A major hub of activity has been our spacious King Street office in Wilmington, generously offered by Rich. This location has proven ideal for hosting multilingual information sessions and, once approved by the Department of Justice, will serve as a site for providing DOJ-recognized legal immigration services.

     While we will continue to rely heavily on volunteer and in-kind support, our long-term goal is to secure sustainable funding that allows us to hire staff, including those from among the outstanding refugee community members we serve.