Joe & Kim Mitchell: Welcoming Refugees to Idaho Falls

Welcome Corps Allows Private Americans to Help Resettle Refugees

Joe & Kim Mitchell are part of a private sponsor group in Idaho Falls that welcomed refugees to the city for the first time in decades.

In April 2022, through the Operation Allies Welcome program, their Sponsor Circle welcomed three Afghan Air Force pilots, allies of the U.S. military operation.

The community response was so overwhelmingly positive that the group formed a nonprofit, Idaho Falls Bridge Builders, which in 2023 welcomed another refugee family, from Ukraine.

Joe & Kim were inspired to be involved in a private sponsor group because they know what it’s like to be newcomers in a foreign country. Their family spent a total of seven years living in rural China, and the way they were welcomed into the community with open arms inspired them to provide a similar welcome to others in their home state of Idaho.

Connect with Idaho Falls Bridge Builders: https://sites.google.com/view/idaho-falls-bridge-builders/home

Learn more about Welcome Corps: https://welcomecorps.org/

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