We regret to inform our supporters that we were notified this week that the State of Missouri has withheld the remainder of our fiscal year project budget for our long-running, highly successful Naturalization Services for Elderly Legal Immigrants and Elderly Refugees program. This is not a performance issue, but rather the result of attempts to balance a state budget. We recognize that the incoming state administration has had to make difficult decisions, and we are hopeful that we will be able to get these funds released at some point in the near future. We believe in our program and will continue to work with our partners in Jefferson City to sustain it.
In the meantime, we are looking at ways to continue working with seniors already enrolled in the program and will do everything in our power to maintain service quality and program integrity for this vulnerable population. We are appealing to our supporters to help us continue helping the 202 elderly program participants in various stages of the naturalization process. Many of these legal immigrants and refugees fled various types of persecution to the United States, and we remain committed to helping them achieve their goal of citizenship. Please consider donating to our program as we work to cover the costs of continuing services to existing participants in the unexpected absence of funding. All donations are tax-deductible. Help us help them.
