Welcome.US is a non-partisan, not-for-profit initiative whose mission is to welcome the nearly 80,000 people from Afghanistan granted refuge in the US. They rely on volunteers, called Welcomers, who are matched with resettling families to ease their transition to the US.

The Welcome.US mission is compounded by the recent influx of displaced Ukranians, and as a result, they urgently need volunteers.

In “Be A Rainbow” we follow an Afghan family’s journey to the US. The film is told through their daughter’s memories of the troubled events that led to their evacuation: the Taliban’s rise to power resulted in the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddhas, women imprisoned in their homes, and arrests of anyone who violated oppressive Sharia law. Poet laureate Dr. Maya Angelou narrates the metaphor: the hopeful glow of rainbow light in the storm, a “rainbow in somebody’s cloud.” As the family takes their first steps into America, they are met by a group of volunteers called Welcomers, ready to support them in this new chapter of their lives.

Our target audience was a diverse group of people from all walks of life that were open becoming welcomers for those in need.

To reach them we enlisted the help of high profile Welcome.US supporters, including Barack Obama, to raise awareness of the need for welcomers across social platforms.

Animation was the clear choice for the story, a powerful way for the viewer to put themselves in the character’s shoes and connect with their journey. By keeping the film in black and white, the rainbow light in the storm was able to become a symbol of the hope and support that awaited the family in the United States.

Former president Barack Obama tweeted the film on World Refugee Day, amplifying our call for more Welcomers.

Since the launch of the work and this initiative, over 200,000+ Americans have signed up to sponsor the 110,000+ refugees that have arrived in the US.

Over 20,000 Americans have signed up to be part of the Welcome Corps and there are now more than 200+ organizations actively involved with WUS.