
Love… It looks like a lot of things. Big things, little things. Noticed and unnoticed. It looks like patience and kindness. Sometimes, it looks like silence – after all, it’s better to say nothing than something when the words threatening to come out are laced with hate and malice. Sometimes love is easy. But, often, it is costly.
Love can often look like getting over yourself and putting someone else’s needs above your own. It’s why we wake up a million times in the night with our kids. It’s why we sit with aging parents. It’s why we give our hours to PTAs, churches, coaching, non-profit organizations.
Because…we love.
Love is what City of Refuge was founded on – it’s always been in our DNA, even before our official inception. Community members who were driven by a deep love for their new neighbors, their new friends – a love so strong it moved them to action.
And now, 15 years later, we continue to see how love motivates, challenges, and changes those who are involved in the work we do. From refugees, to staff, to volunteers, to interns, to donors, to community partners… love is central to our highly relationship approach.
It plays out differently, from person to person. Love looks like asking your cashier where they are from and caring long enough to really listen. It looks like not just giving a ride to someone who needs one, but befriending them along the way. It looks like investing yourself in another’s hopes and dreams in such a way that you see them achieve those dreams. It looks like the trajectory of your life being changed by a volunteering opportunity in college that eventually leads to you fostering and adopting and devoting your life to working with refugees. It looks like a lemonade stand, or giving away your allowance, or committing to abstain from the iced latte in exchange for a $20/month donation.
Love looks like holding hands to cross the street or helping someone load a stroller into a car. It looks like hours and hours of sorting donations for years and years and finding best friends along the way. It looks like organizing a basic needs drive and purchasing additional supplies for families who are in need. It looks like donating a car or stepping outside of your comfort zone and making new friends. It looks like a community surrounding a loved one in the ICU. It looks like saving every dollar, every spare cent, to be reunited with a mother or father. It looks like driving to another state and picking up a family in a hotel who has just arrived in the country and giving them a place to live because they have no money and nowhere else to go.
There’s no shortage of love on display at City of Refuge.
We see it every day, in a million different ways. We see it when it’s effortless, but, more often than not, we see the cost.
And the best part of bearing witness to all of this love?
We’re better for it. Each and every one of us.
When we see the cost, the sacrifice, the love that motivates others to act in ways that benefit and lift up another, we are inspired to do the same.
May your day, today, be filled with love. Not just a cheesy, sentimental, chocolate-covered strawberry, romantic kind of love. But the type of love that changes the people who receive it and bear witness to it. The type of love that costs something.
Because that type of love is worth living for.
Debbie Beal
Executive Director
UPDATE: We are continuing to anticipate additional needs for newly arrived refugees in our community. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the generous outpouring of generosity and love so many of you have shown over the last week – we’ve been so humbled by the amount of volunteer applications and monetary donations coming our way. It’s been so encouraging to our team to know we live in a city that loves our neighbors! (if you missed our update, you can read it here). We will continue to keep you informed as we know more, but continue to share! Every bit of your giving is essential to us being able to do what we do each and every day (and we plan to keep doing it for a long time to come!)

We are thrilled that City Cuisine is available for the Columbia community to enjoy! Our expertly crafted dishes provide a true global fusion experience, perfect for any occasion.
Needing food provided for your next work event or party? Let us take care of you! Our catering services and box lunch menu bring fresh, flavorful cuisine straight to you. To inquire further about City Cuisine catering and box lunches email cuisine@cityofrefugecolumbia.org and browse our menu below.

We are now accepting PREORDERS for our NEW City of Refuge travel mug! Every dollar from your purchase goes directly to local refugee care and development—an initiative more important than ever.
The Flip Traveler keeps your morning coffee or tea hot or cold longer with a leak proof lid that prevents you from spilling your drink. Featuring double wall vacuum insulated design, this stainless steel Flip Traveler will fit in both your cup holder and daily routine.

Make a Big Impact—Join Our Volunteer & Donation Efforts!
At City of Refuge, we believe that home is more than just a place—it’s the people who show up. That’s where you come in!
Volunteer Buddy Groups: Walk alongside a refugee family for a year, helping them navigate daily life. This is a high-commitment, highly relational opportunity—best for groups with weekday flexibility.
Transportation Team: Help refugees get to appointments, work, school, and City of Refuge programs. We need both on-call and scheduled drivers!
Basic Needs Closet Donations: Help turn an empty space into a home by donating household essentials from our Amazon wishlist.