Friends of California Grief Center,

Miry Whitehill wasn’t a caseworker. She wasn’t running a nonprofit. She was a mom in Los Angeles with a Facebook account, a big heart, and a station wagon.

When a newly arrived Syrian refugee family needed a baby jumper, she posted online. One neighbor gave the jumper. Another offered diapers. Someone else brought wipes. A chain reaction of generosity began, and Miry kept showing up—with her car packed, with her kids in tow, and with a belief that neighbors don’t let neighbors feel forgotten.

While policy changes and bureaucracy stalled around her, Miry turned that single act of kindness into a movement. She didn’t wait for permission, funding, or a title. She created Miry’s List (https://miryslist.org/), a nonprofit that today has helped refugee families from Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, and beyond. Families who arrived in this country with nothing now find themselves welcomed with warm meals, beds, school supplies, and—above all—community.

Miry created a grassroots resettlement model rooted in compassion and community. She didn’t just raise awareness—she reimagined what mutual aid could be. Her now-famous “jumperoo moment” became a blueprint for how ordinary people can step up and do extraordinary things. And now, as nearly one million people have received threatening emails ordering them to leave or face deportation, the call is clear: this is the time to stand with our new neighbors.

Since 2016, Miry's List has engaged 256,000 American people to support over 1,000 families who have come through the Federal Refugee Resettlement program from countries including Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Moldova, Syria, and Ukraine.

Through Miry’s List’s online wishlist platform, 25,159 housewarming gifts have been sent directly to newcomer families.

May her work remind us that the path to welcome is built by those who refuse to look away, who rally communities one post, one meal, one family at a time—and who never forget that radical kindness is a kind of infrastructure.

A Call to the Kind-Hearted: Join Miry’s List in Welcoming the Future

When the storms of the world force families to leave everything behind, what they most need—aside from food, shelter, and safety—is the outstretched hand of a neighbor. Miry’s List offers us a chance to be that hand. Whether you’re sorting welcome kits in Los Angeles, building a wishlist for a family you’ll never meet, or tutoring a teenager in English over Zoom, each small act ripples outward. We believe showing up for strangers is not charity—it’s the soul of democracy. This is not someone else’s problem. This is our shared humanity knocking.

There’s room for every gift here: be a Listmaker, a SANAH tutor, a translator, a career mentor, a resource connector, or even just a kind voice writing a letter of welcome. Miry’s List offers dozens of ways to help—many virtual, all meaningful. Explore volunteer roles and sign up here. Or if you’re moved to give, donate here.

It takes a village to resettle a family. It takes us.

Jack Kornfield & Trudy Goodman Upcoming Virtual Events (This Sunday 4/20)

In a World on Fire, Two Beacons of Stillness
Dharma Talks with Trudy Goodman and Jack Kornfield

The world, these days, feels like it’s cracking at the seams—old maps no longer point north, and even the stars seem to flicker with uncertainty. And still, the human heart beats its quiet drum, calling us inward. In a time of sirens and sorrow, what a miracle it is to find a still point—a place where we can sit down, breathe, and begin again.

On April 20, Trudy Goodman and Jack Kornfield—two teachers who have spent lifetimes walking people home to themselves—will offer a Dharma talk that is less performance than presence. It will be a gathering of story and silence, of grief held gently and joy not rushed. And on May 11, Trudy returns alone, not to instruct so much as to companion us—through the rawness, the resilience, and the small, ordinary beauties that continue to rise.

These aren’t just talks. They’re lighthouses. And if you’ve been drifting—numb, aching, hopeful, all at once—consider this your invitation to land. Come as you are. Come especially if you’ve forgotten how much you still belong.

👉 April 20 with Trudy & Jack: Register Here
👉 May 11 with Trudy: Register Here

Upcoming Opportunities for Connection

💛 Healing Ourselves through the Present Moment (HOPE)

📅 Next Virtual Session: Saturday, April 26 | 10:00 AM (PT) | 1.5 hours (Zoom)

👉 Register Here

At the California Grief Center, we offer grief therapy and group experiences designed to support you through loss. Visit www.caligrief.com to learn more about our services and upcoming events.

With care and compassion,

Brian Stefan, LCSW

Founder, California Grief Center