SHELBURNE FALLS — Proceeds from a summer benefit dance organized by the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee will go toward supporting immigrants in western Massachusetts who have been affected by cuts to immigrant and refugee services.
The dance will be held on Saturday, June 27, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Shelburne-Buckland Community Center, 53 Main St. The Psychedelic Farm Girls will perform live music, and there will be a raffle featuring local art from Molly Cantor, Stephen Earp and Cosima Hewes, as well as other items like a stay at a bed and breakfast in Shelburne Falls and coupons to village restaurants.
Baked goods can also be purchased by donation. The suggested donation to attend the benefit dance is $10 to $20.
Janice Sorensen, a member of the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee who joined about eight months ago, said the citizens group has done a lot of work since the beginning of 2025, including paying for immigration lawyers, providing financial support to asylum seekers, finding affordable housing for immigrants, and paying for medical equipment and scrubs for 18 nursing students who immigrated to the country, among other things.
“The list goes on,” Sorensen said. “Our funds went down and we still have a lot of need coming our way.”
The Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee was formed in December 2024 to raise money for and to support the Rimeh family from Syria that was seeking refugee status and authorization to come to the United States. The Welcome Corps program, which allowed community members and private citizens to band together to sponsor refugees’ resettlement, was canceled by the federal government.
While members of the group are waiting to see if the program restarts, organizer Jackie Walsh said in a statement that they turned their focus to Rimeh family members who are already in the United States and other immigrants in western Massachusetts.
“We have provided funds to help immigrants with rent, moving costs, food, driving lessons, hiring lawyers, and have helped them with asylum applications, free temporary housing, registering for school and more,” Walsh said.
The citizens group is seeking to raise $2,000 through the benefit dance. Those who can’t attend the dance are encouraged to make a donation at tinyurl.com/ksub7ec6. The dance is co-sponsored by the Ashfield Affinity Group, the West County Climate Circle, the Colrain Women’s Huddle, the Heath Affinity Group and the Shelburne Falls Welcome Committee.
For more information about the event, email westcoclimatecircle@gmail.com.
“It’s going to be fun,” Sorensen said. “It’s a tough time right now. As important as feet-on-the-ground work is, we need to keep ourselves strong and bring joy to the moment.”
