Our story

One Saturday morning, two people showed up to volunteer. Bruce Garrison was serving as an Outreach Coordinator at a local church. Claire Holba had just returned from teaching in Burmese refugee camps in Malaysia. They didn’t know it yet—but that morning would change everything.

Before they left, they realized something powerful: they shared the same vision — a deep belief that every person, no matter where they come from, deserves dignity, belonging, and opportunity.

What began as small efforts quickly turned into something more. Claire joined the church as an AmeriCorps worker. Together, they organized information sessions, connected families with local resources, and created spaces where newcomers could learn, ask questions, and feel seen. Claire began leading English conversation sessions. Others joined. The community started to grow.

From a conversation to a movement

One Saturday morning, two people showed up to volunteer. Bruce Garrison was serving as an Outreach Coordinator at a local church. Claire Holba had just returned from teaching in Burmese refugee camps in Malaysia. They didn’t know it yet—but that morning would change everything.

Before they left, they realized something powerful: they shared the same vision — a deep belief that every person, no matter where they come from, deserves dignity, belonging, and opportunity.

What began as small efforts quickly turned into something more. Claire joined the church as an AmeriCorps worker. Together, they organized information sessions, connected families with local resources, and created spaces where newcomers could learn, ask questions, and feel seen. Claire began leading English conversation sessions. Others joined. The community started to grow.

Founded in 2019, Patchwork Indy grew into one of the most active refugee support organizations in the country. In 2023, Patchwork Indy began to position themselves to take a role in Private Sponsorship in the state of Indiana. By 2024, they were the designated the Private Sponsorship Organization for the state of Indiana. After a state-wide campaign with representatives of Welcome Corps and the US State Department, Patchwork Indy began to mobilize sponsorship groups and prepare them to receive refugees from all over the world.

Throughout 2024, Patchwork Indy worked tirelessly throughout the state to bring refugees to safety. Sponsorship groups were trained to help with housing, Social Security, SNAP benefits, education for children, English language and jobs, and everything that is part of integrating into a new culture and society.

During 2024, Patchwork Indy worked with Hoorsiers from over 40 different Indiana zip codes to create Sponsorship groups. One form of Sponsorship was called “Matching.” This is where a group contacted the government and offered to welcome any refugee household they were matched with. In 2024, Indiana was the number one state in the country for matching sponsorship groups with refugee families. Patchwork Indy rapidly became known as a leader in this new form of refugee resettlement, and three members of the staff were invited to meetings and consultations at the White House on four separate occasions.

In 2025, the arrival of refugees was slowed down considerably, but even in this new landscape, Patchwork Indy continued to bring Afghan Special Immigrant Visa holders into the US. These SIV holders were individuals who had worked with the US government or military during the years that the US was in Afghanistan. In spite of numerous challenges, Patchwork Indy brought Afghan refugees to Indiana, Texas, Connecticut, and Virginia.

Many newly arrived families were being exploited by landords, trapped in unsafe and unaffordable housing. It was unacceptable. Even in the midst of COVID, Patchwork stepped forward. Working alongside local and state partners, we helped expose and remove fraudulent landlords — protecting families when they needed it most.

This was no longer just support work. This was advocacy. This was justice.

What started as a local effort became a movement.

Now that refugee resettlement has almost completely stopped, Patchwork Global has been working to move Afghan refugees from Pakistan to Brazil. But this pathway has been paused for the immediate future. This has caused Patchwork Global to pivot from resettling to seeing individuals and families fully integrated into their new communities. Our goal is always to see people find their way to safety and then fully develop a stable and meaningful life in their new home. Regardless of what the future may look like, Patchwork Global will always be working for those who have been forced to leave their homes and to find a new life and existence in welcoming communities.

We believe something simple, but powerful: Communities don’t become welcoming by accident. They are built — together.

Bruce Garrison

CEO

Our impact (2025)

+130

Everyday americans mobilized as sponsors of refugees

146

Afghan allies with SIVs resettled

+170

Participants in IN-NOW events and gatherings

+600

Gifts to children at our Holiday Bazaar

+30

Afghan refugees resettled in Brazil

+40

Organizations participated in four resource fairs

+995

Families served in the Greater Indianapolis area

+12

Religious communities mobilized