A new committee in Greene County is utilizing a program to help increase the population.

John Rigler III is the President and Chief Operating Officer of Peoples Bank and has led an effort to resettle Ukrainas in Greene County. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio he learned about a program through a contact in DeWitt about the US Immigration and Customs created after the Russia and Ukraine War started to resettle Ukriaians into the US.  

Rigler says he has been working with the organization “IA NICE” from DeWitt that has been using the resettlement program for 18 months and has brought over 50 Ukrainians to town. Through his personal financial investment and financial support from Greene County Development Corporation, along with a local committee, they interviewed several Ukrainian families and is proud to announce the first individual to be resettled in Jefferson happened this week and her name is Iryna. 

“But she’s from a professional background. A lot of these folks are professionals in Ukraine (and) they have job skills. A lot of their job skills are very similar to the job openings that we have in our county. And so it actually turns out to be a real win/win. Out of all the 50 some odd Ukrainians they’ve resettled in DeWitt, all of them have found employment well within the first three months of being in DeWitt.”     

Rigler says through the financial support, Iryna will be provided with funds to provide housing, groceries, and other incidentals, while she finds employment.

“I feel like I have some personal interest in trying to help those folks find a new better place. As welcoming as Jefferson was to me six years ago, I’m confident they’ll be even more welcoming to the newest members of our community. Frankly, if anybody sees her around town, I’d encourage them to smile, say ‘Hi’ and introduce themselves.” 

Rigler notes that the program they are modeling from DeWitt allows Ukrinians to be resettled for two years, and then they must either seek permanent, legal immigrant status and become a US citizen or go back to their home country. Rigler adds if people would like to make a donation to further this cause, they can make checks payable to MFRC and dropped it off or mail to any Peoples Bank location.