Brandon Stanton is basically Santa Claus. 

The guy behind feel-good photography blog Humans of New York has a knack for spreading cheer and delivering goodies during the holiday season. For four years running, he and his girlfriend have helped hundreds of New Yorkers with nowhere to go for Christmas find willing hosts as part of their cleverly titled “HONY For The Holidays” initiative. 

This year, Stanton took his festive spirit up a notch in support of another group of people currently in search of a home for the holidays: Syrian refugees.

Inspired by a recent trip to Jordan and Turkey, where he met 11 Syrian families destined for the US, Stanton launched an online fundraiser to help give those families “the gift of a fresh start.” 

HONY fans responded in force. The campaign raised five times its initial goal of $100,000 in a single day, and has brought in nearly $750,000 to date. Divided evenly, that’s nearly $70,000 per family—enough to give anyone a major leg up in the resettlement process. 

Most of the refugee families that we profiled this month have made their way to America. And as the initial excitement...

Posted by Humans of New York on Thursday, December 24, 2015

This isn’t the first time a HONY post sparked an outpouring of financial support. In January, a campaign inspired by this photo raised $1.4 million to help students from one of New York City’s poorest neighborhoods pursue their dreams of attending college.  

Nor is this the first time Stanton has aimed his lens at the refugee crisis. As my colleague Joe highlighted in October, Stanton recently partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to profile refugees in Greece. 

The recipients of HONY’s latest campaign have all endured incredible hardship en route to the US. In a series of posts leading up to the fundraiser, Stanton shared their stories in trademark HONY fashion, pairing intimate portraits with quotes from the subjects describing their past experiences and future goals.

One story seems to have struck a particularly strong chord. A silver-haired scientist who wants to make a difference in the world despite losing his wife, daughter, and career in the war inspired actor Edward Norton to launch a separate fundraiser on his behalf. Even President Obama showed his support for the scientist in a touching Facebook comment

(5/7) “Everything that wasn’t destroyed in our house was stolen over the next two days. We left with nothing. I can’t...

Posted by Humans of New York on Tuesday, December 8, 2015

Together, these images and stories provide a vivid glimpse of the lives affected by the war in Syria, a conflict that has so far forced over half the country to flee their homes. 

At a time when misguided people and politicians around the world are seeking to vilify and banish all refugees simply because of their faith or the actions of a few of their countrymen, it has never been more important than now to put a human face on this undeniable crisis. 

Thanks to Stanton and the families who shared their stories, more than 18,000 donors had the opportunity to not only show their support for refugees, but to gain a deeper appreciation of what it means to be a refugee in the process. 

If HONY’s refugee portrait series proves one thing, it’s this: At the end of the day, despite everything they’ve been through, the refugees in the photos aren’t so different from those of us viewing, liking, and sharing these posts. Recognizing that simple fact is an essential step toward addressing the current refugee crisis, and it’s at the core of what it means to be a global citizen. 

The HONY campaign was still accepting donations as of Monday afternoon—click here to contribute, or click here to learn five more ways you can help refugees this winter. 

Editorial

Demand Equity

HONY refugee stories inspire $750,000 giving spree

By Hans Glick