Asylee Women Enterprise

This October 11th, we will gather for AWE’s Annual 5K Run & Walk—our biggest fundraiser and one of our favorite traditions. Now in its 12th year, the race has grown from a small neighborhood run to an event that brings close to 200 runners and walkers to Herring Run Park each fall. The 5K helps us raise critical funds to support Baltimore’s immigrant community, especially as our clients face growing challenges. Many are struggling to cover legal fees, government application costs, rent, and medical bills, all while living with the constant fear of increased ICE enforcement. Even a simple trip to the grocery store or a doctor’s appointment can feel dangerous. In 2025 alone, we’ve distributed more than $200,000 in emergency financial assistance to hundreds of asylum seekers and immigrant trafficking survivors—and the need continues to grow. The 5K helps us meet these urgent needs, but it’s also about more than fundraising. It’s a chance for clients, staff, volunteers, and supporters to come together, to connect, and to remind one another that we are not facing this fight alone. As the world grows darker and more frightening, I find myself needing these shared spaces more than ever —whether it’s the joy and fun of the 5K, community meals shared twice a week at AWE, rallies and protests organized by partners, or a celebration when a client is granted asylum. These moments sustain me. They matter because they offer what this administration is trying to take away: connection instead of division, hope instead of despair, resistance instead of conformity. They remind us that even in the face of so much cruelty, we still have the power—and the responsibility—to resist, to push back, and to protect and support one another. The 5K is one of those spaces—a moment to come together, to create joy, and to remind each other that we are not alone.  Whether or not you join us on October 11th, I hope you will keep seeking out and building these spaces of connection and resistance—by volunteering, donating, sharing stories, and standing beside our neighbors in times of need. However we choose to take part, every act of showing up is a refusal of cruelty and an affirmation of each other’s humanity and dignity.

Rasha, AWE’s Policy, Advocacy, and Health Specialist, in front of an AWE housing unit