About Us
Welcome COS began with a vision to expand refugee services in Colorado Springs. Each member of our small team had built relationships with new neighbors- refugees arriving from every corner of the world. We were volunteers doing life with our new friends, and we walked with them through the many barriers inherent to their journey. We wanted to see them thrive, and many did. But it took time, and patience, and American knowledge, and endless navigation of services, and yet more time. As we helped fill out housing applications and sat in social security offices and translated at medical specialist appointments and called driving schools, we realized that a single refugee resettlement agency in our city can’t do it all. Their responsibility is to fulfill the initial requirements of resettlement, but it takes a village to provide the wrap-around services that lead to long-term thriving.
In early 2024, we began to meet with stakeholders and partners in our city. We were encouraged by the work already being done, but heard from many that there is a need for more. Many people already working with refugees also expressed a strong desire to see more networking in the refugee services community- an umbrella organization to gather and grow what is already here. Over the next months, Welcome COS was created to meet those needs, to create a network of refugee services, and to fill identified gaps in the community after the initial resettlement period.
Our Team
Amy Schulte, Executive Director and President
Amy moved to Colorado Springs in 2021 with her husband Marty and daughter Maddie. She grew up overseas in the Middle East and France, and speaks fluent French and basic Arabic. Amy graduated from UCLA with a degree in Political Science, and holds a Master’s degree in Counseling. She has worked in the nonprofit sector for fifteen years, focusing on global health and education. She also served on the board of a community based behavioral health nonprofit in St. Louis, MO. Most recently, Amy was the Quality Assurance Coordinator for Lutheran Family Services (LFS) Refugee and Asylees office in Colorado Springs.
Amy’s interest in refugee care began with meeting refugees as a child living in the Middle East. During COVID, she met several refugee women living in St. Louis and began building friendships, practicing English, and helping them build small businesses. After moving to Colorado, she joined a Cultural Mentorship Team working with an Afghan family after the evacuation of Kabul. Shortly after, she accepted a job at LFS and began to work with refugees in a formal capacity. She is excited to launch Welcome COS as a way to continue providing expanded and creative services for the refugees in her community.
Steve Stanton, Board of Directors
Steve serves as the Teaching Pastor at Waypoint Church. Born in Anaheim, CA, he spent most of his childhood in Annapolis, MD. After graduating from college, Steve met his wife, Becca, while serving together in the Air Force.
In 2017, Steve graduated from Reformed Theological Seminary, and shortly after, he and Becca moved back to Colorado Springs, her hometown, to begin serving in Pastoral Ministry. During this time, they developed a deepening understanding of how God’s grace can bring gospel reorientation to a community. This journey culminated in the formation of a church planting team in 2020, leading to the successful launch of Waypoint Church in August 2021.
Apart from his pastoral duties, Steve finds joy in exploring the Colorado mountains with his family, mastering the art of roasting his own coffee, and tending to his garden during the summer months.
Joshua David Bennett, Board of Directors
Josh Bennett, his wife Rachel, and their son Anderson share a love for Christ, Colorado and the outdoors. Josh’s background is church partnership, strategy and international development. In his time with Compassion International, he has seen local churches be the hands and feet of Christ to those in need. He has a heart to do the same in Colorado Springs, serving refugees and other vulnerable populations.
Donna Kushner, Board of Directors
Donna is passionate about serving vulnerable populations, including refugees. She enjoys learning from her refugee friends about resilience and family values as well as coming alongside them in their journey of adjusting to life in the USA. She and her husband, Yale, spent many years serving in ministry with Cru, first with college students, then internationally the Middle East and France. After returning from overseas she coached women preparing to become global workers and, most recently, created and led Cru's outreach to missionary kids. Donna and Yale moved to Colorado Springs in 2019 where she has been serving the local refugee community by leading cultural mentoring teams and teaching English to refugee women in their homes. She serves as Outreach Director at Waypoint Church.
Donna enjoys travel, connecting with friends over coffee, and, especially, spending time with her adult children and grandchildren exploring Colorado together.
Our Values
Dignity of the person: We believe in caring for the whole person. We are inclusive, giving refugees an equal voice and ensuring that they feel heard and seen in their journey of resettlement.
Faith-based approach: We approach refugee services from a distinctly Christian motive. We believe that God has called Christians to demonstrate care and compassion to all people, regardless of where they come from or what they believe.
Community based strategy: We want to support the work already being done, and we want to partner within the community to expand services for refugees.
Nimble and innovative pathways: We don’t want to re-invent the wheel. We seek to identify gaps in existing services, and find solutions that are creative and meet refugee needs as they are, not as we wish they could be. This means creating expanded ESL opportunities for families whose composition or first jobs don’t fit with traditional classroom offerings. This means getting those who care about refugees into the same room to brainstorm ideas. We want to be nimble, able to address needs quickly and resourcefully. And we want to be innovative, while learning from others and finding solutions that work in our city.
Church and community mobilization: We help mobilize churches and individuals to provide long-term support of refugee families. We believe that the churches in our city, alongside community partners and individual volunteers, can help grow diverse refugee communities that result in deeper integration and thriving. We also believe that fundraising within the church and community will allow us to weather the tides of refugee-related politics, helping us maintain and grow services even when federal funding shifts from election to election.