On January 6th, more than 100 refugee families who arrived in Washington this past year received a warm welcome to our community! Hundreds of community members joined us for the Winter Welcome Festival, where we celebrated the new year together with food, games, gifts, and lots of fun!

New Roots focuses on food security, food access and agriculture in the refugee community. New Roots is a national program and is located in 12 different cities. In Dallas, we have partnered with 8 different community gardens to provide growing space for our clients. We hope you enjoy this video created by GenR member, Jigna Vora.

Phyllis Korogodsky, a loan officer with the IRC in Phoenix, was recently recognized by the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) with a resolution at their quarterly board meeting. The resolution read: “...[T]he CEO Board recognizes and thanks Phyllis Korogodosky for her exceptional service in her role as a Loan officer and Financial Coach for refugees in Arizona.” CEO is a subsidiary of the IRC that offers participants access to a range of affordable financial products that can accelerate clients’ upward economic mobility.  Recently certified by the U.S. Treasury as a Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), the Center offers credit-building, auto, and business loans to low-income borrowers. 

Thanks to First Responders First, we've expanded mental health support for frontline workers like Wende, who teaches refugees in the U.S. English and job skills.

Volodymyr and his wife, Victoria, once hosted families fleeing other parts of Ukraine. But when war hit their hometown in February 2022, it was their turn to rebuild their life somewhere new. This is their story.

From Friday, March 13 and until further notice, the IRC’s offices in Tallahassee and Miami are closed and our staff is working remotely in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. We are adapting and continuing to serve our clients during this difficult time. Learn more about our COVID-19 response and how you can help refugees and survivors in Florida communities in our latest update.

On February 23, more than a dozen speakers testified before the Georgia House Higher Education Committee in favor of House Bill 932, a bill which would extend in-state tuition at Georgia public colleges and universities to refugees immediately upon resettlement, as opposed to the current one-year wait period. The bill would also apply to individuals who risked their lives to support the U.S. military overseas, including our Afghan allies who were evacuated last summer.