Thank you for your interest in the IRC in Silver Spring. We are celebrating our fifth year as the lead organization of the Suburban Washington Resettlement Center (SWRC) in Silver Spring, Maryland – the innovative, client centered ‘one stop shop,’ housing a number of partners that form a mosaic of important services for refugees and asylees in and around our nation’s capitol. We are deeply indebted to the Maryland Office for Refugees and Asylees (MORA) for their continued leadership and support of the work of the SWRC.
The SWRC partnership includes the following organizations:
• Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area
• Baltimore City Community College
• Maryland Department of Human Resources
• The Ethiopian Community Development Council
• The Montgomery County Refugee Training Center (offsite)
• Montgomery County Department of Health and Human Services
The wonderful staff of the IRC work tirelessly to bring recently arrived refugees ‘from harm to home’, offering a variety of services to individuals from countries as diverse as Iraq, Bhutan, Burma, Congo, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Cameroon, and others. Those services include reception, asylee programs, employment services, interpreter training, immigration services, public health, and much more. I invite you to search our website to learn more about who we serve and how we serve them, and to contact me should you wish to help us in our mission.
What could be more inherently American than opening our arms and welcoming those who flee conflict zones and political and religious persecution? Our refugee and asylee clients inspire us every day with their determination, courage, and dedication to starting a new life in what can be the most challenging of circumstances. We are truly proud to help them, and we hope that you will join us through your gift of time, goods, or funds.
Sincerely,
David Godsted, Executive Director
The IRC in Silver Spring
