News from Atlanta, GA

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Atlanta is working alongside communities and partners to support Afghans living in Georgia and ensure a warm welcome for those families soon to arrive in the coming weeks and months.

On August 19, the Georgia House Study Committee on Innovative Ways to Maximize Global Talent convened for its first legislative meeting, commencing an important and exciting bipartisan initiative to maximize the economic contributions and workforce participation of our foreign-born neighbors here in Georgia.

The IRC in Atlanta's Community Health Response Manager, Dr. Omar Aziz, and the CORE Georgia DeKalb County vaccine team were featured on 11Alive news last week, along with community leader, Crispin Wilondja, and our friends at the Prevention Research Center at Georgia State University. We recently passed 7,000 vaccines provided!

The IRC in Atlanta was honored to host U.S. Deputy Secretary of State, Brian P. McKeon, and Senior Bureau Official for the Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, Nancy Izzo-Jackson, for a first-of-its-kind visit by the U.S. State Department to a local refugee resettlement community in honor of World Refugee Day!

The IRC in Atlanta is currently recruiting for our 2021-2022 AmeriCorps Service Members! We are looking for dedicated, motivated and service-driven individuals to join our team.

Each year on June 20—World Refugee Day—the world commemorates the strength, courage, and resilience of millions of refugees. At the IRC in Atlanta, we also take this time to celebrate the vast contributions that refugees have made to our state for more than 40 years and advocate for refugees, asylum seekers and the restoration of the U.S. refugee resettlement program.

It's our favorite time of year! The IRC in Atlanta’s Youth Futures, Connect 2 Success (C2S) and New Roots programs are celebrating our largest graduating class to date, with 72 IRC students graduating from high school in the Class of 2021! These seniors have shown incredible work ethic and dedication throughout their high school journey and have collectively earned over 120 college acceptances so far.

In addition to delicious, fresh falafel, Aleppo Kitchen offers a wide variety of Syrian food—including baklava, baba ghanoush, kofta, hummus, fattair and makdous! To experience and enjoy some of Barwin’s amazing dishes, you can visit one of her regular farmers market stalls around Atlanta.

On June 7, IRC team members, Christy, Robel and Tila, hosted a Facebook Live event to answer questions from young people in the community about the COVID vaccine and address myths, misinformation and frequently asked questions they have collected through their work with the IRC-CORE-DeKalb County COVID Response Team.

Last summer, you generously supported 25 dedicated DeKalb County high school students to commit more than 400 hours of their break to our virtual Ready, Set, College! summer camp. We are thrilled to report that as of May 2021, 100% of seniors who attended camp last year have been accepted to college! Please support a camper today and partner with our new American students as they pursue their educational goals and prepare for their bright futures.