News from Atlanta, GA

Thanks to your support, the IRC in Atlanta’s “Ready, Set, College!” summer camp was able to provide eight weeks of SAT tutoring, college readiness workshops and action-packed field trips to more than 20 local high school students, preparing them to gain admission to college and succeed in higher education and beyond!

Yaser, Barwin and their five young children arrived in Atlanta in April 2016 through the refugee resettlement program, after being forced to flee their home in Aleppo, Syria. A master tailor with a reputation for incredible wedding dresses, Yaser ran his own business in Syria and was eager to rebuild his career in America.

On August 18, Atlanta Women’s Foundation member Betsy Vos Reeves organized a Backpacks and Barbeque event to support young refugees starting school for the first time in America.

Separated from his family as he fled persecution in his native Burma, Maung spent six months in Thailand before ending up in a refugee camp in Malaysia. He lived alone in the camp for the next eight years—almost losing hope—before he was finally selected for resettlement in the United States.

The IRC in Atlanta is proud to partner with Just Bakery of Atlanta, a nonprofit organization that trains, certifies and employs local refugees to make and sell a delicious selection of pastries, bread and other baked goods!

The IRC in Atlanta’s Microenterprise Development program recently provided its first small business loan to Mohammad, originally from Syria, who is now the proud owner of The Best Works Auto Care Center in Roswell.

The IRC in Atlanta is thrilled to announce that our English Literacy and Civics program is now offering free evening classes to the community on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 6pm-9pm at Clarkston Community Center.

The IRC in Atlanta is currently seeking a temporary New Roots Associate to work part time, 15 hours per week, from September to December. 

On June 23, the IRC in Atlanta's Community Integration program—in partnership with Catholic Charities Atlanta and New American Pathways—hosted a free citizenship workshop as part of the ongoing efforts of the New Americans Campaign.

This summer, members of the IRC's Youth Leadership Team—a group of young refugees working to promote access to reproductive health services in Clarkston—partnered with VOX ATL to speak out on the issues affecting their communities and share their experiences of life in Atlanta.