This National Volunteer Week, communities across the country partner with the IRC to welcome and empower refugees, asylum seekers, and survivors of trafficking. In these turbulent times, collective support and dedicated service means more than ever.

Luis met his wife Ana forty years ago through mutual friends. They quickly fell in love and started a family. Their happy family was soon divided when the effects of the civil war and devastating earthquakes crippled the economy in El Salvador, leading Luis to being laid off from his job and unable to find work. No longer able to provide for his family, he decided to make the long and dangerous journey to the U.S in search of work. 17 years later, his wife and daughter were finally able to join him.

November 25th marks the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, and kicks off the campaign 16 Days of Activism against Gender Based Violence. IRC-LA staff member and Gender Equality champion, Carly Boos, shares what it means to be a part of an organization committed to ending gender-based violence 365 days out of the year.

Maryam Zar, IRC volunteer, shares her experience teaching a group of resilient, diverse, and determined women as an IRC Citizenship Class instructor - and as an Iranian born American herself.

Since 2018, the IRC in Denver has offered financial capability services to refugee clients through the Financial Capability for New Americans program (FC4NA). Thanks to the generous support of Wells Fargo and other funders, this program has been invaluable to many families financially impacted by the pandemic.

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!

IRC's innovative Academic Coach program met the COVID-19 crisis for New York students with generosity and resilience.

Olga Ngalula was a financial officer and local seamstress in the Democratic Republic of Congo before being forced to flee her country. Olga and her family were resettled in the United States in August of 2015 and began rebuilding their lives in the greater Atlanta area.