With Santa Clara County seeing a continued upward trend in daily positivity rates for COVID-19, IRC San Jose has remained in full-remote work since mid-March. As we delved deeper into the summer of 2020, this reality made us question the future of Vision 2.0: Summer Job Academy (hereinafter referred to as Vision). Vision is an immigrant-female empowerment workshop aimed at allowing participants to learn about different career paths, to reflect on their personal goals, and to work towards envisioning themselves achieving their goals. Read further to see how we navigated the barriers posed by COVID-19 to still offer this workshop this summer!

After fleeing the war in Syria, a woman grabs a chance to restart her family’s beekeeping business in Jordan.

Pride month is celebrated every June, in remembrance of the Stonewall Riots, a series of gay liberation protests that took place in New York City in 1969. This commemorative month recognizes the impact that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex (LGBTQI+) people have had locally, nationally, and internationally, while also illuminating some of the key issues persisting for this community, in order to prompt change and work towards safety and inclusion for everyone. 

Lorayne and her wife started their own business in Mexico City with support from the Resilient Futures program, a partnership between the International Rescue Committee and Citi Foundation. Read Lorayne's story.

More than 224 million school-aged children are affected by crises globally. Find out more.

RYSA, now the Newcomer Youth Summer Academy (NYSA), welcomes dozens of Peer Mentors as key team members each year. Alice, a Peer Mentor for RYSA 2020 - a virtual and unusual year - offers her reflections below. Inspired? Volunteer with NYSA 2021

For more than 20 years, the IRC has been breaking down barriers that prevent gender-based violence survivors from disclosing violence and seeking services. We continue to work in areas that need it the most, which are characterized by insecurity, displacement and weak health systems.

Students were excited to make new friends and join the fun at this summer’s 23rd annual Newcomer Youth Summer Academy (NYSA)! This year's NYSA ran for five weeks from July 11 to August 16.  

The IRC’s integrated network of support for early childhood programming ensures that babies and young children are receiving appropriate health and nutrition, cared for by nurturing and consistent caregivers in a safe and supportive environment, developing essential cognitive and social and emotional skills, and engaging in play and early learning experiences.

The IRC’s enterprise development and employment (EDE) programs prepare crisis-affected populations for employment and self-employment opportunities, support the growth and creation of businesses, improve people’s skills, and increase people’s access to financial services.