ICC can help you search and connect an international community or organization that best fits your interests. Read about international organizations in Atlanta below. Please visit Internship and Volunteer Opportunities for ways to get involved in these communities and organizations. The following organizations are dividing into six categories: Refugee and Immigrant Programs and Agencies; International Education; Asian Programs and Agencies; African Organizations; Latin American Programs and Agencies; Middle East Programs and Agencies.
Resources: Access Atlanta and Atlanta and the World section of the Atlanta Journal Constitution
Credit to "Globalizing Georgia; Atlanta Ethnicity Atlas and Multicultural Directory of Georgia 2003-2004." Duchon, D.A., Hallisey Hendric, Elaine, Walcott, Susan M., Kart, Jeremy S. Georgia State University. CARA Publications. 2003.
The Bridging the Gap Project, Inc. strives to improve the quality
of life in Georgia`s ethnically diverse communities by forming partnerships
that overcome cultural barriers and promote understanding between residents,
law enforcement, educators, and other service providers. Services include the
following: Interpretation / translation services,
Crisis intervention,
Working with at-risk youth and gang prevention,
Diversity Training and gang training,
Language-specific community education / orientation sessions,
Citizenship and English as a Second Language classes,
Immigration-related services, and
Technical assistance on cultural and foreign born issues.
Catholic Social Services, Inc. Migration and Refugee Services
Immigration Services at CSS assists immigrants who cannot pay for legal services and need representation in court in a three-state area.
Catholic Social Services Youth Program at Mision Catolica Nuestra Senora de las Americas will serve the needs of the youth by providing a safe and structured Youth Program for disadvantaged youth between the ages of 12-15 from diverse backgrounds and low-income statues in the Doraville area. Services will include homework assistance, reading improvement, development of youth leadership skills, access to technology, academic counseling, cultural enrichment activities and an emphasis on parental involvement. We will seek to provide one on one tutoring bu qualified tutors that we will recruit and train to encourage high-risk students to remain in school and pursue academic excellence.
A gathering place with recreation, education, and community building programs for the residents of Clarkston, the most ethnically diverse part of metro Atlanta. Three of the CCC's programs are the Senior Refugee Program, Youth Soccer Program, and the Health Promotor Program for Refugee Women. Gatherings at the CCC include ESL instruction as well as the monthly Clarkston Health Collaborative meetings. The Health Collaborative is a unique gathering of Clarkston residents, city stakeholders, and concerned citizens and agencies to discuss issues of Clarkston.
Emory has been very involved through the CCC and Health Collaborative. Emory has sent numerous interns to work on various projects. One undergraduate student from the Political Science department, 8 Kenneth Cole Fellows from OUCP, and 10 graduate students from the Candler School of Theology. See Emory in Clarkston for more details.
The Fund for Southern Communities is a public foundation that supports and unites organizations and donors working to create just and sustainable communities that are free of oppression and that embrace and celebrate all people. Through grantmaking and related activities the Fund fosters social change initiated by community-based groups in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina. Funds for Southern Community also provides volunteers for their grantees. Many grantees are organizations that work with immigrant and refugee populations.
Georgia Mutual Assistance Association Consortium (GMAAC)
GMAAC, a nonprofit organization, provides resources and after-school programming for refugee and immigrant youth at two locations, Clarkston and Stone Mountain Village. Their mission states: We seek to aide in the transition our youth must make - not merely from one country and culture to another, but from childhood to adulthood. By providing a safe environment in which both diversity and discovery are celebrated, we strive to instill in our children a respect for learning, as well as for other, which will give them the confidence they need to excel, both in school and in life.
International Rescue Committee
IRC of Atlanta is a non-profit, non-sectarian refugee resettlment agency dedicated to working together with legally admitted refugees to assist them in rebuilding lives and reuniting families in the greater Atlanta area. A committed staff of professionals and volunteers provide essential resettlment services to refugee families including basic necessities, education, employment, social services and advocacy.
Jewish Family Career Services International Services
The JF&CS International Services have worked with immigrants, refugees and asylees from over 75 different countries and 5 continents, assisting individuals and families in becoming self-sufficient in the United States. As a non-profit, non-sectarian agency we offer resettlement, employment servcies, vocational training,English language training, support for healthy families, translation services, citizenship preparation, information and referral, and ongoing case management.
Neighborhood Development Intern Project
The Neighborhood Development Internship project screens and places student interns with neighborhood groups in low income areas to work on specific projects that increase the neighborhood group's capacity and provide the student with practical knowledge in neighborhood development and urban issues. The project partners include the United Way of Metropolitan Atlanta, the Community Housing Resource Center, Emory University, Agnes Scott College, Georgia Institute of Technology, Morris Brown College, Spelman College, Morehouse College, Clark Atlanta University, and Georgia State University. United Way raises funds for the internships. The Community Housing Resource Center, a community-based organization, recruits project descriptions, helps to facilitate matches with students recommended by the academic representatives, makes connections and provides technical assistance to the neighborhood groups.
Refugee Family Services, a nonprofit agency located in Clarkston, GA, helps refugee women and children regain self-sufficiency through education, economic opportunities and direct support. Our Youth Program serves 200+ Somali, Sudanese, Kurdish, Vietnamese, and Bosnian youth each year through a variety of programs, including One-to-One tutoring, After School, Summer Camp, and enrichment activities. We have countless opportunities for interns wanting to make a significant impact in the lives of refugee youth.
RWN empowers women to serve and strength their own communities and resolve their own issues. They have 4 programs: leadership Training, Microenterprise and Microloans, Health Promoter Training, and Advocacy. Their clients are refugee and immigrant women in the US.
Cary Reynolds Elementary School
Cary Reynolds is Georgia's most international public elementary school with 30 different languages spoken in the school. Emory's International Community Connections has a formal educaitonal partnership with Cary Reynolds. Visit our site about Cary Reynolds for more information.
The Carter Center, in partnership with Emory University, is guided by a fundamental commitment to human rights and the alleviation of human suffering; it seeks to prevent and resolve conflicts, enhance freedom and democracy, and improve health. A nonprofit organization, The Carter Center was founded by former US President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn Carter, in 1982. The Center is dedicated to resolving conflicts, promoting democracy, and fighting disease, hunger, poverty and oppression throughout the world.
International Community School
The International Community (DeKalb County Charter) School provides refugee, immigrant and local children with a remedial to advanced international education at the elementary school level. The school explores and celebrates cultural differences in a challenging, nurturing and intentionally multi-ethnic environment. The students represent 30 countries and over 40 different language groups. Approximately half are refugee/immigrant children, and the remainder are native born. Students follow the Georgia Quality Core Curriculum (QCC) within the framework of the International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program. A challenging international program., the IBPYP enables students to employ an investigative, inquiry-based approach to learning.
Association of Chinese Professionals
As the largest Chinese professional talent association in Atlanta, U.S., the Association of Chinese Professionals (ACP) is an independently registered, non-political, non-profit professional organization. ACP promotes cultural, economical, and technological cooperation and exchange between the US and China by encouraging its members' active involvement and by providing services and opportunities for friendship, networking, and collaborations among its members and between members and their communities. The most members of ACP have Master or Doctorate degree in science, engineering, art, education, law, medicine, business administration, and other areas. Most of them work in companies of small to large size, holding managerial, research, and development positions. These characteristics provide a unique opportunity for the members and communities alike to benefit from this pool of talent. ACP hosts programs and activities.
Center for Pan-Asian Community Services, Inc. (CPACS)
Center for Pan Asian Community Services, Inc. (CPACS) is a
private non-profit organization. Its clear mission is to create comprehensive
and culturally competent social and health services to counter-act problems
that immigrant, refugee, and minority face. As the first and the only pan-Asian
service providing agency in the region, CPACS was first initiated by a cadre
of Korean immigrants in the Greater Atlanta area in 1980 as the Korean Community
Service Center. Due mainly to its drastically increased service categories
and demands from the Asian American community, the organization changed its
name to the Korean American Community Service Center of the Greater Atlanta
Inc., in 1992, and expanded its programs and outreached to include other
ethnic Asian Americans. As a result, the agency was nely named in 1997: Center
for Pan Asian Community Service Inc. Founded under the concept that "people
need people," CPACS is in its 23rd year of services to Asian Pacific
Islander communities in the Greater Atlanta area and the rest of the Southeast
region in the United States.
Chinese Business Association of Atlanta
Chinese Business Association of Atlanta (CBAA) is a non-profit
organization (a 501 (c) organization) founded in 1992 and has over 200 members.
CBAA missions include: Assisting its members starting businesses in the U.S.
by creating a business network and passing business opportunities to its
members; Helping the local economic development by attracting business
opportunities and investments from China to the Atlanta area;
Aiding America companies to do businesses with and open business market in
China;
Promoting the cultural understanding and exchange between the U.S. and China.
CBAA is not directly involved in any specific business deals and contracts.
CBAA acts as a communication channel between the U.S. and China by relaying
requests from both sides to its members as well as by drawing resources,
expertise, and Chinese connections from its members.
National Association for Chinese Americans
The National Association of Chinese-Americans (NACA) is dedicated
to the advancement of cordial relationships between the United States and
China. It is a non-profit organization, which was founded in 1977 by Dr.
Cheng Ning Yang, a Nobel laureate in Physics. It's initial objective was
to assist in achieving and promoting full diplomatic recognition between
these two countries. The Atlanta Chapter of NACA has continued to organize
and sponsor activities that bring together Chinese dignitaries, local Georgia
government officials
as well as community and business leaders. NACA's mission has been as a facilitator
to promote cultural, educational, scientific and business relationships between
these parties. It also strongly encourages Chinese-Americans to participate
in the American political process while preserving Chinese heritage in the
American culture.
African Community Refugee Center
The Center provides a variety of support services including orientation, immigration and health for people of African descent. The Center also has a microloan program.
3701 College Avenue
Clarkston, GA 30021
404-297-7588
Georgie Somali Community Inc.
Georgia Somali Community provides Social Adjustment, Immigration and Naturalization assistance, Youth Development programs, Adult Education, Information and Referral, Support for Healthy Families, Job Development assisting small business, and families' conflict resolution.
3662 Market Street, Suite 213
Clarkston, GA 30021
Tel:
404-292-1113
Sagal Radio Services builds community by engaging, educating, and empowering new Americans through radio programming broadcast in their native language. Sagal Radio Services caters to the East African community in metro Atlanta, whose numbers exceed 10,000. Most of these new Americans arrived in the United States as refugees and our program was established to serve this unique community.
Consulado General de Mexico en Atlanta
The Consulate General of Mexico provides assistance and protection to Mexican nationals; issuance of passports, consular identifications "matriculas consulares," and military cards; civil registration of birth and marriage; powers of attorney and the issuance of visas to foreigners to enter Mexico. They also provide information on all the activities organized by the Program of the Mexican Communities Abroad, which includes education, sports, and cultural promotion with the Mexicans who live in our jurisdiction.
Growing up can be difficult. Growing up in a new culture can be even more of a challenge. The Girl Scout's Hermanitas component is helping Hispanic girls overcome these challenges with activities that increase pride in their culture, lessons in identifying goals, activities that instill self-confidence, and fun activities such as outdoor adventures and camping. You can volunteer and be a troop leader. Contact Lourdes Fusaro at 404-527-7546 or by email at lfusaro@girlsoutsnwga.org.
Girl Scout Council of Northwest Georgia, Inc.
1577 Northeast Expressway
Atlanta, GA 30329
404-527-7500
The Latin American Association provides transitional services and development programs to the Latino community, fosters awareness about contributions of Latinos, and promotes solutions that benefit the larger society. Their seven departments include: Family Services, Housing Services, Youth Services, Employment Services, Immigration Services, Education and Language Services, and Computer Classes.
Latin American and Caribbean Studies Program at Emory
The Program in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (LACS) is designed to promote a multidisciplinary understanding of the culture, history, and contemporary issues in Latin America and the Caribbean. It offers a flexible undergraduate major and minor and a Graduate Student Forum that includes dissertation reading groups, lectures and seminars. Activities and programs are regularly updated on the LACS website.
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC)
AFSC is a Quaker non-profit peace, social justice and humanitarian organization established in 1917. AFSC has several different programs and projects around the world. One of their programs is the Middle East Peace Education Program that began in 1976, focusing primarily on the Israeli-Arab conflict, particularly in relation to Israel and the Palestinians. During the mid-1990s MEPEP began work on Iraq addressing sanctions, regional disarmament, and the impact of war. Currently, their efforts also encompass coalition work on emerging civil liberties concerns since the advent of the Patriot Act and Homeland Security.
Help Increase the Peace (HIP) Program is a series of workshops that teach participants skills in non-violent conflict resolution, communication, prejudice awareness and reduction, positive leadership, and community building through activities.
Note: Althought AFSC is a Quaker, faith-based organization, its staff and volunteers come from many different religious and non-religious backgrounds.