As we celebrate the Thanksgiving holiday, it’s the perfect time to reflect on our year and recount the many reasons we are grateful. We’ve welcomed more than 1,500 arrivals to Atlanta over the past 12 months. These include refugees and humanitarian entrants from Afghanistan, Ukraine, Haiti, Cuba, Venezuela, Burma, Syria, Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and many other places around the world where people have been forced to flee because of war, persecution, or violence. This is an unprecedented milestone for New American Pathways, as we resettled more people than at any time in our organization’s history. Not only have we provided a warm welcome to 1,500+ new arrivals, we have served thousands more refugees and immigrants who are already living here in metro Atlanta, with a continuum of programs and services to ensure that new Americans achieve self-sufficiency, success, and service back to their community.
Here are just a few of our accomplishments in 2023:
- 231 people were placed in jobs with an average wage of $16/hour
- 245 students were enrolled in our Bright Futures elementary and middle school afterschool program
- 84% of students enrolled in afterschool programming showed academic improvement over the course of the year
- 278 citizenship applications were submitted – 98% of these clients were granted citizenship.
- 2,089 new Americans registered to vote
- 99 families were provided with early childhood learning support through our Parents as Teachers program.
- 108 women participated in our Women’s Economic Empowerment program.
All of this would not be possible without the support of our donors, volunteers and partners. We have a wonderful community who answers the call when we need assistance and who cares deeply about the refugees and immigrants we serve. At our tenth annual Red, White & New gala that happened earlier this month, we raised $305,264—the most money we’ve ever brought in at this event! We are incredibly grateful to our presenting sponsor, Georgia Natural Gas and to all of our sponsors, table hosts, benefactors, patrons, attendees, auction bidders and paddle raisers who made the event so successful. But with arrivals continuing to increase, we anticipate the coming year to be even busier. And thus, our needs to be even greater. We have opportunities to get involved year-round, with a significant way to contribute happening right now. We are participating in GAGives on #Giving Tuesday, which takes place on Tuesday, November 28th. We know our supporters will once again show up for us by donating on the day of giving.
Here at New American Pathways we firmly believe in answering the humanitarian call to help those in search of safety and a better life for themselves and their families. We’re grateful to have been able to assist so many refugees and immigrants by providing much-needed services to those who arrived this year and those who were already in Georgia. Thank you for supporting our mission and helping us make Georgia a more welcoming place for refugees and immigrants. Happy Holidays and best wishes for a peaceful, productive, and prosperous New Year.