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Kresge grantees among organizations supporting immigrants

Arts & Culture, Health, Human Services

With immigration forefront among issues facing the U.S., those wishing to learn more about supporting immigrants can do so with the help of many organizations, including the following Kresge grantees:

ACCESS – The organization was founded in 1971 to help Arab immigrants as they adapted to life in America. A grant from Kresge’s Human Services Program funds strategic expansion of the National Network for Arab American Communities, a national organization that strengthens Arab American community-based organizations seeking to address local and national issues. ACCESS offers a variety of services, including social and immigration services, community health and research, employment and training, education and youth development. Visit www.accesscommunity.org

Achieving The Dream – The national nonprofit network of higher education institutions, advisers, policymakers, investors and partners works to help more than 4 million community college students in 35 states and the District of Columbia to get into and graduate from college, especially first-generation and low-income students, as well as students of color. Visit achievingthedream.org

Communidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio – CLUES was funded with vision to improve the quality of life of the Latino population in Minnesota through community building. The organization serves primarily the Latino community, but also reaches out to low-income and immigrant populations. A grant from Kresge’s Human Services Program supports service delivery for families, expansion of community and neighborhood development activities in Latino communities. Visit www.clues.org

 Community College Consortium for Immigrant Education – Hosted by the Westchester Community College Foundation Inc., the center creates and implements programs to advance immigrant student success. Visit cccie.org

Jewish Vocational Services – JVS’ mission is to empower individuals from diverse communities to find employment and build careers, and to partner with employers to hire, develop and retain productive workforces. Its core values are learning, partnership, quality, respect and social justice. JVS was founded in 1938 during the Great Depression to assist Jewish immigrants struggling to enter the American workforce and support their families. Most of the participants need job skills and have low incomes; many are recent immigrants. A grant from Kresge’s Human Services Program supports organizational effectiveness. Visit www.jvs-boston.org

The National Alliance for Hispanic Health – The alliance represents one of the largest and networks of human services providers in the nation operating mainly in urban communities across the U.S. A recent grant from Kresge’s Human Services Program supports efforts to advocate to the new federal administration for key priorities in health and human services as well as for capital to expand services. Visit www.hispanichealth.org

Mission Economic Development Association – Founded in 1973, the mission of MEDA is to achieve economic justice for San Francisco’s low- to moderate-income Latino families through asset development. A Human Services Program grant builds on previous Kresge support to provide resources to strengthen MEDA’s organizational effectiveness and resilience, including plans to hire a chief operating officer; support additional organizational development efforts addressing staff leadership, retention, and pipeline; bolster evaluation capacity; and enhance financing and sustainability planning. Visit www.medasf.org

Center for Victims of Torture – The nation’s leading rehabilitation center for torture survivors works to heal the wounds of torture on individuals, their families and communities and to stop torture worldwide. A Human Services grant supports a research project to evaluate a partnership with Health East Roselawn to provide mental health services for refugees with serious mental illness. Visit www.cvt.org

National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development – The coalition of 16 organizations, mostly community development corporations, was formed in 1999 to promote and support members’ ability to conduct community development activities in low-income Asian-American Pacific-Islander neighborhoods. Those activities include affordable housing, workforce and business development, community empowerment, cultural activities and social services. Over time, the coalition has expanded to approximately 100 members in 19 states and the Pacific Islands. It is the first and only AAPI-focused housing counseling intermediary for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Visit www.nationalcapacd.org

La Mujer Obrera – The El Paso, Texas-based local, independent organization is dedicated to creating communities defined by women. The organization was founded in 1981 by garment workers and Chicana activists. A grant from Kresge’s FreshLo initiative, a cross-team effort of the Arts & Culture and Health programs, provides support for La Mujer Obrera to complete a multi-pronged strategic business plan to retool and accelerate existing neighborhood food-based initiatives. Visit www.mujerobrera.org