Upwardly Global, a national program that promotes the hiring of immigrants and refugees, put our successful Professional Pathways program in the spotlight! Sponsored by the NYS Office of New Americans, Professional Pathways helps high-skilled refugees and immigrants re-enter their careers or continue in higher education. Our partnership with Upwardly Global bolsters our mission, providing additional expertise and services. Denise Beehag,…
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Representatives from Gilbane Building Company recently stopped by our Delaware Avenue location this week to brighten the season for a New American Family. They dropped off a large gift package with multiple snow shovels, a vacuum, blankets, and a television. It's all part of our Gifts for Good Neighbors program to help our city's newest neighbors integrate into the community…
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Jennifer Ulrich, IIB's Lead Coordinator of Interpreting and Translation, represented the International Institute of Buffalo in voting for expanded language access in New York during a Partnership for the Public Good meeting to select 2024 community agenda proposals. The proposal, represented in Plank 15, was submitted by the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC) and focuses on leveling the field when…
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In case you missed it, Executive Director Jennifer Rizzo-Choi spoke to WKBW-TV anchor Michael Wooten on set Tuesday about the life-saving winter weather information we now offer in 13 different languages. She explained why it’s so important to extend a helping hand to new neighbors who may be experiencing their first-ever winter season. From buzzwords like “lake effect” to having…
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Executive Director Jennifer Rizzo-Choi Speaks with WBFO's Jay Moran on our work of assisting new people to the region, dispelling the myths and perceptions regarding refugees and discusses the work conducted by the institute. In case you missed it, IIB Executive Director Jennifer Rizzo-Choi recently spoke with WBFO's Jay Moran on the program, What's Next? In the wide-ranging interview, Rizzo-Choi…
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For the second year IIB staff and volunteers teamed up with Parkside Lutheran Church to provide a Thanksgiving-style dinner for 50 newly arrived Americans and survivor clients. The guests hail from Afghanistan, Burma, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea, Ecuador, Iraq, Myanmar, Syria, and Venezuela. For many, it was their first-ever Thanksgiving meal. "We serve foreign-born people who…
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In case you missed it, WGRZ TV featured our winter weather preparation instructions, now offered in 13 languages. Last winter we first debuted our increased language access to assist our newly arrived neighbors in nine languages. You can click here to watch WGRZ's full feature. The City of Good Neighbors is well known for its penchant for helping each other…
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Ten Thousand Villages, Buffalo, wants to help welcome our newest neighbors in Western New York by accepting donations to support our important work of resettling local refugees as they start their new lives. Ten Thousand Villages will accept donations of basic household items and winter clothing, including jackets, gloves, and hats. Other items needed include bathroom cleaner, 13-gallon trash bags,…
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We were honored to have welcomed 50 New Americans from 26 countries while they took their citizenship oaths at the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services Naturalization Ceremony in Buffalo this week. The countries from which these new American citizens traveled are: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Brazil, Burma, Canada, Congo, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Jamaica, Jordan, Kenya, Lebanon, Mauritania, Moldova, Netherlands, Peru, Philippines, Russia,…
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Thom Tran In July 1980, Thom Tran and his family came to the United States as refugees from Vietnam when he was an infant. His father was a South Vietnamese Air Force pilot who escaped a POW camp. After Saigon fell, the Tran family made it to a refugee camp in Thailand. Soon after that, St. Aloysius Gonzaga Church in…
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