About:

 

The Center for New North Carolinians (CNNC) opened in 2001, after there was a noticeable influx of immigrants and refugees to the state.

 

A task force was already present, with its members mostly made up of social work majors and the UNCG chancellor at the time. Meetings originally took place in a living room, then moved, eventually finding its current main location on Gate City Blvd. under UNCG’s Lofts on Lee.

 

Today, the CNNC has three additional locations in Greensboro, all in areas with high concentrations of immigrants and refugees. The community centers are located in Glen Haven, Legacy Crossing and Oakwood Forest residential communities. The three additional locations have partnered with local nurses and social workers for free check-ups. For the children, each location offers tutoring services.

 

The community centers, including the main location, provide direct services for various immigrant and refugee needs including health, education, employment and social services. CNNC has several programs, all of which are listed on their main website. For each program’s description, click here.

 

The center does the work that cannot be fulfilled by resettlement agencies.

 

“We as an organization fill in some of those gaps and provide that support structure when other agencies no longer are able to,” said CNNC director, Holly Sienkiewicz, who explained that many resettlement agencies only work with immigrants for an average of 90 days.  

 

The director said that every year, in total, the organization assists over 2,000 immigrants and refugees.

 

Sienkiewicz said they do this by “making sure that they [immigrants and refugees] have access to the services they are eligible for, that they are not being discriminated against, and are receiving equitable treatment.”  

 

Sienkiewicz goes on to say the center helps many individual immigrants and refugees on a daily basis by assisting in successful transitions to the United States. “The fact that community members know that they have the support by an agency is really important,” she said.

 

A third of most immigrants and refugees moving to North Carolina reside in Guilford County, Sienkiewicz said.

 

Besides the center expanding, another major achievement is doing the equitable work they preach by having a diverse workforce of employees.

 

Six hundred volunteers help out at the center yearly, and they are consistently looking for more. Those that want to work with immigrants and refugees in the most diverse county in North Carolina must go through training and a mandatory background check. To find out specific ways you can help out, click here and contact the email listed on the page.

 

More information about CNNC can be found by visiting their website at the top of the page.