You can find the PDF version here.
Dear Friends,
Another year has come and gone here at the Center for New North Carolinians (CNNC). We stayed busy serving the Greater Greensboro immigrant and refugee communities with each of our programs: AmeriCorps ACCESS Project, the Community Centers, Interpreter ACCESS Project, Immigrant Health ACCESS Project, Immigration Services, and Thriving at Three.
This year we celebrated two individuals–Khouan Rodriguez and Kathy Hinshaw–as they entered their 22nd and 20th year, respectively, at the CNNC. Their dedication and service is invaluable.
We also welcomed several new members to the CNNC family including Jenna Richardson, AmeriCorps ACCESS Program Coordinator; Xuem Siu, Immigrant Health ACCESS Project Services Coordinator; Grecia Navarro, Thriving at Three Program Interim Coordinator; and Allyson Crickenberger, Oakwood Forest and Glen Haven Program Coordinator.
We hope you enjoy this report as we reflect on the year.
Thank you to all of our interns, volunteers and supporters who help make our work possible.
Sincerely,
The CNNC Staff
Celebrating 20+ years with the CNNC
This year, we celebrated two staff members–Khouan Rodriquez and Kathy Hinshaw–who have been part of the CNNC for 20+ years. Both Khouan and Kathy have been foundational in the development and evolution of the CNNC.
During the summer of 2000, Dr. Raleigh Bailey, the founder of the CNNC, hired Khouan (pictured right) part-time to provide administrative support to the AmeriCorps staff. In 2004, she was hired to be the coordinator of the ACCESS project and eventually promoted to program director. Khouan has since remained in this position, making her the longest serving AmeriCorps program director in North Carolina. Read more about Khouan’s time with the CNNC here.
Kathy Hinshaw (pictured left) also celebrated her 20th year with the CNNC. Kathy started her career with the CNNC’s Immigrant Health ACCESS Project (IHAP). Through her twenty years of working with the CNNC, Kathy has learned the value of actively listening to concerns and issues of others in order to develop an effective plan of action. Doing so allowed Kathy to successfully implement several programs with the CNNC which have since evolved to include the Community Centers, the Interpreter ACCESS Project, Thriving at Three, and Immigration Services. Learn more about Kathy here.
Notable Donations
A special thank you to all of those who made kind, thoughtful, and generous donations to the CNNC. We are truly grateful for all of our supporters! We would like to give special recognition to Dr. Tom Martinek, a professor in the Kinesiology Department at UNC-Greensboro who gave a generous donation to the CNNC Community Center. Dr. Martinek has been a community-engaged scholar since the CNNC’s early days of inception when Dr. Raleigh Bailey was the director. He has been valuable in the evolution of CNNC programs, especially with Project Effort and the development of the CNNC Community Centers. Learn more about Dr. Martinek here!
New Partnerships
This year, we established eight new partnerships including with NCWorks Youth Summer Jobs, YMCA Youth Advocacy, Westover Church, Backpack Beginning, and Pinnacle Financial for UMOJA.
The CNNC also partnered with the New Arrivals Institute to provide assistance with naturalization and citizenship.
Professional Development and Trainings
Members of the CNNC staff provided and attended a total of 4 training sessions, presented at 6 conferences, and gave 18 presentations at K-12 schools, colleges and universities, and community centers. CNNC staff guest lectured and presented in classes in the Guilford County School District, at UNCG, Guilford Technical Community College, Elon University, among others. CNNC staff also provided trainings on mental health and trauma informed care.
CNNC staff members also presented at the Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) annual conference and co-sponsored roundtables with the League of Women Voters Immigration Policy.
The CNNC Receives Funding
The CNNC received grants from 6 different organizations, agencies, and foundations to support and fund services for interpretation, internships, immigration and naturalization applications, and childhood development.
In September, the CNNC was awarded the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Citizenship and Integration Grant with our partners at the New Arrivals Institute. This grant will provide funding to help prepare immigrants for naturalization with classes and free legal services. Read the full press release here!
Also in September, the CNNC’s Thriving at Three Program and Immigration Services were named as grant recipients and participants in the second cohort of Ready for School, Ready for Life Continuous Quality Improvement Process. Read the complete press release here!
The AmeriCorps ACCESS Program also received a grant of $2232,778 to continue its operations.
The CNNC Fellows Collaborate with AmeriCorps
Two CNNC Fellows–Dr. Jeremy Rinker, a faculty member at UNC-Greensboro, and Dr. Christian Matheis, a faculty member at Guilford College offered training to our AmeriCorps members on Cross-Cultural Diversity, Inclusion, and Conflict Resolution.
AmeriCorps is supported by a grant from the North Carolina Commission on Volunteerism and Community Service in the Office of Governor Roy Cooper.
Success Stories
AmeriCorps–“I helped a client fill out an application for employment…She returned several times because she had difficulty understanding several emails she was receiving about her application. I read the emails and told her… [there] were some…steps she had to complete in order to get an interview. She recently returned to tell me that after much paperwork, interviews, and HR steps, she was offered the position and has already started working! She was excited to share this news with me and very grateful for her new job, which she describes as ‘amazing’!” –Fredy Jonathan Morales-Perez
Interns— “As a future educator, the act of planning and leading the children helped me step into my teacher identity more so than ever before.” –Miski Zuniga-Carrera
Read more about the value of CNNC interns here.
Community Centers— “Providing services from clients’ neighborhoods is a privilege…. We walk to the center and get what we need. The staff and volunteers are always nice. We can’t thank them enough for teaching our kids. I don’t know what I would do without them because I am not able to help my kids with their school work. The center helps me with my everyday needs. I got my current job thanks to the AmeriCorps member who looked for the job for me, helped me prepare for interview and supported me throughout. We are very thankful for all the services, food, educational sessions provided, [and] parents’ support…” –Community Center Family Member
Ashley Loper-Nowak
Graduate Assistant