Annual Report
Annual Impact Report | May 2023 - May 2024
Telling a more accurate and more beautiful refugee story to Metro Atlanta and beyond.
Our Mission
Refuge Coffee believes in the power of welcome.
We work with and for our newcomer neighbors to remove barriers that inherently exist for refugees and immigrants, barriers that inhibit achieving equity, financial stability and independence, assimilation, participation in community, and overall flourishing in their new home.
“I am truly inspired by your mission and vision to use coffee as a platform for job training and personal development of resettled refugees and immigrants… I was proud to witness Refuge Coffee Company’s efforts to provide a sustainable job experience and a generous community of neighbors who consistently advocate for the success of refugees, while also gaining a deeper understanding of the refugee crisis. Keep up the great work, and thank you for the delicious latte – and for all you are doing for your community.”
– Antony Blinken, Secretary of State of the United States
community events
Projects
Details
Impact
Project
Barista job training program
Details
Our job training goal is to offer newly arrived immigrants and other refugees a place to breathe and dream.
Impact
Trainees gain essential job training, cultural education, and support for obtaining a step-up job upon program. Our commitment to a ‘competitive wage’ ensures graduates can earn a sustainable income and promotes financial stability.
Project
Hosting signature events
at our locations
Details
Our hosted events are intended to create opportunities to feature vendors and offer a fun, multi-ethnic comfortable gathering place.
Impact
This year we featured 197 local vendors at our events. Approximately 30% of the vendors were newcomer-owned small businesses or nonprofits which benefit newcomers.
Project
Partnering with other
local non-profits
Details
To serve, celebrate, beautify and grieve collectively with our Clarkston community.
Impact
We co-hosted 7 events with partners over the last year to widen our welcome to the city of Clarkston, “the most diverse square mile in the country”
and beyond.
Funding summary
Refuge Coffee has poured over half a millon dollars into our training program over the past 12 months.
“To me Refuge Coffee means many people coming from different countries making a family.”
– Sediqa, one of our amazing barista trainees
“Refuge Coffee means family to me. They are helpful and understand everything.”
– Hiyab, one of our amazing barista trainees
“Refuge was my first job in the United States and it really let me dream bigger. It set up a higher goal and helped me to start my own business. And Refuge represents a big side of my family business right now and it will be forever. It saved me time from having to figure everything out on my own, which time is the most valuable thing a human being owns. And I am proud to say I have a very successful business because of Refuge.”
– Ahmad, former Refuge Coffee trainee and catering manager, owner of Mint Coffeehouse, and a forever part of the Refuge Coffee family
“I moved to United States in April 2019. I started working with Refuge Coffee in September 2019 with no experience and without knowing how to speak English but they believed in me and hired me. I started working as a barista and did the job training program which helped me learn English and the culture. Job training is an amazing program that helped me with communication skills, language, the culture and see the beauty of Refuge Coffee. After I finished my job training program refuge coffee hired me as a supervisor and I took my GED here too! Refuge coffee helped me graduate with my GED and I became a Midtown location manager after that. While I was managing the shop I started my real estate license and became a realtor. I am so thankful for Refuge Coffee, the job training, the GED and for them being patient while I was trying to get my real estate license.”
– Danait H., previous manager of Refuge Coffee’s Norcross location
Since our origin, Refuge has served more than 1.2 million cups of coffee, including 155k in the last year.
Reflections from Kitti
This year, our Refuge Coffee leadership team has been marching to the beat of this refrain:
We are staying the course on our mission of welcome by building stability in a culture of learning.
This means most of our growth has been of the slow, steady variety. And sometimes, slow and steady—perhaps even more than fast and flashy—creates a culture of trust in the present and hope for the future.
And who doesn’t need hope? This is why, I venture to suggest, Refuge has been a hopeful landing place for so many. We continue to provide a place to stop, to breathe, and to notice hope. We do it very practically, with full-time income for hard work and with practical training. And we do it relationally, with friendships formed, networks shared, and celebrations staged. You do it with us, and for that we are so grateful!
