International Rescue Committee

CONTACT:

162 Boylston Street, Suite 50
Boston, MA 02116
617-482-1154 x201
www.theirc.org/boston

Rita Kantarowski, regional resettlement director

DESCRIPTION:

This is Boston IRC’s 25th anniversary—time to celebrate the good it has done since 1979, when it opened to help resettle Vietnamese refugees streaming into this area. It is a local chapter of the international IRC, created in France in 1933 when Albert Einstein requested help for refugees fleeing from the Nazis. Today, IRC is the leader in its field, with programs in 28 countries and 24 U.S. cities. Boston IRC has assisted refugees from thirty ethnic groups; many of its staff are ex-refugees themselves so they know the issues from inside. They help 200-350 refugees and 200 asylees every year, and they have satellite offices in Worcester and Lowell. They provide every practical assistance you can think of, and then some, to help these exceptional, often heroic, individuals and families get settled, employed, and on the way to full participation in America. IRC is helping us to be a better society, based on “compassion, solidarity, and diversity”, with a rich awareness of our common humanity. Rita Kantarowsi, their Director, has been with Boston IRC since its beginning; she has won numerous humanitarian awards, and her 25th anniversary certainly merits your congratulatory and grateful support.

(2004: HUMAN SERVICES: Well-Being)