Frazer Center has received a $25,000 grant from Truist Foundation to support the continuation and expansion of our Refugee Intern Program.

“We are honored and thrilled to receive this grant from the Truist Foundation,” says Frazer Center CEO Paige McKay Kubik. “Our paid internship program provides a path for women who have had to uproot their lives and start anew here in the United States.”

In the midst of the Covid pandemic, and in response to a national hiring crisis in the early education sector, Frazer Center began a partnership with Refugee Women’s Network, a nonprofit in Decatur, to identify and support refugee women who were interested in becoming early childhood educators. By the end of the program, the interns gain hands-on experience, a solid foundation in English as a second language, and they are positioned to earn their Child Development Associate certificate.

Two intern cohorts have completed the program, and 17 refugee women are now full-time Frazer employees, exponentially diversifying and enriching Frazer’s teaching staff. Planning is underway for a third cohort, with the generous Truist Foundation grant providing salary support for the interns as they spend 12 weeks learning in classrooms side-by-side with veteran Frazer Center teachers. 

“We are so grateful to Truist Foundation for recognizing the value of this program,” says Kubik. “it's a win-win-win—for Frazer, for our children and families, and for the refugee women.”

Thank you, Truist Foundation!

About Truist Foundation:

Truist Foundation is committed to Truist Financial Corporation’s (NYSE: TFC) purpose to inspire and build better lives and communities. Established in 2020, the foundation makes strategic investments in nonprofit organizations to help ensure the communities it serves have more opportunities for a better quality of life. Truist Foundation’s grants and activities focus on building career pathways to economic mobility and strengthening small businesses. Learn more at Truist.com/Foundation.