What We Believe January 30, 2008
Our Vision
The vision of the Refugee and Immigrant Family Center is to ensure that all refugee, immigrant, and low income families are healthy, self-sufficient, and committed to self improvement.
Our Mission
The Refugee and Immigrant Family Center’s mission is to provide culturally appropriate and relevant services to assist and empower refugees, immigrants and low income families to have healthy and successful lives in their communities.
Our Values
In all aspects of education and service delivery, the Refugee and Immigrant Family Center values:
• Family
• Education
• Community
• Support
• Diversity
• Self-Reliance
Our Strengths
The great value of the RIFC rests in its deep knowledge of education, cultural, and social service issues and its established roots in the White Center community. Our strengths include:
A highly educated staff: Teachers trained in early childhood education, teaching, and the needs of young and adult students.
Strong cultural sensitivity: We house a culturally competent and bilingual/bicultural staff; they have the use of five languages amongst the staff; program design is flexible and adaptable to cultural needs; and family support programs offer diverse options for social services.
Superior programs: The Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program (ECEAP), English as a Second Language (ESL), New Americans 101, and Computer Literacy programs offer quality education and training for children and adults.
Strong community partnerships: The RIFC has links with other Seattle organizations to offer programs and it maintains strong relationships with social service, professional development, advocacy, and informational institutions and forums. With 12 years in the White Center community, RIFC maintains a strong reputation locally and in the broader Seattle community. The RIFC has become the model ECEAP program in the City of Seattle and was profiled in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer for its past success and future opportunity with the ELN program. The extensive knowledge available at the Center about immigration and refugee laws and rights has brought additional focus on the organization.
