Statements

Mission

Nations Ministry Center, as an instrument of God's grace in welcoming refugees and immigrants to Middle Tennessee, helps refugee families become generationally successful through youth development and literacy advancement, family services, and our Road to Citizenship.

Background

On April 15, 2002, nine Presbyterians met to consider how to better serve Nashville's growing refugee and immigrant populations. In January 2003 we opened the doors of the Nations Ministry Center at Tennessee Villages Apartments on Tennessee Avenue. Since that time, we have significantly expanded our programs and services and now operate in three locations. Our programming is designed to address the critical needs of the refugee communities in Middle Tennessee. NMC assists newly arrived families in their efforts to become self sufficient - economically, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Our programs focus on three key areas: Youth Development and Literacy, Family, and Road to Citizenship services. FamilyThey also must maintain their legal status through applying for a green card after being in the US for one year. We provide those services since we are recognized by the Department of Justice Office of Legal Access Programs to offer immigration legal services. Youth Development and Literacy--targeted individualized tutoring through an on-line training program called Lexia, after-school tutoring, homework help, and summer reading programRefugee children are usually placed in their grade according to their age and not their ability. This gap creates a situation which is often impossible to overcome without outside intervention. We help refugee children become measurably better readers through individual subscriptions to Lexia, a Rosetta Stone owned company which provides literacy development software. We also provide homework help and an intensive summer reading program to prevent summer reading loss. In February 2018 we launched a program to serve refugee elders.

Impact

In partnership with United Way and Metro CARES, we provided $400,000 in rent, mortgage, and utilities assistance to 170 families directly impacted by COVID-19. We kept many families from becoming homeless. Thanks to partners United Way, Hillcrest Food Bank, and OneGen Away, we provided enough food for 9,400 meals for families affected by COVID-19. We provided virtual and in-person support to families who lost jobs because of COVID-19. Our support yieled over $200,000 in benefits for these families as they waited for life to return to some kind of normal. We helped 178 students apply for Pandemic-EBT cards to provide $39,281.40 in funds for meals while they were/are attending school virtually. We also assisted families in activating the cards after they received them. Served 137 children through after-school literacy program and summer reading program. Children completed 350 Lexia levels with each child improving, on average, 6.21 reading levels -50 children improved their grade in at least one core academic subject. Assisted 400 refugees with legal immigration needs and save families $120,000 in filing fees. Provided case management to 45 families to apply for property tax assistance grants.

Needs

Nations Ministry Center welcomes financial gifts and volunteer support to increase our program offerings. Financial gifts and volunteer time will help us with our immediate goals of 1) growing the number of students in our after-school program by 25% 2) funds to purchase another bus for our after-school program ($33,000)3) volunteers to help with our youth tutoring program and Road to Citizenship

CEO Statement

Thanks to your generosity, refugee families are becoming generationally successful through the work of Nations Ministry. We have completed a capital campaign, added new programs, and diversified our staff and board. All this organizational development, more importantly, means we are expanding our impact on the lives of Nashville's newest citizens. Refugees face so many challenges as they seek to succeed in their new home. They have to find work quickly with little time to learn English since the support they receive from the government can often end after just 90 days. They also must repay the costs of their plane tickets--some families owe over $5,000 the day they arrive in the US. They have fled war, famine, religious persecution, and have endured the many uncertainties of refugee camp life. And having been a chance for a new life, face a whole new set of obstacles in America as they rebuild their lives. We are delighted to be leveraging thousands of volunteer hours as we empower refugees to successfully assimilate into American life. Our Road to Citizenship, youth literacy efforts, and family/refugee elders program all work in concert to help refugee families become generationally self-sufficient. -Chris Lovingood, Executive Director, Nations Ministry Center

Service Categories
Primary Category:	Youth Development  - Youth Development Programs
Secondary Category:	Employment  - Employment Preparation & Procurement
Tertiary Category:	Human Services  - Ethnic/Immigrant Services

Areas Served

We serve refugees and immigrants from all over the city though most are in south Nashville. We began serving refugees in Rutherford County in 2017. We serve refugees from Afghanistan, Bhutan/Nepal, Burma/Myanmar (including Karen, Karenni, Cho, and Zomi), Burundi, Democratic Republic of Congo, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan, Syria,Togo, and many other places.

TN - Davidson

TN - Rutherford