INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE OF BUFFALO
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Making Western New York a better place for, and because of, refugees and immigrants.
One hundred years ago, the International Institute of Buffalo was a program serving foreign-born women. Today, the Institute is an established WNY organization, serving thousands each year and employing 40 individuals, with an operating budget of more than $3.5 million.
The Institute offers refugee resettlement and employment programs; provides services to survivors of domestic violence and human trafficking; offers translation and interpretation services to break down barriers; presents global education programs for students, adults, and businesses; and hosts international visitors.
On an average day, dozens are welcomed into our building. Some are newly arrived in America and beginning to learn English. Some come to acquire job skills, become interpreters, or receive interpreting and translation assistance. Others come to learn how to support WNY’s growing diversity, or to seek refuge from domestic violence and human trafficking.
Buffalo is a rich tapestry because of the diversity of its people. Almost all of our ancestors came here to build new lives. Hope, expectation, and anticipation of a new and better life were with each new group that came to the United States. Fear and isolation were with them as well. All these feelings persist for new arrivals today; the challenge of a new language and culture remains as well. Every day at the International Institute, we do all we can to welcome our new American neighbors and help make Western New York the place they can achieve their dreams.