We’re excited to shine a light on one of our incredible nonprofit partners, The Welcome Co-Op — a true champion for refugee families making Georgia their new home.
At Hands On Atlanta, we believe in the power of community, and The Welcome Co-Op lives that value every day. They’re a collaborative force made up of Atlanta’s refugee resettlement organizations, working together to provide safe housing, clothing, household essentials, and most importantly, a heartfelt welcome to families starting fresh in a new place.
We’re proud to share how The Welcome Co-Op is building a more inclusive, supportive Atlanta — one family at a time. By coming together, we can say “welcome home” a little louder, a little stronger, and a whole lot more meaningfully.
Read our interview with Emily from The Welcome Co-Op below!
Tell us about your organization – what’s your mission, and what does it mean to the our community?
The Welcome Co-op is Georgia’s trusted advocate for new refugees, helping to secure housing and ensure a smooth and seamless transition for our state’s newest and ever-resilient residents. We are a collaboration of the refugee resettlement organizations in Atlanta, building community together by providing a warm welcome to refugee families in Georgia. Our team secures housing, sets up welcoming homes, and provides clothing to new families. By partnering together, we can collectively say ‘welcome home’ to our newest neighbors.
Can you share some impact stats or comments about the work being done by your organization?
Last year, we set up 728 apartments for refugee families in metro Atlanta and provided clothing and shoes for over 1,200 individuals. Over 3,400 newcomers received support from The Welcome Co-Op in 2024.
“I am deeply passionate about the helping profession, particularly the work of welcoming refugees to Georgia and am grateful to be part of the collaborative model of The Welcome Co-op”
What’s the history of your organization? How and why did it get started?
The Welcome Co-Op was started by the refugee resettlement agencies of Atlanta to build economies of scale and increase their collective impact in providing safe, stable housing for refugee families. During a time of low refugee arrivals, the founding agencies of the organization came together to build an organization and system to ensure all refugees coming to Atlanta had housing and basic needs met. This model is the first of its kind in the refugee serving community in the county.
What kind of programming do you offer to the community?
Our current focus is providing clothing, shoes and household items to refugee families in need in Atlanta. While we are not welcoming new refugees due to changes in federal policy, refugee families can come to our space to select needed items to help alleviate financial burdens as they move along the path to self sufficiency.
What problem is your organization trying to solve, and can you tell us more about the issue?
Refugee families often arrive in the US with very few possessions. Resettlement agencies are tasked with helping them quickly move to self sufficiency and it can be challenging to find all the needed resources for families. The Welcome Co-Op is a centralized resource for these families as they adjust to life in their new home.
How do volunteers support your mission? What impact do they have on your work? What difference do they make?
Volunteers make a huge impact on our mission. Volunteers help sort donations in our Shop of Hope and keep our warehouse organized so we can receive more donations. Volunteers who come on a weekly basis are able to help clients shop for clothing and household items in our Shop of Hope, ensuring we can serve as many people as possible. Without volunteers, our team would not be able to get donations sorted and on the floor nearly as quickly.
What’s your biggest highlight or success from the past year?
This past year we welcomed a record number of refugees to Georgia, with over 3,400 refugees welcomed to our state. We also moved into our first permanent space. This space houses our warehouse, offices and Shop of Hope, allowing us to welcome clients to select items and host larger numbers of volunteers
How many volunteers do you need every month, and can you describe the experience of serving with your organization for the volunteer? What do they do? What’s a day in the life as a volunteer with your organization?
Our team loves working with volunteers! We usually need 5-8 volunteers three days a week to sort donations and help with organizing projects. Our hope is to have 15 volunteers who serve weekly helping clients shop for clothing and household items. We usually have enough work for up to 100 people to help per month!
What types of projects do you offer? What are your biggest projects available, and needs from volunteers? Tell us abouta few different offerings.
Volunteers help sort donations at our warehouse and Shop of Hope, preparing items to be placed on the shopping floor for clients to select. Volunteers also help with organizing projects in our Warehouse, which may include assembling or moving furniture. Volunteers who are able to help on a regular basis help clients select clothing and basic needs items.
“Working at a job where I can help others natural thing for me, being able to help people has been ingrained in me for most of my life.”
What do volunteers love about working with your organization?
Volunteers love our mission of welcoming refugees. They also love to help us organize and sort clothing. We also hear from volunteers that setting up apartments is a lot of fun and very meaningful, as they know they are able to help welcome people to Georgia through their service.
What’s going to be happening with your organization in 2025 that you’re really excited about?
Even though refugees are not arriving at the moment, we are excited to expand our programming to serve more families in 2025. We are opening up our innovative membership model to more nonprofits who serve newcomers and will have even more needs for donations and volunteers in the coming days.
Let’s leave our readers with a list of ways they can jump in and get involved. Tell us how we can support you!
We are always looking for individual volunteers and groups to join us at our office to sort donations and help with other projects. Clothing and household donations are also a big!
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