After 10 years of working in cramped quarters spread throughout our old location, our legal team is thoroughly enjoying their spacious new offices.   Each of our five staff members has her own office allowing more much easier collaboration on client cases.

In addition, the legal team is now able to meet privately with all clients in an environment that is quieter and which affords greater client confidentiality.   Their beautiful new offices will allow our Law Clinic to more efficiently and effectively handle the hundreds of cases they take on each year.

In 2012, the Clinic opened a record 482 cases - an increase of over 100% since 2008. During the past year, International House helped 48 clients achieve citizenship.   Also, 131 of our clients became permanent residents and 76 clients benefited from help with employment authorization, travel documents, and replacement of lost documents.

As I reflect back on our Open House here at Midwood International & Cultural Center on January 27th, just one word comes to mind:   Wow! 

It was a glorious night filled with the smiling faces of over 450 friends and neighbors wandering the hallways of this magnificent old building.   Our visitors were treated to office tours by all of our fellow tenants, yummy treats in the gymnasium, and best of all, wonderful cultural demonstrations of Ethiopian, Bosnian, and Indian music and dance.   In addition, our long-time friends at the Japanese Association delighted our visitors with the beauty and grace of Japanese floral arranging.   From start to finish, it was a magical evening.

Watching the crowds surge through the hallways, I experienced first-hand the amazing synergy that our new Midwood location will provide International House.   All of our co-tenants were excited to participate and made amazing contributions to the great success of the Open House.   Clearly, our concept of a multi-cultural campus with a wide array of varied and diverse organizations working together to achieve a common goal of improving our Charlotte area community has come to fruition.

And all of us at International House are thrilled beyond words.

There are so many people to thank for making a night like this possible.   Thank you to all the donors to our Capital Campaign who gave so generously to fund this dream.  A special appreciation to our Capital Campaign Co-Chairs, Tony and Lakana Bikhazi. We simply couldn't have done this without you!

Thank you to our Board of Directors who wrestled with the complexity of this tremendous undertaking and succeeded where so many other organizations may have been overwhelmed.   Thanks to our staff and volunteers who have worked many extra hours during and after the move to make our new home a warm and inviting place already. And thanks to all of our wonderful new neighbors in the Plaza Midwood area who have reached out to welcome us to the neighborhood.   We feel like we've made so many new friends in a very short period of time.

And there are two other thank you's that I especially want to share with you. First, a huge and heartfelt thank you to our intrepid board member Monte Ritchey who gave himself fully and completely to making this improbable dream a reality. It was Monte's vision and determination over the course of the past two years that led all of us through the most daunting moments when no one else believed that a non-profit could tackle the job of converting a 40,000 sq ft high school into a multi-cultural campus.   Monte never gave up. He never wavered in his commitment to the project. And he has, more than any other single person, made this moment possible.   Thank you, Monte!

Finally, we want to extend our love, appreciation, and thanks to St. Johns Baptist Church.   It was St. Johns that helped birth International House over 30 years ago.   And it was St. Johns that provided us with the use of the Staten House of Hawthorne Lane for the past 25 years.   Without their support, International House would not have been in a position to make this exciting transition to a new facility. But it was not a transition without a few bittersweet moments as we packed up and said goodbye to the grand old Staten House.   Thank you, St. Johns, and thank you, Staten House. You will always be an important part of our legacy.

And now - on to the future!   I cannot tell you how excited all of us are about the possibilities in our new location.   There has already been whirlwind of activity, growth, and increased community involvement as a result of the move - and that will only increase with time.

Now, more than ever, International House will be the place Where Charlotte Welcomes the World!