Shalom Community Impact Center

Shalom started in 2010 as a fellowship of refugeesworshiping in their native language and assisting eachother with daily life. Through this fellowship, it becameclear the need is great and resources can be difficult toaccess for new Iowans. Pastor Eugene founded SCIC to supportrefugees and immigrants with access to educational,social, and economic upward mobility.

Our goal is tolove through service of others and to impact ourcommunities in positive, powerful, and lasting ways.

Violence in Democratic Republic of Congo has not changed. There are more than 2.5 million Congolese people displaced from their homes, villages, and cities. Many have suffered extreme trauma and human rights violations as a result of war, and more than half of them are children. Having had poor access to education, extreme food insecurity, and very little exposure to English, new Iowans from DRC and other countries face multiple barriers to services that make adjusting to their new home a challenge.

Shalom Community Impact Center seeks to face these challenges together with the people we serve. We work to help remove barriers to existing services and create additional culturally and linguistically appropriate services to help our new Iowans integrate successfully and flourish as new Americans.

SCIC serve refugees, primarily people from the DRC, Rwanda and Afghanistan. We have a preschool for 3-5 year olds, including a summer Pre-K class. We have a summer program for students from 1st grade through 12th grade. This program includes academic help, field trips including swimming, skating and sports along with many other activities. We provide a free lunch for the preschool and summer program.

SCIC also has an after school academic support program This program meets at Shalom Community Covenant Church and is on Tuesday's and Thursdays.

Adult English Learning Language classes are also provided. We offer Beginning and Intermediate classes. The preschool runs about the same times as the ELL classes so the parents can have their children in preschool while they are in their ELL class.