mirachicago 
Thanks to all who came out for our Grand Opening and 10th Anniversary Celebration. We also unveiled our new name: The Iraqi Mutual Aid Society is now the Middle Eastern Immigrant and Refugee Alliance! We are excited to include more members of the community in our work as we move forward to easing transition, building community, and preserving Middle Eastern culture in Chicago!
The Board and staff wanted a name that reflected all that we do here, and built on that community of support we have grown over the last ten years. Through a grant from the National Network of Arab American Communities, we worked with our consultant Geri Tauber, who brought both a lifetime of experience with branding and marketing, and a love for this organization going back to the beginning. We held a series of focus groups meeting with Board members, staff members, clients, community members, partner agencies, and donors over the last 4 months to identify what are the key themes of what we do here, and how we can best share our mission and vision with the larger community.
Based on these conversations, and with a strong commitment to staying connected to our heritage as an organization as well as opening our doors wider to serve the whole Middle Eastern community, we are pleased to announce our new name, MIRA, the Middle Eastern Immigrant and Refugee Alliance. Our logo is a group of people standing together to support one another, and we are excited to be part of that support and invite all of you here to join us in supporting Middle Eastern immigrants and refugees.