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Community Corner

Tapestri Wins Employer of the Year Award

Tucker non-profit works to end oppression in refugee communities.

Tapestri, Inc. at 3939 LaVista Road in Tucker, focuses on helping end violence in the refugee and immigrant communities in Atlanta. Their work covers all realms of violence, from human trafficking to domestic disputes.

As an organization that has to keep much of their work private for their clients' safety, Program Director Maja Hasic felt it was important to have the hard work of the staff recognized publically in some way. She nominated Tapestri for the Best Nonprofit to Work For awards 2012 and they ranked first against their peers in the $500,000-$2,000,000 category.

Hasic focuses mostly on the human trafficking side of the organization. Because of the nature of the work they do, having an atmosphere of trust in the office, she says, is very important. She feels comfortable that if something is weighing on her or she just had a hard day she can talk with any of her coworkers about it without feeling judged.

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The thing that Hasic says sets them apart as an organization is that, whether or not things ended on a positive note, they always leave work at the end of the day knowing they made a difference.

Flexibility is a common theme throughout this organization. Employees are flexible in their work because often they end up working more than 40 hours a week without many of the financial perks that would be offered for overtime in a for profit company. Tapestri rewards this flexibility by allowing time to roll over, so if someone works a 50 hour week and feels they need a day off the next week they can have one, assuming there isn't too much work to be done.

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With clients professionalism is of the utmost importance, so business attire and confidentiality are emphasized. However, when they're in the office both their dress and communication is laid back as people often wear jeans and feel comfortable talking openly.

Hasic says that they place much emphasis on working as a team and treating each other as such. When employees are out or sick, their coworkers often try to check in on them to see if they need anything. Birthdays are always celebrated, even though sometimes they may be celebrated a little late. Hasic says that Vanisa Karic, the Executive Director, is very focused on keeping the employees happy and working there long term.

Karic tries to reward success by having a consistent policy on raises and increases in vacation time, which help reduce the turnover rate. Hasic says this is the first job she's ever had where she doesn't look at the clock during the day and wonder when she gets to go home, so it's no wonder that Tapestri was one of the Best Non-Profits to Work For in 2012 by Opportunity Knocks.

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