How it all started

In 2005, Cayce Pack was watching the movie "Hotel Rwanda.” She asked - why didn’t the UN or US do anything to stop the atrocities of that civil war? Her parents asked what could she do about it? Never ask that of a global compassionate 14-year-old.

Cayce found several refugees already in Nashville from Sudan. And one of them, Gatlauk Thach, needed a babysitter for a group of refugees he was teaching English. And thus started the Pack family's journey into the refugee world. As Donna Pack says: if you ever want to go on a missions trip, you may not have to look any further than your own backyard.

Gatluak built his refugee help nonprofit into Nashville International Center for Empowerment (NICE) resettling Sudanese, Kurds, and Burmese. The Packs were instrumental in starting the first Citizenship classes in Nashville, as well as, having an annual Christmas party. Cayce went to work for Catholic Charities of Tennessee before going off to college at NYU. She then worked for UNICEF and other NGOs.

Donna continued to work with NICE as a volunteer, as well as, working with other agencies that focused on immigrants. Nashville’s growth and construction projects made the city the go-to for jobs and immigrants.

The refugee influx into Nashville continues with Afghans and Ukrainians. The organization simply connects the needs of the many agencies doing the good work.