Today, the New York Times published a great opinion piece that makes the case for immigrants as contributors, and highlights Welcoming America – and our colleagues at ImmigrationWorks – as being “at the forefront of helping migrants assimilate.” Welcoming America thanks the New York Times and author Dowell Myers for this pragmatic and compassionate take on what a welcoming America might look like.
Click here to read “The Next Immigration Challenge” by Dowell Myers for the New York Times.
On September 20th, the Center for American Progress released a report entitled ”All Immigration is Local: Receiving Communities and their Role in Successful Immigrant Integration.” Click here for a copy of this groundbreaking report, which was written by Cornell political scientist Michael Jones Correa and annnounced at a public event, entitled Stronger Together, on September 20th at CAP.
To learn more about the event – which featured Welcoming America ED David Lubell – and view it in its entirety, click here. In addition, click here to learn more about the receiving communities initiative, an effort to build a movement of individuals and organizations focused on building understanding and easing tensions between long-time residents and new arrivals in communities that have seen recent immigrant population growth. Welcoming America is helping to lead this initiative, and is featured prominently in the report.
Join us at the National Immigrant Integration Conference in Seattle this fall!
Welcoming America is co-hosting the “Engaging Receiving Communities: Speaking with America” track. It will focus on the need for a paradigm shift in building real understanding, partnership and support between immigrants and long-time residents of communities.
Congratulations to our July 2011 Friends of Welcoming Prize Winners!
Individual Winners:
First Prize to Angela Ferguson with 19000 points! Angela has won $100 to be given to the non-profit of her choice. Congratulations, Angela!
Second Prize to Dena Dyer with 7550 points! Dena has won a fabulous Prize Pack with a hardcover copy of “Outcasts United”, a Welcoming America keychain, a handmade card crafted by the artists of Empowered Women International in an organic Welcoming America tote bag! Congratulations, Dena!
Random Third Prize to Hilary Greene with 750 points! Hilary has won $100 to be given to the non-profit of her choice. Congratulations, Hilary!
Team Winners:
First Prize to Kayla’s Team with 2250 points! Kayla’s Team has won $100 to be given to the non-profit of her choice. Congratulations, Kayla’s Team!
Second Prize to Welcoming Westside Cincinnati with 1650 points! Welcoming Westside Cincinnati has won a fabulous Prize Pack with a hardcover copy of “Outcasts United”, a Welcoming America keychain, a handmade card crafted by the artists of Empowered Women International in an organic Welcoming America tote bag! Congratulations, Welcoming Westside Cincinnati!
Random Third Prize to Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church with 500 points! Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church has won $100 to be given to the non-profit of her choice. Congratulations, Our Lady of Assumption Catholic Church!
Congratulations again to all our winners! The points will now reset, although we will keep a record of points for the Grand Prize awarded at the end of 12 months. Keep playing, everyone, our second round of winners will be announced September 1!
Visit Friends of Welcoming today at www.friendsofwelcoming.com to get started now!
Welcoming America participated in the Campaign for a Stronger Democracy’s monthly conference call on July 7, 2011:
Download or listen to the full conference call here.
Here’s the description of the event from the Campaign for Stronger Democracy:
Over sixty democracy reformers and interested callers participated in July’s Democracy Exchange, which featured speakers from Welcoming America and the Institute for Local Government in California. David Lubell and Jessy Molina spoke about the work that Welcoming America has done to work with communities and help create a smoother integration process both for new Americans and for existing residents. Terry Amsler and Mahvash Hassan spoke about the work of the Institute for Local Government in California, which connects local communities with decision makers to create a collaborative approach to immigrant integration. ILG has helped identify two cities where local government is an integral partner in developing multisectoral “Welcoming style” initiatives in their communities. For a description of these efforts see this post from the ILG website: California Communities Plan Initiatives to Strengthen Relationships Between Immigrants and Longer-Term Residents
The conversation was moderated by Carolyn Lukensmeyer of America Speaks.
Welcoming America is pleased to announce that it has won one of the top awards for new non-profits, a Draper Richards Kaplan Fellowship! In a global search, Welcoming America was identified as one of the highest-potential new non-profits and was awarded the prestigious Draper Richards Kaplan nonprofit social entrepreneur fellowship.You can play as yourself, with a team, or with your organization. You earn points for doing welcoming activities, which include things like signing a Welcoming Pledge or organizing an event to bringing immigrants and non-immigrants together, as well other activities like watching a Welcome to Shelbyville interactive video or sharing the site with your friends.
Each month, you can win fabulous prizes with your points, such as $100 to a nonprofit of your choosing, prize packs full of goodies, and more. Every year, the top points-earning individuals and teams will compete for the grand prize of $2500 to the charity of their choice. Beyond prizes, Friends of Welcoming will also be a place for you to connect with people all over the country who are working to make our country welcoming to all.
The following actions are a great way to get situated with Friends of Welcoming and the Welcoming America philosophy. You can also access the full list of actions anytime!
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Complete Your User Profile (1000 points)Simply upload an avatar and complete your profile to earn easy points and get started. |
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Sign the Welcoming Pledge (250 points)Add your name to the growing list of people working to build a more welcoming nation. |
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Share a Welcoming Story (1,100 points)If you have a personal immigration story, if you ever welcomed an immigrant—or know of an immigrant that was welcomed—into your community, share your story with the help of Shelbyville Multimedia! |
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Watch & Discuss: “New Neighbors Give Thanks” (750 points)Watch the following Shelbyville Multimedia webisode and earn points by answering the discussion questions. Watch and discuss with friends for even more points. |
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Refer a Friend (100 points)Refer a friend (or friends!) to Friends of Welcoming to earn points and help grow the site and achieve a more welcoming country for us all. |
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Give Your Feedback (100 points)We want to hear from you on what you like and dislike about Friends of Welcoming. Let us know–and earn points for it too! |
The long-awaited day has finally arrived! Friends of Welcoming is live! Please join the online Welcoming movement by visiting www.friendsofwelcoming.org today and getting started.
Although the climate for immigrants is currently quite challenging in the U.S., on the local level more and more Americans are recognizing that our communities are strongest when everyone living in them feels like they belong. At Welcoming America we are getting phone calls and emails daily from people who want to join our expanding network and make their communities more welcoming.
In response to this unprecedented interest, we’ve launched a new online platform called Friends of Welcoming. Before the development of this site, the only way people could interact directly with our organization was to partner with an existing Welcoming affiliate or apply to form their own affiliate. Unfortunately, our affiliates are not located in every state, and not anyone has the time or desire to start their own. Now, for individuals, groups of friends, and organizations there’s an easy way to get involved.
ANYONE can use Friends of Welcoming to make their community a more welcoming place for all. You can sign up as an individual or a team and complete activities that make a difference in your neighborhood, like passing a Welcoming resolution or hosting a potluck that brings together immigrants and non-immigrants. You will earn points for each activity you complete and be eligible for fun prizes including t-shirts, books, jump drives and even cash prizes (to be donated to your favorite charity). If you are affiliated with an organization, your organization can participate as a team on our Affiliate Track and be eligible to win a $5,000 grant to start its own Welcoming initiative!
Join Friends of Welcoming today! Its an easy, fun, interactive way to change your community for the better. Get started. Join the Movement!
Consolidated Information on the Documentary “Welcome to Shelbyville”
Click here to go to the official ITVS website
“Welcome to Shelbyville” is a documentary directed and produced by Kim A. Snyder and executive produced by the BeCause Foundation in association with Active Voice. There’s a lot of information out there related to this film. Here’s our best effort to consolidate it:
Welcoming America’s Connection to the film:Set against the backdrop of a shaky economy, Welcome to Shelbyville takes an intimate look at a southern town as its residents – whites and African Americans, Latinos and Somalis – grapple with their beliefs, their histories and their evolving ways of life. The film features the efforts of Welcoming Tennessee, the model for all subsequent Welcoming America campaigns, as its local partners in Shelbyville, TN work to unite a community dealing with rapid demographic change. Welcoming America is working to replicate initiatives such as the one in Shelbyville across the United States. For more info on how you can get involved with Welcoming America go to our get involved page or contact us.
To Purchase a Copy of the Film: Copies of the film can be ordered from the Because Foundation website. Click here to go to the order page. You can also purchase it on itunes.
Shelbyville Multimedia: Developed by Active Voice, Shelbyville Multimedia is a platform to promote community-building and harmony between native-born Americans, immigrants and refugees nationwide. Many of its components have been adapted from Welcome to Shelbyville.
Friends of Welcoming: On June 15, Welcoming America will be launching “Friends of Welcoming” a new online platform that allows individuals, groups of friends, and organizations inspired by “Welcome to Shelbyville” to earn points for engaging in similar activities in their communities. Points can be used to earn prizes (books, dvds, t-shirts, jump drives, etc.) , and even the opportunity to win cash to start a Welcoming initiative or donate to your favorite immigrant/refugee serving non-profit. Friends of Welcoming is a sister site of Shelbyville Multimedia. To register now, click here
Welcome to Shelbyville takes an intimate look at a southern town as its residents–blacks, whites, Latinos, and Somalis–grapple with their beliefs, their histories, and their changing way of life. The film is directed and produced by Kim A. Snyder and executive produced by the BeCause Foundation in association with Active Voice.
The documentary features the efforts of Welcoming Tennessee – a project of TIRRC – the model for all subsequent Welcoming America campaigns. Welcoming America is working to replicate initiatives such as the one in Shelbyville across the United States.
In most communities the screening will be from 10:00-11:00pm. Check local listings here to find out what time this groundbreaking documentary will be airing in your community.
Except where otherwise noted, content on this site is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
