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.

In a vote passed unanimously on January 3rd by the East Providence City Council, local elected leaders adopted a welcoming resolution, which states that the city is “committed to continue building a neighborly and welcoming atmosphere in our community where all are welcome, accepted and appreciated.”   To view the full resolution and watch a video clip of the event, visit Welcoming Rhode Island’s recently-launched blog.

East Providence joins with communities in Alabama, Idaho, Massachusetts, Ohio, and Oregon, who have passed resolutions that declare their communities welcoming or “immigrant friendly.”

Read on for the full story or view it online.

Building Welcoming Communities for All

White House Office of Public Engagement Blog Post by Felicia Escobar, White House Domestic Policy Council, December 21, 2011

Achieving full economic recovery and maintaining America’s competitive edge globally now and into the future will require communities to fully embrace their strongest resource –their people.   This is why communities around the country are taking a new approach to integrating newly arrived immigrants, refugees, and other newcomers into their community and creating more welcoming environments for all community members.

Through the New Americans Citizenship and Integration Initiative, officials from throughout the Administration have met with hundreds of leaders in communities across the nation to learn about successful models for integrating immigrants civically, economically, and linguistically.  Recently, White House staff from the Domestic Policy Council and Office of Public Engagement sat down to learn more about Welcoming America, a national organization working to create a welcoming atmosphere – community by community –which helps immigrants integrate into the social fabric of their adopted hometowns.  Welcoming America is a part of the “receiving communities movement,” which focuses on building 21^st century communities that attract and retain global investment.

With affiliates in 19 states, local Welcoming America efforts engage in positive, proactive initiatives that bring all community members together.  By connecting immigrants and U.S. born residents, and by highlighting local contributions made by immigrants, Welcoming America is transforming relationships in these communities and working with others, including community leaders, practitioners, and academics to support strategies that engage all Americans in understanding and promoting more integrated communities.

Welcoming America and other private organizations have developed a host of resources for those interested in using the “receiving communities” approach in their communities:

• The Receiving Communities Toolkit from Welcoming America and Spring Institute for Intercultural Learning highlights promising practices from around the country that are effectively building meaningful connections between people.

• The Center for America Progress report All Immigration is Local: Receiving Communities and their Role in Immigrant Integration outlines the imperatives for a new focus on the communities in which newcomers settle.

We are inspired by all the groups involved in growing this movement to help unite people from all backgrounds in America’s cities and towns.  We believe this approach holds great promise and look forward to continuing to support efforts that promote globally competitive communities across the nation that are welcoming places for all people to live and work.

Posted by Felicia Escobar on December 21, 2011 at 04:45 PM EST

Felicia Escobar is the Senior Policy Advisor at the White House Domestic Policy Council.

America is at a crossroads.   From Alabama to Arizona, shuttered storefronts and barren fields tell the story of communities gripped by anxiety and fear.  But fortunately there is another path.

Over the last year, Welcoming America and its affiliates have proactively reached out to thousands of individuals around the country to share a simple message: immigrants make us stronger.

Last week, Welcoming affiliate Uniting NC unveiled a new billboard campaign, including the image above. The launch of the billboards received broad media coverage, including yesterday’s story by the Huffington Post.

The billboards will help thousands across North Carolina benefit from their powerful, positive message.  It’s but one example of the exciting and proactive work that Welcoming America is supporting around the country.

As the year ends, we welcome you to join us in celebrating just a few of the exiting achievements that Welcoming America, our affiliates, and our supporters made possible over the last year.  If you are inspired, please DONATE to Welcoming America today. Your donation will directly support the work of our affiliates across the country.

• Reaching the Untapped: In May, the PBS documentary, Welcome to Shelbyville, which featured our affiliate, Welcoming Tennessee (a project of TIRRC), introduced more than one million Americans to the impact of Welcoming. Thousands more have used the Building a Nation of Neighbors how-to videos from the film (thanks, ActiveVoice!) and our newly-launched Friends of Welcoming.

• Deepening Our Impact: From the redwood forests to the gulf stream waters, Welcoming initiatives took root, and in 2011 the Welcoming affiliate network grew from 13 to 19 members.   Our collective efforts to bring native and foreign-born community members into direct contact led to more than 130 events that touched more than 5,000 individuals.  Hundreds more around the countyy have become “online welcomers” through our web platform, Friends of Welcoming.

• Engaging New Allies: “Immigrant friendly” initiatives such as Welcome Dayton and Global Detroit are demonstrating how the idea of creating welcoming communities has broad appeal as a key economic development strategy to attract and retain 21st century global talent.  Now, Welcoming America is working to spread this approach throughout the country so that more cities and towns can leverage their greatest asset – their diverse population.

• Advancing What Works: Does the broader community play a role in immigrant integration?   That was the question that led to our Receiving Communities Initiative, and the answer is a resounding “yes.”   For the first time, practitioners can learn about practical strategies to engage the broader public, with our Receiving Communities Toolkit (developed in partnership with the Spring Institute, with support from the J.M.Kaplan Fund).  And, hats off to US Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Office of Citizenship for newly incorporating a focus on receiving communities in their latest funding opportunity!

• Sharing Practical Approaches: In addition to launching our interactive web community, Friends of Welcoming, we introducednew practical tools and resources to help groups interested in implementing our three-part strategy of leadership development, strategic communications, and public engagement.

• Keeping it Hip: With the help of artists, musicians, and comedians, we are engaging new audiences by sharing the fun side of welcoming – and drawing on the power of art to open hearts and minds through a project we call You’re Welcome.

• Making it Real:  Reaching mainstream America to address fears and doubts about their new immigrant neighbors is not an easy task.  But it is possible, as this testimonial makes clear:

“Honestly, I was not so open to immigrants in the past, probably from media portrayals but most likely because we just didn’t interact….  If there were nothing such as Welcoming America .. I think everything would continue in the same way. But thankfully, there is a way to redirect people’s attitudes toward rethinking immigration and immigrants.”  –  Pat, Michigan

This is is just the start. Individuals around the country are asking Welcoming America for help to reclaim their communities from the grips of fear and divisiveness.  We can help them to succeed in reclaiming the spirit of the American dream – but only with your support.

Will you help us to build a nation of neighbors? You can join us today by making a tax-deductible* donation to Welcoming America.  Even better, every dollar that is donated will be directed to local communities. Visit our websiteto learn about what we do and why your support matters.

From the Welcoming America team, we wish you a happy holiday season!

Currently, nineteen campaigns – most of them statewide – are active across the country. This is up from just 7 campaigns in 2009. The demand for this dynamic new approach to addressing rapid immigration growth has proven quite high in communities across the country, and we anticipate significant growth in the number of affiliates over the next few years.

The following three factors will be considered in the selection of affiliates for future campaigns:

1.) The capacity of the local organization(s) to build a successful, sustainable campaign with the active involvement of multiple sectors within the target community.

2.) The capacity of the local organization(s) to replicate the campaign in neighboring towns and cities.

3.) The severity of the current climate for immigrants in that area.

For more information on affiliates, visit Our Affiliates.  To learn more about launching an affiliate, visit Opportunities for Action.

The billboards, which were supported by Welcoming America and funded largely through a grassroots campaign led by Uniting NC, will be shown first in Raleigh, followed by other locations throughout the state.  For press coverage of the event and to follow the billboards, visit Uniting NC’s Facebook page.

Uniting NC is one of 19 Welcoming America affiliates around the country that is using positive messaging campaigns to highlight the shared values and contributions of immigrants in local communities.   Using Welcoming America’s 3-pronged approach, affiliates also engage with local leaders and bring long-time and new residents together to learn about each other’s values and cultures.  More examples of messaging campaigns are available on the Welcoming America website, along with a toolkit for affiliates or other groups interested in strategic communications.

– participant, Receiving Communities track,
National Immigrant Integration Conference

You can read about the plan in the article, “Welcome Dayton Immigrant Plan Approved.” and view the Welcome Dayton plan, available here.

Welcoming America wants to help you make your own community “immigrant friendly.” Here’s how:

Start by registering at www.friendsofwelcoming.org.  Once you register, you can begin doing online and offline “actions,” which help you earn points that can win you cool prizes.

Next, you can learn about welcoming strategies that can be applied in your community.  Here’s just a few ways  to begin:

• Read about the plan and share your comments – is your city or community “immigrant friendly?” What elements of this effort could be implemented in your community (or even your place of worship, school, or other venue)?

• Sign the Welcoming Pledge to make your personal commitment

• Watch the Story of Welcoming and learn about how Welcoming works.  Continue learning with our Educational actions.

• Want to start small?  Check out the actions in the school, workplace, and place of worship categories for discreet activities that help you welcome immigrants in these settings.

• Interested in a larger scale initiative?  Visit our Affiliate Track actions to learn more about our affiliate model and to get started planning and organizing your effort.  You can even create a team to engage others (and earn more points)!

• Work toward passing a Welcoming Resolution in your own community. Did you know that over the last few years Welcoming resolutions have been passed in seven communities in the states of Alabama, Idaho and Massachusetts? The combined population of these Welcoming communities is 1,069,832!