National Welcoming Week is back for another year!

Join Welcoming America affiliates and partners across the country for National Welcoming Week, a nationwide event that will promote meaningful connections and a spirit of unity between U.S. and foreign-born Americans

Click here to learn more about the event and activities happening across the country!

Mobile Giving

Through our mobile giving program, donors can now text WELCOME to 85944 to make a $10 donation, which will then be added to their next cell phone bill.  If donors would like to give a more generous gift, they can text WELCOME and the amount they’d like to donate (for example: “WELCOME 100” for a $100 donation) to 41444 to receive a link to a donation fulfillment page.

Gift/Volunteer Match Program

Many companies offer a Matching Gift program where they match employees’ donations to Welcoming America, and most will even match donations made at any point during the previous 12 months!  Additionally, many employers also offer a Volunteer Grant program where they donate to our organization based on their employees’ volunteer hours with us.   To participate in these programs using only a few minutes of your time, please click here.

We encourage you to spread the word on these new initiatives, and we are excited to work with you to help Welcoming America grow!

Students participate in an immigration workshop hosted by Welcoming Rhode Island

Over the last twenty years, immigration has reshaped American schools in profound ways.  Today, one out of every five children in the US is living in an immigrant family, and by 2015, children in immigrant families could constitute as much as 30% of the nation’s school population (Annie E. Casey Foundation, 2007).

Schools are among the most important and most common places where U.S. and foreign-born families interact, and they often serve as the primary point of reception for immigrant families who are new to a community.   Numerous researchers and practitioners have identified the critical importance of a welcoming environment to ensuring student success.  In rapidly diversifying schools where culture, language, and other factors become added barriers, this need is even greater.   Within the immigrant integration process, schools play a crucial role in determining long-term family success, with that success shaped largely by the welcome that newcomer students and their families receive from administrators, staff, faculty, parents and other students.  Engaging these receiving community members must be a key component of fostering a more welcoming and inclusive school environment that supports learning and integration.

And for students themselves, the importance of building skills to communicate and interact across language and culture are more important than ever for youth to engage meaningfully within their diverse communities, and to become leaders in a globalizing world.

By reaching out to students, educators and parents in school-based settings, Welcoming America is working to change the welcome immigrants receive in classrooms and communities, and even to address and prevent issues of violence and bullying.   Some of the ways that Welcoming America is supporting work in schools includes:

Providing welcoming workshops to foster understanding and address bullying

Recently, our affiliate Welcoming Rhode Island worked with students at a local junior high school after someone from the school expressed a need for a “welcoming” workshop because there seemed to be a problem with ethnic bullying.  Five interns from Providence College provided support, and worked with students through a workshop that helped students understand each other and the experience of immigration.  Interns participating reflected on the experience:

“The kids really did love to talk…and we got very close to them in the 2 1/2 hours we were there. By the end, the students had agreed to try to stand up for fellow classmates who were being bullied because of their outfits, hairstyles, or not so “perfect” English. We handed them a welcoming pledge and all of the students signed it. I felt as though in some way we made a difference by being there. We didn’t solve the problem by any means; however we got a conversation going about this derogatory slur.”



“One girl who at the beginning of the dialogue said she ‘couldn’t do anything to stop it,’ had changed her mind by the end. Maybe she has a little bit of hope now…and that’s what is important.”

Read more and see photos from the event

Hosting dialogues that build bridges between native and foreign-born students

For example, affiliate Welcoming Louisiana recently facilitated their first dialogue with students at a high school that is experiencing ongoing tension between immigrant and US-born students.  The dialogue used three simple questions and was held over the students’ lunch period.  Many interesting questions and ideas came up, including the fact that many African American students said that they did not know any immigrants.  The event helped to build bridges, and Welcoming Louisiana hopes to do many more youth dialogues at the school.

To learn more, download Welcoming America’s dialogue toolkit, developed with the Public Conversations Project.

Engaging administrators, PTAs and parents to create more welcoming climates

Welcoming affiliate You, Me, We Oakley! was created through a collaboration of the City of Oakley, California, Oakley schools, businesses, congregations, and community-based organizations.  In addition to schools playing a leadership role in the program, the initiative hosts targeted events in partnership with local schools.  Recently, the program worked in partnership with a local middle school to host a Dining & Dialogue dinner for members of the Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) and an advisory committee that addresses the needs of English language learners and their families.  The dinner brought together parents and active community members for a meal and discussion about the changing community.  Parents spoke about their common values and their goals for helping their children succeed in school, as well as different strategies for increasing communication with and engagement of parents by the school. Learn more about the event

Providing tools and training for educators

Educators can play an important role in creating a more welcoming classroom and school environment, and Welcoming America and its affiliates are available to offer tools and resources to support this work.

A number of educational resources and activities are available on our interactive web platform, Friends of Welcoming.  Visit www.friendsofwelcoming.org, and navigate to the Educational and In Your School sections to find individual learning and group community-building activities appropriate for a variety of ages.

In addition, Welcoming America and its network are available as resources to support educators.  For example, Welcoming Louisiana recently led a teacher professional development day at a local high school that trained teachers on interacting with diverse student populations. Welcoming America also recently spoke to English language instructors at the annual TESOL convention about how to engage receiving community members and create a more welcoming climate.

Last week, Welcoming America’s Deputy Director, Rachel Steinhardt traveled to Canada to share the organization’s experience with colleagues in Ottawa and throughout Canada.  The event,  “Fostering Welcoming Climates,” was hosted by the US Embassy in Ottawa, Jewish Family Services of Ottawa, the Ottawa Local Immigration Partnership, and numerous other local partners, and was broadcast live to US Embassies across Canada and the globe.

conditions to support immigrants and their successful integration, but also a chance to secure a positive future for all Americans.

 As the immigration debate continues, Welcoming America has tools to help communities and organizations promote listening and constructive dialogue on immigration issues.  The Receiving Communities Toolkit and Welcoming America’s Dialogue Guide are resources for groups interested in hosting challenging conversations that build real understanding.

If immigration reform is passed by Congress, the debate over immigration may not subside, and it’s possible that fears may even grow, lending more urgency to reaching out and engaging receiving community members.  Welcoming America is currently working to support communities as a whole, as well as representatives at all levels of government to prepare a response to receiving community concerns, and to use the moment as an opportunity to spur even more contact and dialogue between new and longer-term Americans. Through its Welcoming Cities effort Welcoming America is helping municipal governments consider policies and practices that will help them create to create more welcoming, immigrant-friendly environments that maximize opportunities for economic growth and cultural vitality and position communities as globally competitive, 21^st century leaders.

Immigration reform and immigrant integration work best when the community as a whole is ready and willing to participate. When everyday Americans are encouraged to learn about and develop positive relationships with their newest neighbors, they become invested in countless ways. Whether in schools and workplaces or the town square, experience and research consistently demonstrate that immigrants integrate most successfully in receptive environments that welcome them and in which they can participate at their fullest potential. There are proven practices for educating, engaging, and sustaining the support of receiving communities, and for leveraging the new resources and vitality these engaged communities can bring at the local level to support long-term integration. Bringing such receiving communities approaches to scale will help create the impact required for successfully promoting a global, 21^st century economy.  When receiving communities embrace strategies that not only attract but retain newcomer populations because they are recognized assets to the community, a positive policy climate is created that will lead to the strongest economic and social outcomes.

Exchanging ideas at the National Conference

Last week, Welcoming America’s affiliate initiative leaders from 21 states across the U.S. met in Atlanta for Welcoming America’s 4th annual National Affiliate Conference. Over three days, our affiliates shared their work and experiences, along with their stories of the incredible innovation and impact happening in communities across the country.

A powerful lineup of speakers and trainers also shared their wisdom, inspiring participants to address challenging issues – such as how race dynamics play out in our work.  Among the conference highlights:

Jose Antonio Vargas speaks at National Conference

- Keynote speakers Jose Antonio Vargas of Define American and Rinku Sen of the Applied Research Center spoke to the challenges of engaging a broad cross-section of Americans in our work, and inspired us not to shy away from difficult conversations and to embrace our role in leading culture change. Together, we asked the question – how can 2013 become the “Year of the Immigrant Ally?”

-  Social media guru Will Coley of Aquifer Media helped us think through how storytelling and media can come together in a powerful way.  Listen to the personal stories we shared.

-  Crossroads Anti-Racism Trainer Jessica Vazquez Torres led a thought-provoking conversation on race and identity among new immigrants and how those issues play out in Welcoming work.

-   Alternate Roots trainers Priscilla Smith and Stephen Clapp led a lively and FUN training using movement, dance, and art to demonstrate the role of arts and culture in welcoming work.

- Sahar Driver of Active Voice  led an engaging conversation on specific ways to reach the unsure with targeted stories and messaging.

- Erness Wright-Irwin of the Facilitative Leadership Institute  led a highly popular training on effective group processes, using Technology of Participation training methods.

Through the grant, Welcoming America will administer the Fostering Community Engagement and Welcoming Communities project, according to a Cooperative Agreement that will be established between ORR and Welcoming America.

To  learn more about the project, visit our Refugee Resettlement page.

The project, which will be further defined in consultation with ORR, will provide technical assistance to the refugee resettlement network, offering new tools and support to enhance and sustain resettlement work in local communities; build new partnerships; address challenging climates; and ensure the successful integration of the refugees in communities across the United States.

Welcoming America is honored to be a recipient of  the award from the Office of Refugee Resettlement, and to be recognized as a lead technical assistance provider in the area of community engagement and outreach to receiving communities.

Welcoming America will provide technical assistance on core aspects of receiving community engagement (leadership, contact, and communications) through the use of technology, peer mentoring, and tool development and dissemination. Through a partnership with the Idaho Office for Refugees, Welcoming America will also help communities to foster more positive climates by engaging municipal government leaders, businesses, and other community partners, as well as refugees themselves, in creating strategic action plans to increase community capacity.

The result will be a robust community of practice established across refugee agencies, mainstream providers and geographic communities, and a more sustainable refugee resettlement program to support the long-term success of refugee families.

Learn more by visiting the Refugee Resettlement technical assistance page at http://www.welcomingamerica.org/resources/refugees/.

Welcoming America thanks Bus 52 for their time and talent in the production of this video.

Thank you for joining with us to build stronger, more welcoming communities.  The Welcoming movement’s momentum continues to grow, with affiliates now in 20 states and partners across the country.  Here’s what we achieved in just one week, thanks to your support:

-       From fields to food pantries, from arts venues to the dining table, more than 50 events across the country brought together more than 3,000 newcomer and long-time residents  to foster dialogue and positive relationships, and to give back to the community. More than 3,000 additional people were reached through broader community events.

-   From parents at local schools in Northern California, to law enforcement officials on Long Island and Colorado,  community members came together in safe spaces to build trust and create a positive community climate where everyone feels welcome.

It’s no surprise that so many people are joining the movement to create welcoming communities.  Why? Because it works. Recent polling in Michigan offers evidence of this impact: thanks to the efforts of our affiliate,Welcoming Michigan, residents polled in the Bangor/Hartford area showed measurable improvements in their attitudes toward immigrants after just one year of activities in the region.<

Our first-ever National Welcoming Week was just the beginning, and just a fraction of what we are achieving.  In fact, did you know our network brought together more than 12,000 immigrants and U.S. born individuals in 2012 alone?   

Welcoming Week Highlights

Bringing Together New Neighbors  - and Putting Food on the Table for North Carolinians