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Is Your Community “Immigrant Friendly?”

October 17th, 2011

The City of Dayton recently announced the “Welcome Dayton” plan, whose aim is to make Dayton an “immigrant friendly city.”

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)?
  • 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!

 


What are Friends of Welcoming saying?

September 26th, 2011

We continue to be inspired by the submissions we’ve received on the Friends of Welcoming interactive community.  Here are just a few excerpted comments from  Friends responding to online Actions.  We’ll keep updating, so check back soon.

Not a registered user yet?  Click here to get started! 

……….

Why Do You Think Your Community Needs to be More Welcoming?

“Michigan has changed a lot over the last few decades. Even I have changed a lot as I meet many of our new residents…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 or other initiatives to engage people, I think everything would continue in the same way, and we would have tons of divided little societies within America, but thankfully, there is a way to redirect people’s attitudes toward rethinking immigration and immigrants.”

- Pat, Michigan

Learn more about this action and share your own response

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Watch, Learn and Reflect – Shelbyville UNITY Night Video

“I was impressed with the sincerity with which people communicated with one another.  I need to engage my neighbors. As we communicate, we will build relationships.”

- Cara

Learn more about this action and share your own response

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Taking Action: A Response to Unwelcoming Remarks

This Friend shares his experience speaking with a family member who raised concerns about immigrants:
“’Regardless of political thoughts regarding immigration,’ I said, ‘these people are already here, and as good neighbors, we ought to help them out and befriend them.’ For a moment, she thought about the issue, and she was persuaded that my cause was not so bad after all… we should show hospitality to those who have arrived in our hometown.

There are many people in my family that hold similar beliefs when it comes to immigration, and perhaps even more can be persuaded.

I really believe that the next step in this dialogue is to bring people of different cultures back to my hometown and introduce more people to the diversity of the world. People will get to know their neighbors as more than a statistic of globalization, but as real people, with real hopes and dreams.

- Ken, Michigan

Learn more about this action and share your own response

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Watch, Learn and Reflect – Shelbyville UNITY Night Video

“Everybody is my neighbor and we need to help each other and accept everybody. That is my philosophy too and I am glad to hear another woman in Shelbyville express it too.”

- Julie, Ohio

Learn more about this action and share your own response

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A Welcoming Poem Submission

See the friend in every face
See the neighbor in every name
See the American in every immigrant
See

-John, Tennessee

Learn more about this action and share your own poem

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Taking Action: A Response to Unwelcoming Remarks

“I have responded with comments on the Springfield Newsleader blog… anti-immigrant, racist attacks are not acceptable.”

- Angela, Missouri

Learn more about this action and share your own response

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A Response to Why Do We Care? PSA

By highlighting the ways that immigrants enhance U.S. citizen’s lives, this video [Why Do We Care? PSA by affiliate Uniting NC] attempts to get communities to understand the breadth and depth of the positive impact that immigrants have on a community. Because this video shows a variety of different ways that immigrants and Americans have had positive interactions, this video is effective in reaching a large audience.

The combination of having people of all different ages and nationalities showing quotes that illustrate the numerous ways that immigrants have shaped people’s lives is effective.

- Natalie, Washington DC

Learn more about this action and share your own response


Friends On the Map – Watch the Movement Build!

September 26th, 2011

See where our Friends movement is building on the map below.  Registered Friends of Welcoming are pinpointed by zip code.  Sign up today and complete your profile to add your location to the map!


The Story of Friends of Welcoming

June 14th, 2011

Interest in Welcoming America’s work is growing at a tremendous rate. More and more Americans are recognizing that our communities are strongest when everyone living in them feels like they belong. We are getting phone calls and emails daily from people who want to join our expanding network.

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 everyone has the time or  desire to start their own.  Now, for individuals, groups of friends, and organizations that are not ready to become full Affiliates, there’s an easy way to get involved.

Friends of Welcoming is a fun, interactive way to make a difference in your community and connect with others who are doing the same across the nation.  Please join Friends of Welcoming today and get started earning points, winning prizes, and making your community more welcoming to all.

Welcome to the movement!

Sincerely,

David Lubell
Executive Director, Welcoming America
We are thrilled that so many of you want to make your communities a more welcoming place for all, including immigrants.