Inspired by “Welcome to Shelbyville?” Get involved!

Are you inspired by the Welcoming work done by Lucy, Miguel, Hawo, Beverly and others in Shelbyville? Do you want to make your community more welcoming?

GET INVOLVED with Welcoming America, the organization whose mission is to replicate the Welcoming work being done in Tennessee across the country. Sign up for more information by entering your email address in the box to the right! Also, check out our Opportunities for Action page!

Information about “Welcome to Shelbyville:”

“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:

Click here to go to the official ITVS website

Summary of 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 was viewed by an estimated 1.3 million viewers on May 24, 2011 during the national PBS screening. Click here for more details.

To Purchase a Copy of the Film: click here to go to the order page on the Because Foundation website. You can also purchase it on itunes.

The “Welcoming connection”: 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. To get involved with Welcoming America submit your email to the right, and also check out the Get Involved page on our website

Friends of Welcoming: On June 15, Welcoming America launched “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 start now, click here

The Building a Nation of Neighbors Module: This free video module, available online, or on DVD, equips individuals and organizations with story-based tools to better understand and use the Welcoming model that is featured in Welcome to Shelbyville.

Community Screenings: PBS partner ITVS hosted over 90 community cinema screenings of the film across the country for several weeks in the summer of 2011.

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 fromWelcome to Shelbyville.