Celebrating Welcoming Week: A Guide for Libraries

This toolkit published by the American Library Association in partnership with the National Forum on Libraries, Census 2020, & New Americans; the Institute of Museum and Library Services; and Welcoming America provides tips, tools, examples, and other resources for U.S. libraries to participate in Welcoming Week. Because libraries play a unique role in helping communities…

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Welcoming Week celebrates movement of inclusion by “Creating Home Together”

Press Release: Atlanta, GA — From September 12-20, Welcoming America, a national nonprofit organization, will lead the annual celebration of Welcoming Week events happening around the world under the theme of “Creating Home Together.” Due to the pandemic, Welcoming Week—which typically takes place through in-person events around the world—will mostly shift to virtual programming. Under…

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Sample Welcoming Week 2020 Proclamation

Download a template of a sample welcoming proclamation that your community leadership can adopt during Welcoming Week 2020 as a public commitment to welcoming policies and practices.

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Create home with us during Welcoming Week 2020

What does home mean to you? In this pandemic, we may be redefining where home is, what makes us feel at home, or how to make home a more inclusive and equal place for all. That is why our theme for this year’s Welcoming Week is “Creating Home Together”. Through virtual spaces and digital sharing,…

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Welcoming Week 2020: Messaging and talking points

How to use talking points In addition to being a community-building tool, Welcoming Week is an opportunity to share the work of welcoming places with the media. This list provides talking points that you may use in your media outreach plan to share your event and organization’s work with reporters. It may be used to…

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Welcoming Week 2020: Event Examples

Below are examples of events that can be hosted in-person, virtually, or a combination of both: BEAUTIFICATION PROJECTS Clean up a local park or a few neighborhood blocks. Tend a community garden  Paint a community mural Build a new playground COLLABORATE WITH DIVERSE BUSINESSES  Host a virtual cooking demonstration with a local immigrant chef Recognize…

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Hosting an In-Person Event During a Pandemic

To keep our communities safe and healthy, we recommend hosting virtual events or events that allow participants to maintain social distancing. If you are hosting an in-person event, following are some questions to consider when selecting your venue or event space. VENUE/EVENT SPACE What are the venue’s policies and guidelines related to COVID-19?  What kind…

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Developing Your Event

Welcoming Week hosts build bridges through events that bring people of different backgrounds to work on a shared activity. Use the following steps to help guide the development and execution of your event.  1. Listen Start by listening. Ask residents: What are the needs you are hearing from your community? What is being identified as…

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Get Out the Vote + Welcoming Week 2020

This year, consider hosting a voter registration drive as part of your Welcoming Week plans to encourage voting in the 2020 elections. Now more than ever, it is important for all community members to understand their voting rights and the importance of voting for our leaders.  Here are some suggestions adapted from the League of…

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