Making Inclusion a Social Norm in America
By: Julie Gehrki, Vice President and COO, Walmart Foundation and Rachel Peric, Executive Director, Welcoming America Inclusion builds stronger communities, that’s why the Walmart Foundation is providing Welcoming America with a $1 million grant to accelerate work led by communities across the country to promote belonging and inclusion. Communities work best when everyone who lives…
Read MoreSeeding Civity in Welcoming America Communities …Moving Forward!
By Malka Kopell Click here for full article. Earlier this fall, in partnership with Welcoming America, we offered our services to four of their Welcoming Communities following an RFP process. We have now started seeding civity in San Jose, CA; Champaign-Urbana, IL; Salt Lake County, UT; and Pittsburgh, PA! One of the most exciting…
Read MoreRachel Peric on the This is Civity podcast
Rachel Peric, executive director of Welcoming America, is interviewed in this podcast “This Is Civity” to discuss the importance of inclusion in communities, and how government and business leaders can lead the way in taking specific actions to make immigrants feel more welcome. Listen here
Read MoreThe human on the other side of Trump’s wall: Lessons from Schindler’s List in an era of othering
Like all nations, America is bound together by deep, and often deeply conflicted, myths and narratives about who we are. The President’s demands for a border wall has refashioned policy discussion about immigration into a retelling of one of the most dangerous narratives we have—one that falsely pits immigrant Americans against so-called “real” Americans. As…
Read MoreDetroit city-to-city visit big hit
Building a welcoming economy—one that is inclusive of immigrants, their talents, their aspirations, and their contributions—can be a daunting endeavor. The Welcoming Economies (WE) Global Network brings together over 20 cities across the Rust Belt who have initiated local initiatives to do just that. Most of the WE members launched their efforts with the last…
Read MoreHow advocates can advance immigrant workforce issues at the state and local level
This post originally appeared at National Skills Coalition, authored by Amanda Bergson-Shilocock. As Welcoming Week prepares to kick off, with hundreds of events scheduled around the country, National Skills Coalition is releasing a new report that gives state and local advocates fresh ideas for advancing policies to improve immigrant access to workforce and adult education services. At…
Read MoreThe power of volunteering in welcoming communities
Originally published in the September 2018 edition of SLOGOPIS and translated from Slovenian. Church World Service, a refugee resettlement organization, reported that its volunteer base had quadrupled. Welcoming communities around the world have seen a similar uptick in volunteerism, and harnessing the energy, skills, and commitment that volunteers bring to the welcoming movement has become…
Read MoreWelcoming Week brought neighbors together to act our values
Over a thousand events in 40+ states offer a counterpoint to the national vitriol We are wrapping up Welcoming Week in a time of extremes, both the harmful rhetoric that isolates us and hampers our potential as a thriving, inclusive society, and the immense enthusiasm and support for affirming our American values. This is especially…
Read MoreEight Themes for Welcoming Week 2018
It’s a time of immense challenges for the communities we serve, many of whom are living in fear. We are becoming polarized, and many Americans have been uprooted by the sense that they no longer belong. At the same time, many people are standing up for their neighbors and affirming that our country is a…
Read MoreSpotlight on Louisville, Kentucky
Recognizing the positive effect that promoting inclusion has had on its economy and neighborhoods, Louisville, Kentucky has become a leader in the welcoming movement. Louisville is home to a host of innovative programs and policies to help immigrants and long-term members integrate into the fabric of the city, and, in return, residents of all backgrounds…
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