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Immigration in the
Heartland  What do Nebraska,
Minnesota, and Illinois have in common?
Among other things, organizations in these
Midwestern states have recently called upon the
Welcoming Center for help.
Why? Well,
immigration is reshaping the heartland of the
U.S. just as much - if not more - than the
coasts. Some communities in the Midwest are
accustomed to immigration on a small scale, but
are suddenly seeing larger numbers. Others are
confronting bigotry as residents respond to the
first-ever influx of immigrants in their
area.
That's where the Welcoming Center
comes in. Every few weeks, we get a call from
a school district, a government office, or a
nonprofit agency somewhere around the
country. They want to know: How did the
Welcoming Center get started? What services do
we provide? How do we connect to local
government and other nonprofits? And most
importantly: Where do we get our funding?
Often, these inquiries are a sort of
early warning system –- a far-sighted individual
who has observed the influx of Somalian refugees
registering their children for school, and
realized that neither the school district nor
local agencies are well-prepared to help new
arrivals become integrated.
Thinking
ahead to identify ways that new Americans can
become part of their neighborhoods is an
important component of the Welcoming Center's
work. We're excited to see that others around
the country are working to make these
connections too.
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Pew Charitable Trusts
Award Grant to Bridging Cultures
The Welcoming
Center was honored recently to receive a grant
from the Pew Fund for Health and Human Services
in Philadelphia. The grant, which totals
$105,000 over three years, was made through the
Children, Youth and their Families program. The
grant will support our Bridging Cultures
program, which provides assistance to immigrant
students at South Philadelphia High School.
Frazierita D. Klasen, Deputy Director,
Local Programs at the Pew Charitable Trusts,
says of this year's grantees: "We are pleased to
be able to help these organizations carry out
their vital work with young people, one of
Philadelphia's most vulnerable groups, and we
applaud their excellence and effectiveness in
doing so. We share with them a deep commitment
to improving the lives and futures of our youth
and their families."
The Welcoming
Center is grateful to receive this generous
grant and excited about the opportunity to
continuing helping immigrant students persist in
their education, graduate and move on to college
and career-path jobs.
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Dear Friends and
Colleagues: 
The Welcoming Center is
happy to announce that consultant Phyllis Brown
Heyer now serves as our representative to the
Mayor's Commission on African and Caribbean
Immigrant Affairs. The Commission is an
important reflection of the growing presence of
African and Caribbean immigrants in
Philadelphia, and we are pleased to be a part of
their efforts. 
The Welcoming Center is
pleased to announce three new staff members!
Ginny Jones (pictured at left) is our new
Employment Specialist. She will be working
primarily in our Delaware County office. We want
to make sure our services are accessible to the
growing immigrant community in the suburbs.
Ginny is an experienced employment specialist
who is already making connections across
Delaware County.
The Welcoming Center is
able to provide services through the generous
financial support of foundations, corporations,
public agencies, and individuals. 
