Welcoming Week is September 9-18 2022
Celebrated each year in September, Welcoming Week elevates the growing movement of communities that fully embrace new Americans and their contributions to the social fabric of our country. It's a chance for neighbors — both immigrants and U.S.-born residents — to get to know one another and celebrate what unites us as a community. During Welcoming Week, local governments, businesses, non-profits, social services, agencies, and community organizations host events to:
- Celebrate the diversity of our communities
- Bring together newcomers and long-standing residents to build mutual understanding
- Stand in solidarity with marginalized communities
- Help communities move beyond divisiveness and fragmentation
Welcoming Week 2022: Belonging Begins With Us
We’ve all experienced moments where we felt like we didn’t belong. Together, we can change that. Belonging Begins with Us, the theme for 2022 Welcoming Week, aligns with the national Belonging Begins With Us campaign, which is supported by a broad coalition of public and private partners working to help create a more welcoming nation where everyone can feel like they belong. As we emerge from a tumultuous time in our nation’s history, the theme reminds us that more unites us than divides us. Welcoming Week 2022 is an opportunity for your Y to foster connections and build bridges among neighbors so that our communities can move forward in a spirit of unity and healing. We can all play a role in making sure everyone feels welcome. National Partner: Welcoming America
Welcoming America is a nonpartisan, non-profit organization that helps communities across the country achieve prosperity by becoming more welcoming toward immigrants and all residents. Its mission is to inspire people to build inclusive communities that embrace new immigrants and foster opportunity for all. Y-USA has a national partnership with Welcoming America to support local Y capacity building and community scaling of efforts to strengthen cohesion between new immigrants and their receiving communities. Visit www.welcomingamerica.org for the latest welcoming news, resources, and more.
The Need for Welcoming Week
With more than 44 million foreign-born individuals currently living in the U.S.—more than at any other point in history—it is imperative for the well-being of our communities that all neighbors have opportunities to engage, build mutual understanding and work together to create a better society for all.