Annual Campaign That Brings Neighbors Together Celebrates 10-Year Anniversary and Expands Globally

DECATUR, Ga., Sept. 6, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Welcoming America, a national nonprofit organization, will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of Welcoming Week from September 9-18, under the theme "Where We Belong."

For the past ten years, Welcoming America has led a growing movement of communities around the world in celebrating welcoming, belonging, and inclusion for all people, including immigrants. Welcoming Week provides an opportunity for towns, cities, and organizations to highlight their diversity and showcase the contributions of new residents. Through multicultural events, films screenings, musical performances, panels discussions and much more, Welcoming Week provides a platform for communities around the world to amplify their efforts to foster belonging locally.

Welcoming America Executive Director Rachel Perić reflected on the past 10 years of the campaign, "From humble beginnings as a grassroots celebration of values, Welcoming Week has grown over the last decade to become a worldwide celebration. This week, cities and towns across the globe unite to share the message that everyone - no matter where we've come from - can belong in the place we now call home, and our communities are better for it."

This year, Welcoming Week's impact is expanding internationally. The spirit of welcoming and growing need for inclusion of immigrants and refugees has led a breadth of communities across the world to join in proclaiming their communities are places where we belong. Through the global initiative, Welcoming International, Welcoming Week 2022 will be celebrated in the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand, Spain, and Canada.

"As an abiding friend of Welcoming America, and founding partner of the Welcoming International Alliance, we're thrilled to join Welcoming Week in its 10th year and expand this movement of communities where everyone can belong," said Welcoming Australia CEO Aleem Ali. "Welcoming Week is an important opportunity for Australians to celebrate cultural richness and diversity and to advance welcoming and inclusion for all."

From New Zealand to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, members of the 300+ member Welcoming Network and the Welcoming International alliance are set to host events including multicultural festivals, dance performances, presentations on immigration history through cartography, virtual cooking classes, and art competitions.

Among Welcoming Week's official partners are the YMCA, Global Parliament of Mayors, Students Rebuild, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Welcoming Australia, Church World Service, and more.

"The Y has a long history of serving newcomers and helping communities be welcoming for all, and Welcoming Week is a powerful extension of this work. We're grateful for our enduring partnership with Welcoming America and proud once again to host events across the country to bring together people of all backgrounds to make connections and celebrate everything that unites us as neighbors." says Suzanne McCormick, President and CEO, YMCA of the USA (Y-USA)

The success of Welcoming Week could not be possible without our members, nonprofit partners, and funders who have invested their time and resources to ensure that communities have the tools and resources to welcome newcomers and create a sense of belonging for everyone. Walmart and the Walmart Foundation have each supported Welcoming Week at both the national and local levels.

"Welcoming our neighbors has long been a core part of our values," said Julie Gehrki, Vice President, Philanthropy for Walmart and Vice President and COO of the Walmart Foundation. "In its 10^th year, Welcoming Week is an important celebration of the connections created when people come together. Both Walmart and the Walmart Foundation are excited to support Welcoming America's work to foster communities where everyone can feel at home."

Any organization or individual is welcome to host an event during Welcoming Week, use the host toolkit, and submit events on the website to appear in the event listing page and map.

Welcoming Week is an annual campaign and celebration to showcase the movement of communities striving to be more welcoming places for all, including immigrants and refugees. It provides individuals and communities the opportunity to proclaim welcoming values through events and local initiatives that foster mutual understanding between immigrants and non-immigrants and deeper belonging for all.

Welcoming America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that supports communities building a welcoming society where every person, including immigrants, can fully contribute and shape our shared prosperity. Through the Welcoming Network of 300+ local governments and nonprofits, we work to help communities develop the roadmap they need to create welcoming policies and share new approaches to inclusion that create an environment where everyone can truly thrive.

SOURCE Welcoming America