At our June gathering, we were joined by Rachel Perić, Executive Director of Welcoming America, a nonprofit organization that supports local leaders to advance policies, practices and a culture of belonging for all Americans, including those with immigrant and refugee backgrounds.
Welcoming America’s work and tools offer advocates new approaches to envision, build and sustain support for welcoming as a value and for the local policies that can make it real in our own backyards. Currently, there are about 300 nonprofits and local governments in the US that are doing this work as part of the Welcoming Network.
Their Certified Welcoming program evaluates and assesses communities’ efforts to provide an inclusive place for all. Candidates submit an application; complete a self-assessment; and receive an evaluative audit and a detailed final report that identifies local strengths and provides a roadmap for areas of growth.
Their annual Welcoming Week campaign also offer a pathway for action for those interested in stepping up support for local welcoming policies, and in finding ways to connect neighbors and shift the narrative.
Rachel shared more about the growing Welcoming movement, how you can plug in, and strategies to make sure your own community is creating a welcoming environment – especially in light of so many attacks on our neighbors and the programs that support them. She is looking forward to hearing from RPCV members about the work they are already doing – and can be doing – not only to support refugees and other immigrants, but to build civic trust and strengthen our democracy, as she writes about in this recently published article in the National Civic Review, What Welcoming Communities Are Teaching Us About Civic Trust.