First Coast YMCA Joins Welcoming America & Hundreds of Communities to Celebrate New Americans During Welcoming Week
This Welcoming Week, taking place Sept. 15–24, 2017, the YMCA of Florida’s First Coast will join Welcoming America and hundreds of YMCAs and other organizations nationwide to celebrate immigrants’ contributions to communities and bring together all residents in a spirit of unity.
During Welcoming Week, all First Coast YMCAs will be open to the entire community.
“We believe the First Coast is stronger when everyone feels welcome and we can all work together for the common good,” said Eric K. Mann, President & CEO, YMCA of Florida’s First Coast. “Welcoming Week is an opportunity for neighbors – both immigrants and U.S.-born residents – to connect, find common ground and celebrate our shared values – all for a better us.”
The Y has a long history of welcoming and engaging immigrants – from launching the nation’s first English as a Second Language class in 1856 to providing aid to thousands of new arrivals at Ellis and Angel Islands in the early 1900s.
We believed then as we do now, that offering our newest neighbors the support and care to thrive creates stronger, more connected communities for all. With more than 42 million foreign-born individuals living in the United States today, the Y is committed to strengthening community by fostering an environment that encourages successful immigrant integration and social cohesion.
Welcoming America is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that is leading the growing movement of inclusive communities nationwide. They provide partners and communities with the guidance, resources and support to foster a culture and policy environment that makes it possible for newcomers to feel valued and to fully participate alongside their neighbors in the social, civic, and economic fabric of their adopted hometowns. Learn more at https://www.welcomingamerica.org/.
