Category: Welcoming

Posted on

Save the Dates! Virtual Welcoming & Belonging Series

This summer, you’re invited to join community leaders from across Nebraska who are building inclusive and vibrant communities!

This virtual series will provide collaborative sessions, presentations, and networking with Nebraskans who are committed to creating communities where everyone, including our immigrant neighbors, feels valued.

Each session will take place on a Friday
from 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM CT (11:00 AM -12:30 PM MT)
via Zoom

Session Dates:
June 16 – Session 1: Welcoming Week Tips & Ideas
July 14 – Session 2: Ableism and Belonging
August 18 – Session 3: Building Capacity for Racial Equity & Justice
September 8 – Session 4: Welcoming Week Kick Off!

As in years past, expect these sessions to be interactive. We know from your comments that time to meet and engage with others doing similar work is one of the best things about these opportunities.

Watch for an exciting list of presenters and registration information soon! In the meantime, mark your calendars – and share this blog with your friends and networks.

Posted on

MLK Day – How will you strengthen your community?

MLK QuoteToday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. This is the only federal holiday designated as a National Day of Service. This holiday has become one day each year when people across the country step up to make communities more equitable and take action to help fulfill Dr. King’s dream.

Together, we can strengthen ties to our communities and to one other while we address critical issues that divide us. 

How will you strengthen your community?

    • Engage with your community and create constructive action
      • Host a discussion on Dr. King’s life and teachings or his principles of nonviolence. 
      • Attend or organize a local event – see a list of possible events below!
    • Act on Dr. King’s legacy of social justice and equity
    • Recommit by volunteering to serve others. You can clean up a public space, mentor a young person, or help those who are food insecure. 
      • Serve meals at a homeless shelter.
      • Remove graffiti and litter from a park or neighborhood.
      • Organize a coat drive or a blood drive.

Join one of the many events across the state to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr:

28th Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Rally (Lincoln) – January 16th

    • The Annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Youth Rally and March is proud to announce the 2023 theme MLK to Me • “Walk Together.” This experience will be live-streamed Monday, January 16, 2023, with the “Pre-Rally Program” beginning at 9:30 am (CST), followed by the 28th Annual “Call to Action Program” beginning at 10:00 am.
    • All “live” components will take place at 14th and “R” Street • Centennial Room • Student Union • The University of Nebraska Lincoln.

MLK Week UNL (Lincoln) – January 16th-24th

    • The Office of Diversity and Inclusion presents a week-long celebration of the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Events are designed to facilitate both reflection and action toward a better appreciation of and respect for the dignity of every person. While each of us has the power to make a difference ourselves, we can make the biggest impact when we work together. Find a complete list of activities in the link above.

UNK MLK Day of Service Luncheon (Kearney) – January 25th

    • Join UNK Student Diversity & Inclusion in celebrating the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. with a featured keynote Dr. Bernard Lafayette, Jr., followed by the 3rd Annual MLK Day of Service Project from 2-5pm.
    • Dr. Lafayette co-founded the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee [SNCC] in 1960 with his college roommate, Rep. John Lewis. He was a leader of the Nashville Movement Lunch Counter Sit-ins in 1960, and the 1961 Freedom Rides, and directed the Selma, Alabama Voter Registration Project (as depicted in the 2014 Academy Award-Winning motion picture “SELMA”)

Creighton University MLK Week (Omaha) – January 13th and 18th

    • Guest speakers Latasha Morrison, author and certified trainer in cultural intelligence and unconscious bias and Jonathan C. Augustine, reconciliation scholar, ordained minister and professor.

Doane University MLK Week (Crete) – January 16th-20th

    • A week’s worth of programming including a march, lunch and learns and service projects and movies under the theme “UNITY, commUNITY, opportUNITY.”
Posted on

Photos + Videos from Your Welcoming Week!

YAY for a successful Welcoming Week 2022!

Welcoming Week 2022 gave us a chance to celebrate #WhereWeBelong by bringing people together across lines of difference to develop greater understanding, mutual support, and communities where we all belong.

This year, creative Welcomers across Nebraska hosted festivals, virtual cooking tutorials, and storytelling events. And several local elected leaders gave official proclamations for Welcoming Week, including in South Sioux City, Columbus, and Lincoln!

Here are a few photos of some of the celebrations across the state. Check out a slideshow photo roundup:

See Thumbnails

Beyond Welcoming Week

We love Welcoming Week so much we’re extending it, so the fun doesn’t end! Here are some upcoming events and ways that you can continue building communities #WhereWeBelong

Thank you for celebrating with us, and for being an integral part of what makes Nebraska so welcoming.

Please reach out to Christa and me to support additional welcoming and belonging activities throughout the year!

Posted on

Welcoming Week is Underway: Local Events inside!

Welcoming Week

Celebrate Welcoming Week!

Happy Welcoming Week! Nebraskans across the state are celebrating what makes Nebraska communities vibrant and strong.

Here’s how to participate:

Find local events NEAR YOU! From festivals and parades, to learning events, cultural performances, and sharing food and stories of belonging, there’s still time to join a Nebraska Welcoming Week event in a community near you!

You can also join a virtual event or participate in a Welcoming Week event outside Nebraska if you are traveling – Welcoming Week is being celebrated around the world!

Print a Welcomer sign for your office, business or to post on social media or use a virtual Welcomer background in your next video call! You can see examples below of leaders from across the state who joined us virtually to kick off Welcoming Week together as part of our statewide convening to build more inclusive communities!

Welcomers

Don’t forget to engage on social media! Share your photos and experiences with welcoming on social media using the hashtag #WhereWeBelong. Follow Nebraska Is Home and Welcoming America on Facebook or @WelcomingUSA and @NebraskaIsHome on Instagram and Twitter.

Enjoy these photos of Welcoming Week events that have happened so far across the state:

Harvest Moon Festival
Yezidi dance group performing at the Harvest Moon Festival organized by the Asian Community and Cultural Center in Lincoln
Rogelio
Rogelio Rodriguez with Unity in Action speaks at South Sioux City Council about the Welcoming Week proclamation that the Council gave
Why Lincoln
Community members came together in Lincoln to share stories of migration around the theme “Where We Belong: Why Lincoln”

Thank you for celebrating Welcoming Week and Where We Belong with us!

Posted on

Welcoming Week events across Nebraska! Sept. 9-18

Welcoming Week

Welcoming Week 2022 is here!
September 9 – 18 and beyond!

This 10th anniversary of Welcoming Week is a great opportunity to get to know neighbors – new and old – to embrace the universal values of welcoming places, and to celebrate culture, helping everyone to belong and feel at home. This year’s Welcoming Week theme “Where We Belong” aims to go deeper and spark individual reflection on how and why belonging occurs, and ways we can break barriers to foster belonging for all, including immigrants and refugees.

Here in Nebraska and across the globe community members are practicing what makes welcoming places and fosters belonging for all people.

Find local events NEAR YOU! Nebraskans are hosting festivals, parades, learning events, cultural performances with music and dance, sharing food and stories of belonging, and more!

Join a virtual event or include a Welcoming Week event if you are traveling this week.

Print a Welcomer sign for your office, business or to post on social media!

Engage on social media! Share your photos and experiences with welcoming on social media using the hashtag #WhereWeBelong”. Follow Nebraska Is Home and Welcoming America on Facebook or @WelcomingUSA and @NebraskaIsHome on Instagram and Twitter.

Posted on

Let’s launch Welcoming Week together!

Join us for the final session of the Nebraska is Home virtual summer series Practicing Community Tools for Race Equity and Belonging, as we launch Welcoming Week together!

Friday, September 9th at 10:00 AM-11:30 AM (CT) / 11:00 AM-12:30 PM (MT)
Inclusion Practices Everywhere in Community Work

Our final session falls on the first day of Welcoming Week, as groups across Nebraska and all over the country hold events that bring neighbors from different backgrounds together to get to know one another and celebrate what unites us as a community! This year, the Welcoming Week theme is “Where We Belong.”

Join our virtual session with other Nebraskans as we celebrate this week of belonging! Together, we’ll:

    • Preview techniques to speak up against stereotypes and other biased behaviors, without blame or guilt;
    • Share ideas, tips and learnings about holding neighbor-to-neighbor events year-round that promote inclusion and belonging; and
    • Create a Welcoming Week message together and hear what other Nebraskans have planned for this week and beyond!

REGISTER NOW
(If you registered for previous events in the series, there is no need to register again.)

Welcomers

We hope to see you there!

Posted on

Tea Time: Gear up for Welcoming Week!

Welcoming Week

Updates & Opportunities for Inclusive Communities

I’m happy you are here. This is my favorite time of year, when the days are sunny and breezy, music and cultural festivals are in full swing, and Welcoming Week is just around the corner!

Welcoming Week: “Where We Belong” Sept. 9-18

Welcoming Week is a national initiative that Nebraskans participate in each year in September. It’s a time for cities, organizations, and communities to hold events that bring neighbors from different backgrounds together to get to know one another and celebrate what unites us as a community. This year, Welcoming Week is September 9-18.

The theme for Welcoming Week this year is “Where We Belong.” By focusing on the places and spaces that foster belonging (ie. cities, workplaces, neighborhoods, etc.), we can go deeper and spark individual reflection on how and why belonging occurs, and ways we can break barriers so that places can foster belonging for all community members, including immigrants and refugees.

What’s happening across Nebraska?

Each September, people across Nebraska seize the opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to inclusiveness by hosting dozens of cultural and bridge-building events!

Events can be big or small, virtual or in-person. Find ideas, inspiration, and a toolkit on the official Welcoming Week website. You can also check out this recap of last year’s Welcoming Week festivities across Nebraska.

Already planning your Welcoming Week event? We’d love to hear about it and help get the word out. Email me!

We’ll start to add local events to our Nebraska Is Home Blog soon, so check back on the blog and help spread the word by sharing it on social media.

In the meantime, check out Belonging Begins With Us, where community members share their thoughts on ‘belonging.’ You can also share your story!

I can’t wait to hear about what’s happening in your community!

Beyond Welcoming Week

If you haven’t started planning your event yet, it’s not too late! We are extending Welcoming Week to the entire month of September and beyond. Send me a message, and I would be happy to help you plan an event to showcase what makes your community welcoming. The Welcoming Week Toolkit has lots of useful ideas, information, and even social media graphics to help you get started.

Thank you for making Nebraska a place where we all belong.

Posted on

Get ready for Welcoming Week!

This year, Welcoming Week celebrates its 10th anniversary with the theme “Where We Belong.” Since 2012, thousands of Nebraskans have participated through the arts, music, community meals, recipe exchanges, voter registration, and more —growing to more than 30 events in at least 8 communities and signaling broad commitment to welcoming values across our state.

Join us in 2022 to recognize and celebrate the people, places, and values that ensure everyone feels welcome and that they belong, no matter where they come from. Khenda and I are glad to talk with you and help to plan what you can do in your community! 

You can find our contact information and some ideas to get your started below.

Plan your event and join us in Celebrating Welcoming Week!
September 9-18, 2022
#WhereWeBelong

WELCOMING WEEK RESOURCES

  • Resources and best practices for planning your event – See slide presentation and recording
  • Welcoming Week Toolkit
  • Visual assets to promote your event!
  • Campaign hashtags: #WelcomingWeek2022 and #WhereWeBelong
  • National Partner social media handles: @WelcomingUSA (Instagram/Twitter) @WelcomingAmerica (LinkedIn/Facebook)

Share your event with the Event Submission Form and be counted among the many events across Nebraska and across the country:

We urge you to continue to visit the Welcoming Week website where you can sign up for updates, add your events to the map, and much more!

Posted on

Our past, our present and our future! Celebrating Immigrant Heritage Month

June is Immigrant Heritage Month. This is an opportunity to reflect on our past, take hold of our present, and imagine our future. Immigrant Nebraskans shaped the state we live in today, building our agricultural economy, as entrepreneurs, educators, inventors, laborers and community leaders. Today, immigrant neighbors continue in those same roles adding to the rich tapestry of culture, art, and community across this state, playing a role in together shaping our collective future.

WATCH: Celebrating #ImmigrantHeritageMonth

 

It is hard to find a part of everyday life in the United States that immigrant Americans have not shaped – our impact is felt in the movies we watch, the music we listen to, the food we eat, and so much more.

To Cook or Eat:

Taste of Belonging: This collection pairs recipes from diverse cultures with activities that connect people around a shared table and get them working together on a common goal.

The Return of Taste of 27th Street: This guided walking tour is now sold out, but you can still visit each restaurant: Intuit Raw Foods, Banhwich Cafe, Misky Bakery, and Bloom in Lincoln.

Support your favorite local immigrant-owned restaurant.  Or try a new one!

Events to Attend:

June 17, 18 & 19 Stromsburg Swedish Festival 

June 17, 18 & 19 Holdrege Swedish Days

June 18 Omaha World Refugee Day

June 24, 25 & 26 Clarkson Czech Days

Learn More:

June 28 6th Annual Columbus Diversity and Inclusion Summit  For anyone, especially HR professionals, business leaders, community leaders, and D&I practitioners interested in supporting diversity and inclusion efforts for our growing communities and workplaces!

Now through September 20 Carne y Arena  at Kaneko in Omaha. This is an immersive VR experience recounting the harrowing journey of Central American and Mexican refugees. CARNE y ARENA is presented for the first time in Nebraska.

To Watch or Stream:

Local stories: Centro Hispano in Columbus invites you to celebrate Immigrant Heritage Month with the series Semillas del Destino! Tune in for new stories each Friday on their Facebook page – this Friday, watch Jose’s story!

Minari: Written and directed by Lee Isaac Chung, Minari is, at least in part, based on a true story. Minari, which won a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, follows the story of an immigrant Korean family who move from California to Arkansas in hope of a better life and land to call their own.

Little America: Inspired by the true stories, “Little America” goes beyond the headlines to look at the funny, romantic, heartfelt, inspiring, surprising stories of immigrant Americans, more relevant now than ever.

To Read:

      • The Next Great Migration (Sonia Shah)
      • The God Who Sees (Karen Gonzalez)
      • The Undocumented Americans (Karla Cornejo Villavicencio)
      • Dear America: Notes of an Undocumented Citizen (Jose Antonio Vargas)
      • The Ungrateful Refugee (Dina Nayeri)
      • The Good Immigrant (26 Writers Reflect on America)
      • The Land of Open Graves (Jason De Leon)
      • Once I Was You (Maria Hinojosa)
      • The Warmth of Other Suns (Isabel Wilkerson)
      • The Beekeeper of Aleppo (Christy Lefteri)
      • Americanah (Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

Lutheran Immigrant and Refugee Services shares more information on these books and interviews with authors

Posted on

Tea Time: Upcoming inclusion events you won’t want to miss!

How are we in May already? But here we all are, and as the May flowers blossom in all their colorful glory, there are many emerging opportunities around cultivating communities where everyone feels that they belong.

Belonging Begins With Us

Together, we can create communities where everyone feels they belong. Together with Welcoming America’s Belonging Begins With Us campaign, we are thrilled to share local Nebraska stories, beginning with Tut’s story. Tut found and created a sense of belonging in Lincoln, and is now helping others buy their first homes, putting roots down to become vital members of their community.

Read Tut’s Story

We will be sharing more stories on our Belonging Begins With Us page, so stay tuned!

Rural Assembly Everywhere!

Rural Assembly Everywhere
May 10 and 11 from 1 to  4 pm CT
Free, Virtual Event

Rural Assembly Everywhere will this year feature Nebraska inclusion leaders Nancy Tellez, City of Crete Community Assistance Director; Valeria Rodriguez, paralegal with Immigrant Legal Services and Co-Founder at Empowering Families:Empoderando Familias in Scottsbluff; and Christa Yoakum, Senior Welcoming Coordinator at Nebraska Appleseed. Join the conversation about successes and challenges of rural community inclusion!

Rural Assembly Everywhere is a virtual festival for rural advocates and the rural-curious, listeners and leaders, neighbors and admirers. Participants will enjoy two days of programming featuring artists and poets, civic leaders, and experts.

Rural Assembly is a nonprofit connecting with people and organizations across the country dedicated to building more opportunity, changing perceptions in service to healing a divided nation, and working toward better policy for rural communities.

Register Now

Welcoming Interactive

Welcoming Interactive
May 18 to 20, 2022
In-person event in Charlotte, North Carolina

There is still time to register! We hope you’ll join us at the annual Welcoming Interactive. This gathering of people from nonprofits, local governments, and many other sectors highlights successful practices and inspiring stories about immigrant inclusion, programs, policies, and partnerships on economic development, civic participation, government leadership, and more. Attendees learn about local innovations from peer communities and come away with new ideas and energy to foster welcoming places for all.

Welcoming Interactive is hosted by Welcoming America, a nonprofit leading a movement of inclusive communities to become more prosperous by ensuring everyone belongs, including immigrants.

Race and Equity Resources

Co-creating a home where everyone belongs, has a voice, and is valued in their fullness requires us to tackle systemic barriers to inclusion and belonging. Here are some tools for that journey of learning and understanding together.