Join us in Bridging to Belonging: 11th-Annual Nebraska Welcoming Convening Series

Join us for the (virtual) 11th-annual statewide welcoming convening series – which brings together community leaders from all over Nebraska to share experiences, insights, and strategies for building welcoming and inclusive communities. 

During these summer sessions, we will have the opportunity to hear and learn from experienced local leaders, participate in workshops, and network with peers, all with the aim of enhancing our collective knowledge and skills. We hope you will join us on the following Wednesdays as we actively bridge to belonging together.

Save the dates now and register for the series!

(You can register for the series and attend whichever dates work for you!)

———

Session 1: We Belong to Each Other – Unity Alliance & Multi-Sector Partnerships
Wednesday, June 11th, 10 – 11:30 AM CT (9 – 10:30 AM MT)

Come learn about creative, multi-sector belonging work in rural Idaho! “We Belong to Each Other” is a powerful, interactive presentation rooted in the work of Unity Alliance of Southern Idaho, an organization committed to building compassionate, connected communities. Through inspiring stories, visuals, and small group dialogue, participants will explore how fostering belonging can transform lives and reduce division—and discover how they can take meaningful action to help everyone feel seen, valued, and supported. Join this conversation with Alejandra Hernandez, Executive Director of Unity Alliance of Southern Idaho, and Matthew Hicks, Twin Falls Police Chief.

Alejandra Hernandez 
Alejandra was born and raised in Santiago, Chile where she earned a BA in Agricultural Engineering and an MA in Social Communication. When she moved to the USA in 1997, she went back to school to learn English and earned a BA in Educational Psychology and an MA in Educational Leadership from Cambridge College, Massachusetts. She is the Executive Director of Unity Alliance of Southern Idaho, a nonprofit organization that supports and promotes the understanding that ALL immigrants contribute to our region’s economy, way of life, and values. Passion is what drives everything she does in life. She is a lifelong learner and her mantra in life is “Get curious, not furious.” Currently she lives in Twin Falls with Margarito, her best PETsona!

Matthew Hicks
Just last month, Mathew Hicks was named Twin Falls Police Chief. He has been with the police department since 1993 demonstrating a commitment to high standards within the department. Matthew holds an MA in Human Resource Training and Development from Idaho State University, a degree from the FBI National Academy in Police Administration, and a BA in Political Science & Sociology from Carroll College. He also contributes to the growth and success of community as a business co-owner. 

Hicks said his goal as Chief is to continue building the relationships Twin Falls Police has established. He also expressed his desire to form new ones with groups and communities who might feel like they lack a connection with the police force.

———

Save these dates! More information on these sessions to come! 

Session 2: Authentic Allyship in Community

• Wednesday, July 9th, 10 – 11:30 AM CT (9 – 10:30 AM MT)

Session 3: Wellness through Indigenous and Immigrant Wisdom

• Wednesday, August 13th, 7 – 8:30 PM CT (6 – 7:30 PM MT)(Evening Session)

Session 4:  Your Silence Hurts – Disrupting Bias

• Wednesday, September 10th, 10 – 11:30 AM CT (9 – 10:30 AM MT)

Please let us know what you need to be able to participate!
We strive to host inclusive, accessible events that allow all participants to engage fully. To request an accommodation or for inquiries about accessibility, please contact Christa Yoakum (402-438-8853 x114, cyoakum@neappleseed.org) or Eric Garcia-Mendez (402-438-8853 x113, egarciamendez@neappleseed.org). We will try our best to accommodate requests. 

DID YOU KNOW: There is also an in-person Welcoming Communities Conference in Gering/Scottsbluff on June 19th! 

Empowering Families and Panhandle Partnership will be hosting an in-person Welcoming Communities Conference on Thursday, June 19, 2025 at the Gering Civic Center. This conference focuses on providing over 140 professionals and community leaders a forum for awareness, dialogue, and skill-building to create welcoming and inclusive environments within their agencies and communities. 

This year’s keynote speaker will be Kimberly Serrano. Kimberly Serrano is the Director of the Center for Inclusion and Belonging at the American Immigration Council where she provides vision and strategic direction for a portfolio of narrative and culture change projects that work to increase social trust, bridge diverse experiences, and foster a sense of belonging.

(Note: the registration links are different for the virtual series and the in-person conference!)

Welcoming Week 2024 has been a beautiful celebration of Nebraska’s cultural richness, inclusion, and building bridges through connected communities – with a few more events still to come! This year, creative Welcomers across Nebraska hosted over 70 events in more than 9 communities across the state from Scottsbluff and North Platte to Crete and South Sioux City. Events included local business tours, community celebrations, cultural festivals and performances, main street parades, learning events and conversations, citizenship ceremonies, multilingual storytelling, and neighbors coming together to share space in art, music and food, all to ensure everyone in our community can feel a sense of belonging! 

Check-out these photos of a few more of the #WelcomingWeek2024 events that have happened across Nebraska:

Celebrando Siouxland with Unity in Action and many local partners!

Mural Painting with Literacy Council of Grand Island & Naturalization Ceremony with Grand Island Welcoming Initiative

Columbus Welcome Wagons & Heritage Festival with Centro Hispano, Columbus Public Libraries, and other local Columbus partners!

Celebrate Crete with Doane University and Crete in Motion!

Harvest Moon Festival and Lincoln Unites with Lincoln Welcoming Week! 

Check out more photos from partners across the state:

Beyond Welcoming Week events to come!

Establishing a welcoming culture in any community requires ongoing, consistent work to foster equity and inclusion. In many ways, Welcoming Week provides an opportunity for us to cultivate the awareness and energy that’s needed to sustain those year-long welcoming efforts.

There are still a few more events to catch! And then Nebraska communities’ local inclusion and belonging work continues! Take a moment to reflect on your Welcoming Week and the opportunities to build upon it – whether inviting someone new you met to another community event, continuing your personal learning, expanding community learning, or maybe just regrouping with other Welcomers to say “What’s next?” 

Thank you to all for celebrating Welcoming Week 2024 and for being an integral part of what makes Nebraska home for so many! Please reach out to us to support additional welcoming and belonging efforts throughout the year.

Welcoming Week 2024 is here!

Welcoming Week: September 13-22 and beyond!

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 – because our communities are strongest when everyone knows they belong. This year’s Welcoming Week theme “We’re All In” 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 country and globe, community members are practicing what makes welcoming places and fosters belonging for all people.

Here’s how to participate:

Find local Nebraska events NEAR YOU! Nebraskans are hosting cultural performances, learning events, festivals and parades, and sharing food and stories of belonging and more! See this calendar of more than 50 events in communities across the state!

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, post on social media, or use a virtual Welcomer background in your next video call! 

Engage on social media! Share your photos and experiences with welcoming on social media using the hashtag “#WelcomingWeek2024”. Follow Nebraska Is Home and Welcoming America on Facebook or @WelcomingUSA and @NebraskaIsHome on Instagram and Twitter. 

Language access is foundational to creating communities and spaces where everyone feels they belong. We’ve heard from people across the state how important communication is and yet how hard it is. 

For the second session of the annual Nebraska summer welcoming convening we will welcome Brittany Ford! She will share best practices for providing language access at the local level and offer helpful resources. Additionally, she will inform us about who is required to provide language access. Join us to learn more about language access and to connect with welcoming leaders across the state on July 19th starting at 10am CT (9AM MT)! 

Meet Brittany Ford

Brittany has been immersed in welcoming and inclusion work since she led the nationally recognized initiative Welcome Toledo-Lucas County (TLC) and led the project for Lucas County to become the second county in the U.S. designated Certified Welcoming with strong local inclusion practices. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she served as the Language Access Coordinator for Lucas County’s emergency services and public health departments.  

Brittany is the Client Principal and Co-Owner of Language Equity & Access Partners (LEAP) LLC, a consulting firm founded in 2021 to support language access program design, immigrant and refugee community engagement and strategic planning. 

Look Forward to Lived Expertise on Local Boards

Be sure to also mark your calendar to join us August 9, 10:00-11:30 am CT (9:00-10:30 am MT) for Session 3: We’re All In for Lived Expertise on Local Boards. 

It’s not too late for friends and co-workers to register! You are welcome to share!

As we all navigate the path towards fostering inclusivity and belonging for all in our communities, here’s an exciting opportunity on the horizon – the Welcoming Interactive happening from April 10-12, 2024 in Dallas, Texas.

The Welcoming Interactive provides a unique platform to learn from successful practices and inspiring examples of immigrant inclusion. 

In Dallas, we will have the chance to connect together with other Nebraskans – including government officials, nonprofit leaders, educators, and more –  from across the country to learn together, share successes and challenges, and gain valuable insights into positive practices for building more welcoming and inclusive communities. Interactive sessions focus on immigrant inclusion, programs, policies, and partnerships on economic development, civic engagement, government leadership, and more!

To sweeten the deal, there is an early bird registration rate of $350 available until January 26. I believe that your participation in the Welcoming Interactive will contribute significantly to our collective ongoing efforts to foster a more welcoming community.

More than 30 Nebraska leaders attended the 2023 Welcoming Interactive in San Jose, California.

For more information about the Welcoming Interactive and registration details, please visit the website.

If you are planning to attend, please let Christa know, so we can connect in Dallas!

Looking forward to your participation and the positive impact it will bring to the community!