Stamford Mayor, Building One Community Celebrate 'Welcoming Week'

From Building One Community: Building One Community – The Center for Immigrant Opportunity celebrated ‘Welcoming Week’ for the third consecutive year with an event held on Tuesday, September 18th. Welcoming Week brings together immigrants and U.S.-born residents to celebrate unity and spread awareness of the benefits of being a welcoming community. The celebration took place at Building One Community’s location at 75 Selleck Street in Stamford and was attended by B1C students, clients, volunteers, staff members, and Stamford Mayor David Martin. Attendees enjoyed cake, posed for pictures at a “selfie station” with welcoming signs written in various languages, and listened to Mayor Martin read a proclamation.

Mayor Martin prefaced the reading of his proclamation by naming the many nationalities that call Stamford their home. He identified Stamford’s strength as its diversity. He then read from his proclamation, “During Welcoming Week, we honor our commitment to our core American values of freedom and opportunity by welcoming new residents and making our community a place where people from around the world want to put down roots.” The mayor concluded by proclaiming the week of September 14-23, 2018, to be Welcoming Week, and urged residents to unite to build a stronger, more inclusive community.

In response to the success of the event, B1C Executive Director Catalina Horak said, “Our organization is proud to welcome immigrants to Stamford and we are thankful for the continued support of the mayor. We have seen time and again the positive impact of immigration on our community and the Welcoming Week movement helps us to spread awareness of the benefits of welcoming everyone.”

About Welcoming Week

Welcoming Week is a nation-wide movement to spread awareness of the benefits of welcoming immigrants and refugees. During this annual series of events organized in partnership with Welcoming America, a non-profit organization focused on making America more inclusive, communities bring together immigrants and U.S.-born residents to build stronger connections and affirm the benefits of welcoming everyone. Across America, over 500 organizations are hosting Welcoming Week events in the spirit of unity. The United States is a nation of neighbors and our unity makes us more resilient.

About Building One Community

Building One Community is a nonprofit organization, established in 2011, that provides a comprehensive resource center for immigrants in the greater Stamford area. The mission of Building One Community is to bring passionate people together to help immigrants and their families succeed in the community. For more information, visit www.Building1Community.org.

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