YMCA Celebrates Welcoming Week and Working Together for Good

This Welcoming Week (September 8-17), the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA is joining Welcoming America, other YMCAs and organizations nationwide to celebrate immigrants’ contributions to communities and bring together all residents in a spirit of unity. Each year, Welcoming Week elevates the growing movement of communities that fully embrace new Americans and their contributions to the social fabric of the country. The event is an opportunity for neighbors—both immigrants and U.S.-born residents—to get to know one another and celebrate what unites people as a community.

“At the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA, we believe our community is stronger when everyone in the community feels welcome and we can all work together for the common good,” said Kim Decker, Chief Executive Officer. “We are proud to be a part of Welcoming Week, which is demonstrating that in places large and small, rural and urban, people of all backgrounds are coming together to create stronger communities. It is a time to celebrate the shared values that unite us as neighbors, parents and colleagues, and to make our towns more welcoming to newcomers and to everyone who calls our community home.”

During Welcoming Week, the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA is hosting several events for its members. This includes a school supply donation drive for El Centro Hispanoamericano in Plainfield, a nonprofit that offers legal assistance, educational services and social services to immigrants; interactive maps where individuals can mark off where they’re from in New Jersey, the United States and the world; food samples from local restaurants featuring dishes from different countries, and Around the World Bingo. For more information on Welcoming Week at the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA, visit https://fspymca.org/news/a-celebration-of-our-community.

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About Welcoming Week

Welcoming Week is an annual campaign and celebration to showcase the movement of communities striving to be more welcoming places for all, including immigrants. Launched in 2012 by Welcoming America and its members, Welcoming Week provides individuals and communities the opportunity to proclaim welcoming values through events and local initiatives that foster mutual understanding between immigrants and non-immigrants, as well as deeper belonging for all.

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About Welcoming America

Welcoming America is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that leads a movement of inclusive communities becoming more prosperous by ensuring everyone belongs. Through the Welcoming Network, we work to change systems and culture by providing communities the roadmap they need to create welcoming policies and share new approaches to inclusion to create an environment where everyone can truly thrive. Learn more at welcomingamerica.org.

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About the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA

The Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA is dedicated to improving the quality of life of the individuals, families and communities it serves through programs and services that build wholeness of spirit, mind and body. The YMCA is a not-for-profit organization founded on Christian principles, serving people of all ages, races, faith, cultures and socio-economic conditions. For information please call the Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA at (908) 889-8880 or visit https://fspymca.org. Financial assistance is available for those who qualify.

The Fanwood-Scotch Plains YMCA is 501(c)3 organization with a GuideStar 2022 Platinum Seal of Transparency and a Four-Star Rating from Charity Navigator.