For two years I taught the adult ESL class "Helping Your Children in School" and was honored to work with an organization that is so deeply rooted in the community and at the vanguard of bottom-up change to build the civic power of immigrants in Somerville. The Welcome
Mission: The Welcome Project builds the collective power of Somerville immigrants to participate in and shape community decisions. We do this through programs that strengthen the capacity of immigrant youth, adults and families to advocate for themselves and influence schools, government, and other institutions.
Programs: The organization works with youth and adults from immigrant families combining services with leadership development. Programs including interpretation services and training, english as a second language programs and healthy food initiatives for the community.
For two years I taught the adult ESL class "Helping Your Children in School" and was honored to work with an organization that is so deeply rooted in the community and at the vanguard of bottom-up change to build the civic power of immigrants in Somerville. The Welcome Project treats its volunteers with great respect, gives them free reign to explore their interests and make an impact in the community, and invites its volunteers into a warm, active community united across ethnicity, class, language, and race to make a positive impact on people's lives.
I have been a board member for over 5 years, during that time I have seen the program evolve from a service that responded to tenants from the Mystics' issues and concerns to a planful program looking to develop immigrant leadership throughout the city of Somerville. The staff of the program are thoughtful and hardworking and are very talented at stretching resources and developing meaningful relationships throughout the city.
