Detroit, MI –
Welcoming Michigan, an initiative of Michigan Immigrant Rights Center, has received a grant of $50,000 from the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan to expand its immigrant integration efforts.
Welcoming Michigan aims to make the climate for immigrants in Michigan more welcoming. Distinct from other immigrant integration strategies which focus on what immigrants need to learn and do in order to successfully integrate, Welcoming Michigan focuses on strategies to assist the "receiving community" in creating a positive environment for newcomers.
Welcoming Michigan has fostered local Welcoming efforts in Sterling Heights, Hamtramck and the Chadsey-Condon neighborhood in Southwest Detroit, as well as areas in west Michigan. Through the support of the Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan, Welcoming Michigan will expand its reach in southeast Michigan.
“We are very pleased with this new grant opportunity to continue our immigrant integration efforts in southeast Michigan,” said Christine Sauvé, Welcoming Michigan’s Southeast Communities Coordinator, “Building immigrant friendly communities leads to greater social cohesion and increased resident retention, two very important goals for metro Detroit.”
Welcoming Michigan is a program of the Michigan Immigrant Rights Center (MIRC). MIRC was created in 2008 by the Michigan Advocacy Program and serves as a statewide resource center for advocates and seeks to create a more positive and inclusive environment for immigrants in Michigan. MIRC has offices in Kalamazoo, Ann Arbor and Detroit. For more information about MIRC and Welcoming Michigan please visit www.welcomingmichigan.org or www.michiganimmigrant.org.
The Community Foundation for Southeast Michigan is a full-service philanthropic organization leading the way to positive change in our region. As a permanent community endowment built by gifts from thousands of individuals and organizations, the Foundation supports a wide variety of activities benefiting education, arts and culture, health, human services, community development and civic affairs. Since its inception, the Foundation has distributed more than $887 million through more than 59,000 grants to nonprofit organizations through Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, Monroe, Washtenaw, St. Clair and Livingston counties. For more information, please visit www.cfsem.org.
