Welcome.us Announces 2nd Annual Immigrant Heritage Month in June; Launches New Website
Organization has support of 90 Partners; Kicks Off New Online Campaign to Celebrate America as a Nation of Immigrants
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Dan Pino
May 11, 2015 press@welcome.us
202.450.6017
Washington, D.C. – Welcome.us is excited to announce the 2nd annual Immigrant Heritage Month (IHM 2015), a nationwide effort to gather and share inspirational stories of immigration in America, set to kick off June 1, 2015 and last throughout the month. IHM 2015 will celebrate our country’s immigrant heritage – stories of individuals, families, and communities who have contributed to the unique social fabric of our nation, and the diversity that has fueled that greatness.
Today, Welcome.us debuted its new website in the run-up to Immigrant Heritage Month 2015, at www.Welcome.us. The website will be a vehicle for Americans across the country to connect, learn, and share stories that celebrate our country’s diverse traditions, culture, and heritage throughout IHM 2015. Through the website and across its social platforms, Welcome.us will highlight unique stories of our immigrant heritage and immigrants’ countless contributions to our country.
“America is a nation of immigrants. This is – and always has been – a source of incredible strength that unifies us all,” said Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us. “Our goal with Immigrant Heritage Month this June is to highlight the intersections our immigrant experience and illuminate how each individual journey has been instrumental to the formation, foundation, and ongoing strength of the United States of America.”
Welcome.us encourages every American to join the conversation, share stories, and help celebrate the month by using the hashtags #ImmigrantHeritageMonth and #IHM2015 on Welcome.us’ website and social media platforms, including:
· Facebook: www.facebook.com/welcomeus
· Instagram: Welcome_us
· Twitter: @Welcome_us
· YouTube: www.youtube.com/WelcomeIHM
In support of IHM 2015, Welcome.us has formed partnerships with a broad range of organizations across the country, and assembled a diverse Honorary Board including artists and entertainers, community and business leaders, and elected officials who will join in encouraging Americans to celebrate their immigrant heritage as a source of pride. Throughout the month, select members of the Honorary Board will share their own welcome stories and participate in events to celebrate our country’s unique immigrant heritage.
To date, Immigrant Heritage Month 2015 partners include:
AIDS Legal Referral Panel
Alliance for Citizenship
American Folk Art Museum
American Values Network
Andrew Romany New Immigrant Center/English-Speaking Union
Arab American Institute
Asian Americans Advancing Justice – Los Angeles
Asian American Resource Center, City of Austin Parks and Recreation
Bay Area Council
Bostoniano
Brooklyn Public Library
BU Center for the Study of Europe
California Endowment
Caritas
Carnegie Corporation of New York
Casa de Esperanza: National Latin@ Network
Catapult
Catholic Legal Immigration Network Inc.
CIC Cambridge
CORE Media
Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles (CHIRLA)
Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Dorcas International Institute of Rhode Island
Dragon Gate Investment Partners
EdTech Austin
Emerson College
EuroCircle Austin
EuroCircle NY
Facebook
Feel Like You Belong
FreeFlow Research
FWD.us
Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO)
Global Detroit
Grassroots Leadership
Greater Austin Asian Chamber of Commerce
Green Card Voices
Grove Foundation
Haiti Cultural Exchange
I Learn America
Interfaith Action of Central Texas (iACT)
Immigrant Archive Project
Illinois Business Immigration Coalition (IBIC)
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Immigrant Services Network of Austin (ISNA)
Immigration Advocates Network
Information Technology Industry Council
International Focus
International Rescue Committee
Irish International Immigrant Center (IIIC)
Jewish Family and Children’s Services
Latin United Community Housing Association (LUCHA)
League of United Latin American Citizens
Little Ethiopia Cultural Resource Center
Manhattan Chamber of Commerce
Mas Wired
Mayor’s Office of New Bostonians
Midpeninsula Community Media Center
MoMA
MomsRising
National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO) Educational Fund
National Immigration Forum
National Immigration Law Center
National Partnership for New Americans
National Democratic Ethnic Coordinating Committee (NDECC)
NETWORK, A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby
New Americans Campaign
New York Immigration Coalition
Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans
Philadelphia Mayor’s Office of Immigrant and Multicultural Affairs (Philly MOIMA)
Planned Parenthood Action Fund
Pro Bono Net
Project Citizenship
San Francisco Tech4Good
Sant La Haitian Neighborhood Center
Social Justice Collaborative
The Expat Woman
The Kansas City Public Library
The Latin American Association
The New American Leaders Project
The Starter League/Starter School
Tint
United Macedonian Diaspora
UpwardlyGlobal
VentureOutNY
Voz Hispana Cambio Comunitario
WE Global Network
Welcoming America
WeWork
Youthful Savings
To date, the Honorary Board includes:
José Andrés – President, ThinkFoodGroup
Aditya Agarwal – Vice President of Engineering, Dropbox
Jim Breyer – Partner, Accel Partners
The Honorable Tom Butt – Mayor, Richmond, CA
Wences Casares – Founder & CEO at Xapo
Wendy Cervantes – Director, First Focus Center for the Children of Immigrants
Steve Chen – Co-founder, YouTube
Ron Conway – Special Advisor, SV Angel
Jonathan del Arco – Actor
Guillermo Diaz – Actor
Joely Fisher – Actress
Marshall Fitz – Vice President, Immigration Policy, Center for American Progress
The Honorable Eric Garcetti – Mayor of Los Angeles, CA
Tony Hernandez – Co-founder, Producer of Immigrant Archive Project
Marielena Hincapie – Executive Director National Immigration Law Center
Pramila Jayapal – Senator, 37th District, Washington State
Angela Kelley – Vice President for Campaigns and Advocacy, Planned Parenthood Federation of America
Billy Lawless – Chicago Celts for Immigration Reform
The Honorable Ed Lee – Mayor of San Francisco
Max Levchin – Co-founder and Chairman, PayPal and Yelp
Joe Lonsdale – Partner, Formation 8
David Lubell – Executive Director, Welcoming America
The Honorable Gary McCarthy – Mayor of Schenectady, NY
Paola Mendoza – Filmmaker
The Honorable Stephanie Miner – Mayor of Syracuse, NY
The Honorable Ed Murray, Mayor of Seattle, WA
Ali Noorani – Executive Director, National Immigration Forum
The Honorable Michael Nutter – Mayor of Philadelphia, PA
Olaoluwa Okelola
Tolu Olubunmi – Social Entrepreneur
Hadi Partovi – Co-Founder and President, Code.org
The Honorable William Peduto – Mayor of Pittsburgh, PA
Alison Pincus – Co-Founder and Chief Partnership Officer, One Kings Lane
Mark Pincus – Founder, CEO & Chief Product Officer, Zynga
Lorella Praelli – Advocacy & Policy Director, United We Dream
Hosain Rahman – CEO and Founder, Jawbone
The Honorable Stephanie Rawlings-Blake – Mayor of Baltimore, MD
The Honorable Kasim Reed – Mayor of Atlanta, GA
Naya Rivera – Actress
Jeff Rothschild – Vice President of Infrastructure Software, Facebook
Ruchi Sanghvi – Vice President of Operations, Dropbox
Frank Sharry – Founder and Executive Director, America’s Voice
Jamie-Lynn Sigler – Actress
Russell Simmons – Chairman, RUSH Communications
Paul Song – Physician, Biotech Executive, Progressive Activist
The Honorable Nathan Triplett – Mayor of East Lansing, MI
Darren Walker – President, Ford Foundation
The Honorable Martin Walsh – Mayor of Boston, MA
Padma Warrior – Chief Technology & Strategy Officer, Cisco
Paul Wesley – Actor
The Honorable Nan Whaley – Mayor of Dayton, OH
James Zogby – Founder and President, Arab American Institute
Mark Zuckerberg – CEO, Facebook
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ABOUT WELCOME.us
Welcome.us, a non-profit organization, is dedicated to celebrating a United States that is fueled by immigrants from around the world. Immigrant Heritage Month honors the ways in which America and the immigrants who have built our country are linked in a shared, productive history. Welcome.us is supported by FWD.us, which was founded by Mark Zuckerberg, Marissa Mayer, Reid Hoffman, Bill Gates, Padmasree Warrior, and other tech leaders. Learn more about the campaign and Immigrant Heritage Month by visiting Welcome.us.