One Community, Many Cultures Celebration Recap
Our November 1st kickoff One Community Many Cultures celebration was a delightful start to the public-facing element of our work with Renew Northwest. We were thrilled to see a turnout of around 250 people from Whatcom County connecting with each other and having the opportunity to learn about and experience a few of the many cultures that make our community a more vibrant place.
With a variety of food samples alongside Syrian coffee, Afghan tea and chicha venezolana, those who attended were able to get a delicious taste of our increasingly diverse community. A henna art station as well as a silent auction comprised entirely of items made by our immigrant neighbors gave attendees a chance to share and experience other aspects of the cultures that have come to call Whatcom County home.
Finally, informational country displays and stories shared by immigrants gave us a chance to learn in more detail about people’s home countries as well as the challenges and victories they have experienced in their stories of migration.
Steven, with Renew Northwest, shared the vision for the three major areas of focus for this new nonprofit, as follows.
Immigrant Resource Center
We will have an immigrant resource center serving residents of northwest Washington. We will offer resource navigation, assistance with basic needs and occasional one-off workshops, clinics and seminars on specific topics.
Community Engagement
We will also engage majority culture community members in this work via trainings and seminars, discussions on immigration-related topics and awareness-raising activities.
Transitional Housing
A medium-to-long term goal is to have a supply of transitional housing available to assist immigrants experiencing homelessness or facing eviction.
The event was a fundraising success as well, bringing in over $55,000, or more than one-third of our target budget for the end of the year. If you’d like to give toward this new venture and enable us to begin providing direct service to immigrants in need by early 2026, you can give a tax-deductible donation now!
