Creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for new Americans, immigrants, and refugees in West Michigan!

Mission:

The Welcome Plan team unites partners across West Michigan to build a community where New Americans, Immigrants, and Refugees are empowered to put down roots, share their strengths, and thrive. We advance immigrant empowerment, inclusion, and integration through focused efforts in five priority areas: education, economic opportunity, community engagement, access to services, and community safety.

Vision:

We envision a West Michigan where all immigrants and refugees, both newcomers and long-standing residents, feel valued, included, and truly welcomed. We recognize the strength of a global community and strive to make West Michigan a place where New Americans choose to settle, thrive, and proudly call it home.

We know how important a broadly diverse population is for the success of our state.

Immigration is key to increasing diversity in our population and boosting our economy. Without immigration growth, the state of Michigan would be poised to lose population for the second census in a row. Perhaps even more impressive, the economic power of Grand Rapids’ immigrant community alone grew by more than $100 million in just one year, and immigrants in Grand Rapids hold nearly $1.5 billion in spending power. At the core of this initiative is the belief that Grand Rapids and Kent County are home to everyone who lives here, and it should feel like it too.

Creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for New Americans, Immigrants, and Refugees in Kent County is not only the right thing to do, it also contributes economically to the area’s wellbeing. We want New Americans, Immigrants, and Refugees to stay in the area; they’ll stay if they feel welcomed, included, and valued.

– Kent County Welcome Plan Steering Committee

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