Philadelphia • Active
The Welcoming Center (TWC) welcomes immigrants as neighbors and leaders to Philadelphia. Founded in 2003, TWC creates pathways to economic growth and strengthens communities by opening doors of opportunity for immigrants of all backgrounds, education, and skill levels.
The Welcoming Center was funded to strengthen its Community Leadership programming, including both levels of the Immigrant Leadership Institute and Convocatoria. Through leadership training, peer learning, civic engagement, wellness activities, and community-led projects, immigrants will build confidence, relationships, belonging, and collective agency.
The Welcoming Center (TWC) received support for its work advancing immigrant integration through free contextualized ESOL instruction, entrepreneurship support, job readiness training, and leadership development programming. Through its Immigrant Leadership Institute and Intercultural Wellness Program, TWC helped participants build language and professional skills, strengthen civic engagement, and address systemic barriers through collective action and community partnerships. Funding also supported wellness-centered group training sessions that created supportive and therapeutic spaces for immigrants to process challenges, build resilience, and foster emotional wellbeing.
The Welcoming Centerʼs Intercultural Wellness Program received support to foster mental health and emotional wellbeing of immigrant communities through participant-driven programming. The program consisted of group training sessions to build a supportive and therapeutic environment where groups addressed challenges and stressors. Cohorts also developed community action projects with a focus on wellness in the workplace.
The Welcoming Center received a grant for their Intercultural Wellness Program, a cohort-based initiative focused on mental health, emotional wellbeing, and collective care among immigrant communities in Philadelphia. In addition to group learning, cohorts also engaged in action projects and wellness days run by partner, Let’s Talk Philly.
The Welcoming Center and the African Family Health Organization (AFAHO)ʼs partnership received support to train immigrant community members as leaders in wellness and collective care. Through a five-month cohort-based training program modeled after The Welcoming Center’s Immigrant Leadership Institute, participants engaged in sessions focused on wellness strategies, coping mechanisms, leadership development, facilitation, and collective action grounded in cultural authenticity. Co-led by staff from both organizations and supported by guest speakers including behavioral health providers and faith leaders, the program equipped participants with tools to support their own wellbeing and strengthen resilience within their communities.
