Teen Center Joins ‘Welcoming America’

YMCA TEEN CENTER NEWS:

  • Hundreds of Communities Celebrate New Americans During Welcoming Week

Española—The Española YMCA Teen Center is hosting a cultural appreciation event 5-7:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 21 at 808 Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park Road. 

“International Food and Activity Fair-Where Cultures Unite” is open to the public and includes ethnic foods, dances and activities. The event is part of a national initiative known as Welcoming Week, taking place Sept. 15–24 across the country.

The Española YMCA and its parent organization, The Family YMCA in Los Alamos, will join hundreds of other organizations in hosting events celebrating for new and established Americans.

Welcoming Week celebrates immigrants’ contributions to communities. Activities are meant to bring all residents together in a spirit of unity. The Y also is hosting numerous activities in Los Alamos that week.

During Welcoming Week, The Family YMCA will host events at its main facility and After School program sites in Los Alamos and at its Española Teen Center and Los Alamos Teen Centers.

“The Española YMCA Teen Center is all about building relationships and being welcoming of all individuals and provides an all-inclusive approach to all of the programming,” said Director Ben Sandoval of the Española YMCA Teen Center.

“At the Y, we believe our community is stronger when everyone feels welcome, and when we all work together for the common good,” said CEO Linda Daly of The Family YMCA. “Welcoming Week is an opportunity for neighbors – both immigrants and U.S.-born residents – to connect, find common ground and celebrate our shared values – all for a better us.”

The Española YMCA Teen Center’s Sept. 21 event includes food, activities and various performances from diverse cultures and ethnic backgrounds.

“Communities recognize the benefits of being welcoming and ensuring that everyone can fully contribute to a community’s prosperity,” said David Lubell, founder and executive director of Welcoming America. “Welcoming Week events are a powerful way to promote cross-cultural understanding and build bridges between new and long-time residents, which results in stronger communities for all.”  

About Welcoming Week

Welcoming Week is an annual celebration bringing together thousands of people and hundreds of local events that celebrate the contributions of immigrants and refugees and the role communities’ play to foster greater welcome. Welcoming Week is Sept. 15-24, across the country and now expanding to other parts of the world.

Welcoming America is leading a movement of inclusive communities becoming more prosperous by making everyone who lives there feel like they belong. Welcoming America believes that all people, including immigrants, are valued contributors and vital to the success of both our communities and our shared future. www.welcomingamerica.org.

About the Española YMCA Teen Center

The Center was founded in 2007 as a partnership between the City of Española and The Family YMCA, a 501c3 nonprofit, for the purpose of supporting community middle and high school youth. It is partly funded by the City, the United Way of Northern New Mexico and several private donors. In 2016, the Center served 601 youth with tutoring and enriching recreation and educational life-skills programs. It is open year-round and free to area youth. For more information, call 505.747.6569.

About The Family YMCA

The Y was founded in Los Alamos by volunteers in 1955 who recognized a need for family recreational programs in the isolated community. Its mission is to focus on youth development, healthy living and social responsibility, and to ensure access to all with financial assistance. In 2007, the Y partnered with the City of Espanola and began operating the Espanola YMCA Teen Center. In 2010, Los Alamos County awarded the Y an operating contract to host a teen center in Los Alamos. In 2016, the Y served 8,193 individuals, of which 3,339 were youth and teens. Through fundraising, support from donors and with assistance from United Way-Northern New Mexico-Los Alamos, it supported 286 people with scholarships totaling $115,000 and provided $40,000 to subsidize teen programs. See www.laymca.org for more information.

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