NCLR ANNOUNCES RECIPIENTS OF IMMIGRATION INTEGRATION GRANTS

Awards will further work of community groups to successfully integrate Latino immigrants in diverse U.S. communities

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Today, NCLR (National Council of La Raza) is pleased to announce the 10 grant recipients for its Bienvenidos project. The Bienvenidos grants will provide critical resources to NCLR Affiliate organizations from throughout the country that are currently providing integration assistance to Latinos in their communities. Funding for the awards was made possible through a significant grant provided to NCLR by the Walmart Foundation.
“The integration programs offered by trusted organizations, like NCLR, help us work together to reduce the social and economic barriers immigrants face every day,” said Lee Culpepper, Vice President of Corporate Affairs at Walmart. “Through these partnerships we hope to ultimately enable families to fully participate in the civic and economic life of our great country.”
The Bienvenidos project will increase the capacity of NCLR Affiliates to serve the millions of immigrants needing guidance and preparation to integrate into American society. The funding will allow NCLR Affiliates to increase the number of adult English-as-a-second-language classes, expand the number of civics classes and provide additional guidance on citizenship instruction and the naturalization process.
“We are excited to announce the first recipients of the Bienvenidos grants and look forward to furthering our successful partnership in providing the necessary tools for Latino immigrants to fully integrate into their local communities and U.S. society. Often, economic and language barriers have stood in the way of helping Hispanic immigrants reach their full potential. We believe that providing these direct resources will significantly help many Latinos overcome those obstacles,” said Janet Murguía, President and CEO of NCLR.
Recipients of the grant awards include Spanish Speaking Citizens’ Foundation (Calif.), Friendly House (Ariz.), Detroit Hispanic Development Corporation (Mich.), Poder Learning Center (Ill.), Vera Court Neighborhood Center (Wis.), Cypress Hills Local Development Corporation (N.Y.), East Boston Ecumenical Community Council (Mass.), Make the Road New York (N.Y.), Conexión Américas (Tenn.) and Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans (Texas).
These NCLR Affiliates were chosen for their track record of providing quality integration services and capacity to increase the number of individuals served. The project began in January and will run through August 2014.