Immigrant Welcome and Resource Center

09/04/2026

We are very excited to launch a pilot for the Global Readers Academy in partnership with Kearney Reading-Tutor Robinson from the University of Southern Indiana Literacy Center 🎉

Global Readers Academy will provide 1-on-1 literacy tutoring to participating students during our after school program. Our goal for this pilot is to provide 10 hours of tutoring to participating students this fall.

We started training this week with a group of 5 tutors, with 3 more joining us next week. Best of all, most of our tutors are bilingual - showcasing to our students that they too can be successful, fluent readers while remaining fluent in their first language. 🗣

We developed this project in response to literacy development needs among the students we serve through our after school program and summer camps. Many of our students need extra support to improve their reading skills, but our community lacks trained tutors able to provide reliable specialized support.📚

Thank you CenterPoint Energy Foundation for partnering with us to support our multilingual learners! 🫶🏾

09/03/2026

Scroll for versions of this post in Español and Kreyòl Ayisyen 👇🏾

This past Tuesday we had a great Power of Attorney workshop opportunity, helping six families develop documents to designate caring adults to care for their children in case they are detained or deported. This marks the 3rd workshop we have held this summer since our last legal clinic - a great opportunity for those who can't attend a legal clinic.

We can also help develop powers of attorney to designate someone trustworthy to access your bank accounts and manage your assets in case you are not able to.

If you are interested in this type of support, or know someone who does, you can contact us to set up an appointment:
📲 812-545-7734
📨[email protected]

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El martes pasado tuvimos una excelente oportunidad de ofrecer un taller sobre Poderes Notariales, ayudando a seis familias a preparar documentos para designar a adultos de confianza que puedan cuidar de sus hijos en caso de que los padres sean detenidos o deportados.

Este fue el tercer taller que hemos realizado este verano desde nuestra última clínica legal, brindando una excelente oportunidad para aquellas personas que no pueden asistir a una clínica legal.

También podemos ayudarle a preparar poderes notariales para designar a una persona de confianza que pueda acceder a sus cuentas bancarias y administrar sus bienes en caso de que usted no pueda hacerlo.

Si está interesado/a en este tipo de apoyo, o conoce a alguien que lo necesite, puede comunicarse con nosotros para programar una cita:
📲 812-545-7734
📨 [email protected]

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Madi pase a, nou te gen yon bèl opòtinite pou òganize yon atelye sou Pwokirasyon (Power of Attorney), kote nou te ede sis fanmi prepare dokiman pou deziyen granmoun yo fè konfyans pou pran swen pitit yo si paran yo ta arete oswa depòte.

Sa a se te twazyèm atelye nou òganize pandan ete sa a depi dènye klinik legal nou an. Se yon bon opòtinite pou moun ki pa kapab patisipe nan yon klinik legal.

Nou kapab ede w tou prepare pwokirasyon pou deziyen yon moun ou fè konfyans pou jwenn aksè nan kont labank ou epi jere byen ou si ou pa kapab fè sa poukont ou.

Si ou enterese nan kalite sipò sa a, oswa si ou konnen yon moun ki ta ka bezwen li, ou ka kontakte nou pou pran yon randevou:
📲 812-545-7734
📨 [email protected]

08/28/2026

This summer volunteers from the Southwest Indiana and Kentucky Rapid Response Network (SWINK RRN) and members of our Advisory Board helped develop and distribute +300 Know Your Rights packets in English, Spanish, Haitian Creole and Marshallese at IWRC and local events and through community partners.

The packets have information about 🇺🇸 constitutional rights, what to say 🗣, do ✅, and not do 🚫 in encounters with immigration enforcement agents, and other helpful information. Check out an example 👇🏾!

Special shout out 📣 to Carly Bacurin for her work helping us synthesize information and put it into a nice format, Lurina Nene Bwein, Stella Stiverne and Daniel Desormond, and many others for helping translate, prep and distribute packets 🎉 Our youngest volunteer this summer was just 7 years old 🫶🏾

You can find digital versions of the information online on the SWINK RRN resource page at https://swink-rrn.systeme.io/info.

If you need printed copies for your neighbors, friends, church members, family members, or others, contact us and we can get you some! If you are interested in helping prepare & distribute packets - we got a job for you! Contact us at 🔗[email protected]

08/27/2026

Thank you Welborn for the opportunity to learn about best practices for nonprofit boards! Our board chair Niti Moore and Executive Director Ely Sena-Martin enjoyed a great session with other local nonprofit leaders and board members. We learned much from an expert presenter and from other servant leaders in our community. We are excited to bring more IWRC board members to Board Champions session in October 🙌🏽

08/27/2026

Congratulations to YWCA Evansville and Women Stepping Up Awards Committee on another great Women's Equality Day Celebration! 👏🏾 We enjoyed the reminder to focus on self-care as an important aspect of being missional from Dr. Chelsea R Carter, and inspirational awards to several pioneering Evansville women, including Mary McNamee Bower - former Director of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History and Science.

Best of all, we got to celebrate the transition between Erika Norris Taylor and Anne Shoemaker McKim, and chat with incredible women doing great work in our community. So excited for this next chapter of the YWCA! 🎊

08/21/2026

It's Soirée time! ✈️ Thanks for the opportunity to share today, Ange Humphrey 🫶🏾

🎟 and sponsorships available - visit 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/2s84y5hu for details!

Visit the post for more.

08/21/2026

Thank you and partners at ABC 25 Local Lifestyles for the opportunity to come share about the 3rd Annual Passport to an International Soirée ! Get your 🎟 today for a joyful night celebrating what we CAN do and those who are standing up for our neighbors even amidst increasingly difficult times 🔗 https://tinyurl.com/2s84y5hu

🗓 Sunday, October 18
🕛 5 - 9 pm
📍Discovery Lodge

Can't make it but want to help? 🫶🏾 Donate online to help us secure a match up to $12,500 🎊 Give today at https://tinyurl.com/2s84y5hu.

08/20/2026

🌎✨ We are just 2 months away from the 3rd Annual Passport to an International Soirée and we can't wait ! ✨🌎

Travel the globe without leaving Evansville with cultural performances, global flavors, music, stories, and joyful connections as we celebrate the incredible contributions of New Americans in our community. 💃🎶🍽️

📅 Sunday, October 18, 2026
🍸 5–6 PM Cocktail Hour + Artisan Exhibit
🎉 6–9 PM International Soirée
📍 Discovery Lodge
🎟️ $115/person | $1,000 table of 8 | $1,500 corporate table of 8

Tickets are on sale now at 🎟️ https://tinyurl.com/passport2soiree

Gather your friends, dress to impress, and join us for a night of celebration with a purpose. Your ticket helps support IWRC’s work serving and advocating for New Americans. 💙

Presented by Masiha Specialty Clinic & Mobile Food Pantry.

✨ Expect color. Expect music. Expect magic. ✨

08/19/2026

We’re grateful to announce a $10,000 investment from the Community Foundation of Southwest Indiana to strengthen IWRC’s Advisory Board and expand our community of supporters and advocates for New Americans across the Evansville region! 💙

This funding helps support our current efforts to develop and sustain an Advisory Board composed of community partners and volunteers committed to supporting New Americans in our community. In 2026 alone, our Advisory Board has been instrumental in helping organize and implement:
👶🏼community baby shower
⚖ 4 immigration legal clinics
🍎 2 days of school enrollment support & immunization clinics
🫶🏾Case management & resource navigation support for many families through cross-referrals and direct support with partner providers
and so much more!

Funding also helps support future partnership development, cultural competency and advocacy trainings for potential community partners, and recruitment of new members—including greater representation from immigrant communities—and community education.

With a small staff and a growing number of families seeking IWRC’s services, strong community leadership and collaboration are more important than ever. This investment will help equip community leaders and partners with the knowledge, connections, and tools they need to better understand and advocate for New American communities within their sphere of influence.

We’re grateful to Community Foundation of Southwest Indiana for investing in a stronger, more welcoming, and more connected Evansville—and for helping us grow a network of people who believe that New Americans belong, contribute, and make our community stronger.

Thank you for standing with IWRC and the families we serve! 🌎🤝

For more information about the Community Foundation of Southwest Indiana, visit cfswi.org.

08/17/2026

El Parish Toolkit (Kit de herramientas para parroquias) de Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) es un excelente recurso para organizaciones o comunidades de fe que desean apoyar a los inmigrantes en su área.

Mañana, 18 de agosto, CLINIC ofrecerá un webinario GRATUITO en español sobre este kit de herramientas y sobre cuáles son sus derechos como comunidad de fe de habla hispana: “El kit de herramientas tiene como objetivo proporcionar pasos inmediatos que las parroquias y los grupos religiosos pueden tomar para promover la seguridad y protección de sus miembros, así como acompañar y apoyar a los inmigrantes que tienen un familiar detenido o que enfrenta una amenaza de deportación. Incluye información esencial sobre ‘Conozca sus derechos’ para los inmigrantes, recursos para la planificación de emergencias y recursos de acompañamiento y educación para el personal y los voluntarios de las iglesias. Durante el webinario, el personal explicará los recursos disponibles y estará preparado para responder preguntas legales y logísticas relacionadas con el apoyo a las comunidades inmigrantes mientras enfrentan un mayor nivel de aplicación de las leyes migratorias y otros desafíos. Aunque el kit está dirigido a las parroquias católicas, su contenido también es ampliamente aplicable a otros grupos religiosos.”

Registrate aqui: https://www.cliniclegal.org/training/webinars/KYR081826?utm_source=CLINIC+Mail&utm_campaign=8ee4996265-webinar_kyr081826_espanol_3&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-1520e771d6-564351684

El kit de herramientas está disponible en inglés y en español aquí:
https://www.cliniclegal.org/resources/catholic-social-teaching/parish-toolkit-supporting-immigrants-time-need?utm_source=CLINIC+Mail&utm_campaign=8ee4996265-webinar_kyr081826_espanol_3&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-1520e771d6-564351684

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The Parish Toolkit from Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) is a great resource for organizations or communities of faith hoping to support immigrants in your area.

Tomorrow, 8/18, CLINIC is hosting a FREE webinar in Spanish about this toolkit and what your rights are as a Spanish-speaking faith community. You can learn more and register for the webinar here: https://www.cliniclegal.org/training/webinars/KYR081826?utm_source=CLINIC+Mail&utm_campaign=8ee4996265-webinar_kyr081826_espanol_3&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-1520e771d6-564351684.

Here's a brief summary: "The toolkit aims to provide immediate steps that parishes and religious groups can take to promote the safety and security of their members and to accompany and support immigrants who have a family member who is detained or threatened by deportation. It includes essential Know Your Rights information for immigrants, emergency preparedness planning resources, and accompaniment and educational resources for church staff and volunteers. In the webinar, staff will explain the available resources and be ready to answer questions about legal and logistical questions regarding supporting immigrant communities as they face heightened enforcement and challenges. While the toolkit is aimed at Catholic parishes, its contents apply widely to other faith-based groups as well."

The toolkit itself is available in English and Spanish at https://www.cliniclegal.org/resources/catholic-social-teaching/parish-toolkit-supporting-immigrants-time-need?utm_source=CLINIC+Mail&utm_campaign=8ee4996265-webinar_kyr081826_espanol_3&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-1520e771d6-564351684.

As our nation continues to grapple with complex policy questions surrounding immigration, the Catholic Church remains committed to providing pastoral ministry and accompaniment to immigrants facing immigration challenges. We do this based on Christ’s command to serve the “least of these” and h...