Programs & Services
The Welcome Center, Inc. is a nonprofit organization founded in June 2000. The Mission of the Welcome Center is to connect newcomers to the resources and information that will facilitate their becoming a vital part of our community, and to provide programs and services that will promote self-sufficiency and multicultural understanding.
The Welcome Center Makes a Difference
Our agency works with all members of our community to promote the successful integration of newcomers. Community education projects serve to familiarize current residents with the characteristics of the newcomer populations and to promote acceptance. Other programs promote self-sufficiency and help newcomers make a successful transition to their new environment.
The Welcome Center provides services for newcomers, agencies, and the community in general through three programs under the CEIP:
Care Advocacy connects Welcome Center clients with necessary community resources to address medical, social, community, legal, financial, educational, and other needs. Services include a brief assessment of immediate needs followed by advice and assistance in obtaining the resources to meet those needs.
Community Cultural Education serves to familiarize current residents with the strengths and characteristics of newcomer populations and to promote acceptance. Education offered through presentations and workshops at various locations including area nonprofit organizations, businesses, and schools. The Welcome Center also hosts the annual Cultural Heritage Festival in Austin that celebrates all members of the community and the Hablando de Todo un Poco, a local television program.
Economic Self-Sufficiency programming helps newcomers acquire the skills necessary to secure gainful employment, manage finances, and become homeowners. Staff works in partnership with other community programs to offer classes and workshops on financial literacy, job skills, and other topics.
1. CARE ADVOCACY
Through this program, Welcome Center provided services creating a bridge between existing community
resources and individuals who face cultural and linguistic barriers to accessing those resources. Services available include:
- Information and referrals
- Crisis Intervention
- Bilingual Intake Assistance
- Follow-up Support
- Advocacy
- Translations & Interpretations
- Assistance with General Forms
On average during the year, 6674 requests for services were handled through this program. Areas of need reported by the clients included employment, housing medical, legal assistance, public benefits, immigration, education, counseling, interpretations, translations and financial assistance.
Overcoming Language Barriers
Communicating in English is necessary for employment and navigating all aspects of daily life. The Center provides English as a Second Language (ESL) classes, also provides interpretations and translations services to individuals, government agencies, businesses, schools - wherever and whenever they are needed.
To improve access to community resources and facilitate communication by providing quality multilingual services, the Welcome Center provided interpreting and translating services to organizations, businesses and individuals. This program is funded by fees charged for the service.
The services provided throughout the year dealt with issues in the following areas of need:
- Health Care
- Business/ employee communications
- Legal Documents
- Law enforcement
- Immigration documentation
- Social Services
Last year the Welcome Center provided over 4,382 hours of interpreting and translation services. Newcomers are looking for good paying jobs and often need information and better skills to get them. The Welcome Center works with workforce development and other skill development organizations on non traditional programs and settings that will assist the new workforce to develop their potential through tutoring, mentoring and training.
Economic Self-Sufficiency Services
Through this program, the Welcome Center received two grants one for the amount of $25,000 from Bush Foundation and the other one for $10,000 from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation to help sustain the initiative of our Economic Development program in Southern Minnesota. As part of this program we provide a class called “CORE FOUR BUSINESS PLANNING”. Entrepreneurs and individuals with business ideas can receive help planning and operating a successful business through this new course.This class consist of four essential elements Success, Marketplace, Cash Flow, and Operations. Each element plays a huge part in the course, and your business. The class will go in length in planning, operations, sales goals, ethics and much more. Core Four Business Planning classes are well known and popular across the country and we are pleased to have the first chance to present it. Participants receive the Core Four Business Planning Work Book and 3 three business consulting visit. The class is free due to the grant provided from the Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation and also is available in English and Spanish.
The Welcome Center business program wants to create capacities and tools to people interested in expand, improve or open a business, so they may have more economic opportunities to succeed. The Welcome Center recognizes that often the success in a business is the combination of technical assistance and the effort in the execution of the plan by the entrepreneur. 
Our first class was a success; Novedades Cristal, Taqueria Michoacana, Palacio de la Cumbia, Alicia’s Bakery, La Bamba were a our first buisnesses opened who attended Core Four Buisness Development class. Last year the Business Development program provided 98 technical assistance services served the following:
· 6 New Entrepreneurs
· 19 Established Businesses
· 44 Community Individuals with business ideas
Four workshops reached 30 individuals and during tax season, we helped 6 businesses and 9 business plans were developed totaling of 143 services provided for the fiscal year.
EDUCATIONAL SPANISH TV PROGRAM
“Hablando de Todo un Poco” the first local television educational Spanish program on KSMQ-TV for the Latino communities in Southern Minnesota and Northern Iowa. The Show airs every month, on the last Wednesday at 1:00 PM and it is repeated the following Sunday at 8:30 AM. Our goal is to provide information that will facilitate the integration of the Latino community and to bridge existing community resources and individuals who face cultural and linguistic barriers to accessing those resources.
This past fiscal year the Welcome Center impacted the lives of more than 3,780 adults, 3,404 children and 181 seniors. We provide 7,550 services from which 883 services were offer to local government agencies and businesses. We provide 4,683 hours contact of translations and interpretations. Moreover 301 individuals were referred to local businesses.