Rocky Mountain Welcome Center

A nonprofit organization

$19,915 raised by 99 donors

100% complete

$10,000 Goal

Coming to a new country with a new culture and language is hard. A welcoming hand can make the difference. Help Rocky Mountain Welcome Center ensure that immigrants and refugees from all backgrounds are supported to navigate their new lives, helping them to lay stable foundations for their families and integrate into the community. 

Testimonials

"I didn’t know who I was until I went through this course. Now I honor my culture and I understand that to be part of this society I don’t have to abandon my roots” - Girls Rule the World Graduate

"Nonprofit and East African Restaurants Team Up to Help Immigrants"
https://www.westword.com/restaurants/rocky-mountain-welcome-center-helps-restaurants-find-immigrants-in-need-11863831
Westword Article DECEMBER 22, 2020

Giving Activity

Mission

The Rocky Mountain Welcome Center (RMWC) is an immigrant-led, community-based nonprofit with the mission of fostering intercultural learning, understanding, and integration among immigrants, refugees, and Colorado residents. Since 2017, RMWC has actively worked to build welcoming communities in Colorado.

Background Statement

The Rocky Mountain Welcome Center was created out of the passion of its founding and current executive director, Diana Higuera, an immigrant herself, for helping immigrants and refugees in their integration process. Diana experienced firsthand the same issues other immigrants and refugees face, including the "cultural shock" curve, and mourning the loss of her own culture when she decided to stay in the US. This understanding motivated her to work with her immigrant and refugee community in different aspects of integration. The RMWC developed from those experiences and the realization of the significant and continuing needs of the immigrant and refugee communities. In 2027 RMWC opened its doors with four shared space partner organizations: African Leadership Group, Focus Points, Interfaith Center of Light, and the Mountain View United Church. RMWC offers various services focused on the Denver-Metro area's international immigrant and refugee communities. Since then, RMWC has been listening to, adapting, and working to meet the ongoing needs of immigrants/refugees, primarily in an underserved area of southwest Aurora. Programming grew organically from a deep understanding of the needs of these community members.

RMWC believes that the process of integration is a two-way street that includes immigrants, refugees, and receiving communities--and that immigrants and refugees are assets to the community. RMWC serves the immigrant population primarily in Aurora, Colorado, where, according to the City of Aurora, one in five residents are foreign-born. Aurora Public Schools notes its students come from over 130 countries and speak over 160 languages.

RMWC has worked hard to foster activities that could make a collective impact and has benefited greatly from the connections and relationships it has within many newly arrived refugee and immigrant communities. RMWC programming supports immigrants and refugees in their journeys of community integration through access to educational programs, social bridging activities and culturally appropriate direct services. As an integration-focused organization, RMWC builds social bridging and community networking opportunities into everything we do.

Organization Data

Summary

Organization name

Rocky Mountain Welcome Center

other names

RMWC

Year Established

2017

Tax id (EIN)

82-2971551

Category

Community Improvement & Capacity Building

Organization Size

Medium Organization

Address

10760 E Iliff Ave
Aurora, CO 80012

Mailing

10760 E Iliff Ave
Aurora, CO 80014

Service areas

Arapahoe County, CO, US

Denver, CO, US

Adams County, CO, US

Jefferson County, CO, US

Douglas County, CO, US

Phone

720-280-6264

Social Media