November 2020
Greetings!
It has been a busy fall here at the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center (IWC). Our office reopened at the end of the summer, but much of our work this fall has been out in the community. Take a look through our November 2020 newsletter for updates on our Citizenship & Civic Engagement Initiative, Immigrant Business Hub, iEnglish Project, and Co-Working Hub.
Citizenship & Civic Engagement
Canvassing

This fall was very busy for our civic engagement program. Our team knocked on hundreds of doors up and down the coast to help register eligible voters and encourage people to make their voices heard in this year's election. The IWC is grateful for the Civic Engagement partners we have worked with over the past years and this fall: League of Women Voters, Common Power, AVESTA Housing and Gateway Community Services.
Ekhlas Ahmed (left, red shirt) of the IWC during one of the many canvassing sessions.
Election Day
This fall's election saw a record number of early voters, with many people voting by mail or in person before election day (November 3, 2020). This was in anticipation of long lines on November 3rd as polling locations adapted to safely let in voters during this time of COVID-19. On election day, the IWC partnered with Luke's Lobster and Maine Equal Justice as part of World Central Kitchen's Chefs for the Polls initiative.

Luke's Lobster provided over 400 free meals outside of the Portland Expo polling location to folks waiting in line while the IWC and Maine Equal Justice provided volunteers to help serve and answer questions people had about voting.
Damas Rugaba of the IWC (right, red shirt) on election day.
"We were so excited to work with IWC, World Central Kitchen, and Maine Equal Justice to help hand out free meals to close to 700 people over the course of two events in Lewiston and Portland. Working together to feed hungry people and help them make their voice heard was such an uplifting way to spend an otherwise stressful day. It was amazing to see our community come together around the importance of democracy and caring for one another, and IWC was a huge help getting the word out and getting food to people in need".
-Ben Conniff, Co-Founder of Luke's Lobster
Immigrant Business Hub
COVID-19 Health and Safety
IWC Business Hub Coordinator Mariella Uwimana (right) has been out in the community this fall visiting immigrant run businesses and distributing face masks and hand sanitizer to businesses in need. Mariella has been working with 25 businesses to help ensure that business owners and customers are safe. This is an ongoing program in partnership with Portland Buy Local and Maine Access Immigrant Network (MAIN) to provide educational materials and translated signage as well.
Maine Economic Recovery Grant
This fall the IWC partnered with Greater Portland Council of Governments (GPCOG) to provide assistance to 29 immigrant led businesses work on the Maine Economic Recovery Grant. This grant was designed to provide economic relief to small businesses and nonprofits that have experienced financial loss this year due to COVID-19. This partnership was formed with the understanding that immigrants might need additional assistance in understanding the grant requirements, especially due to language barriers.
The Indus Fund
The IWC is a proud partner of the newly created Indus Fund which is a micro-loan fund dedicated to New Mainers (first generation immigrants) looking to scale up their businesses, create a life for themselves and their families, build credit and banking history, and help grow the Maine economy. Startups are not eligible to apply. Partners in this group include cPort Credit Union, Prosperity Maine, SCORE, New Ventures Maine, the Department of Economic and Community Development and more.

Watch Kerem Durdag introduce the fund during our virtual fundraiser on October 8, 2020:
The iEnglish Project
On October 1st, the Alain Jean Claude Nahimana Scholarship for Learning English was announced. The Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center (IWC) and Voxy have partnered to offer a scholarship that honors the life and legacy of Alain Jean Claude Nahimana, the Co-Founder of the IWC and Executive Director from 2017 to 2020.

The scholarship will enable an initial cohort of 50 learners to access Voxy’s language learning platform. For six months, learners will enjoy unlimited access to Voxy’s General English courses and Career Pathway content, which serves as a hybrid English language acquisition and workforce development model.

For further information on basic requirements to apply for the scholarship see the flyer here: https://bit.ly/2H7XHe2.

Interested individuals can email the IWC Director of Finance and Operations Damas Rugaba at drugaba@welcomeimmigrant.org.
New and Ongoing Partnerships
In September the iEnglish Project restarted it's partnership with MaineHealth after a break over the summer due to COVID-19. There are currently 10 new MaineHealth employees enrolled taking English courses through the program.

This Spring we began working with FedCap Rehabilitation Services to provide English Language Learning to their clients. This year we have had 15 learners in the iEnglish Project FedCap partnership.
Co-Working Hub
We would like to welcome three new members to the IWC Co-Working Hub this fall. The co-working hub provides an aspirational working space to be shared with aligned community stakeholders and supplements and helps build the capacity and capital of burgeoning immigrant initiatives and organizations.

We are always looking for new members! If you or your organization is looking for a professional space to work from, check out our membership benefits and rates here: https://www.welcomeimmigrant.org/become-a-member.

New members this fall are:
Ladder to the Moon Network/Amjambo Africa
Ladder to the Moon Network strives to educate the public about Africa, increase awareness of the connection between current conditions in Africa and migration, and describe the challenges faced by African immigrants as they are in the process of relocating as well as after resettlement.
Presente! Maine
Presente! Maine works toward empowerment and integration of the Latino community in Maine through education, community organizing, civic engagement, and direct support and services.
Cooperative Development Institute (CDI)
CDI is a regional 501(c)3 non-profit founded in 1994 by co-op leaders in the Northeast. Cooperative Development Institute’s mission is to build a cooperative economy through the creation and development of successful cooperative enterprises. 
The Power of WE: 2020 and Beyond
We would like to thank everyone who tuned in on October 8 for our Power of WE: 2020 and Beyond virtual fundraiser. Thanks to your generous support we met our $15,000 match and raised over $30,000 total to support immigrant integration in Greater Portland. A special thanks to AURA for gifting us the use of their space to broadcast the event.
Board Chair Mary Allen Lindemann (left) and Interim Executive Director
Shima Kabirigi
IWC Staff
Batimbo United Drummers
Reza Jalali reads his "Love Letter to Maine" during the virtual fundraiser on
October 8, 2020.