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OFFICE OF COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS NEWSLETTER
"A More Equitable and Inclusive Montgomery County"
County Executive Marc Elrich
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Asian Pacific American Community
August Events
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The Happy Life Vietnamese Seniors Group celebrated their one year anniversary on August 3. State and County officials joined in the celebration. | |
The Coordination Council of Chinese American Association (CCCAA) held a Chinese Community Picnic at the Black Hill Regional Park, which drew hundreds of Chinese community members. | |
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The Indian community celebrated the 76th India Independence Day on August 15. Lt. Governor Aruna Miller (pictured at left), the first Indian-American individual to be sworn in as Lieutenant Governor in the state of Maryland, helped commemorate the event along with other elected officials. Independence Day marks the end of British rule in 1947, brought about by the Indian Independence Act and the establishment of a free and independent Indian nation.
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Welcoming New Haitian Migrants
In early August, the Caribbean Liaision called for an urgent meeting with several Haitian interfaith and community leaders with the goal of forming a working group to coordinate relief efforts for newly arrived Haitian migrants in Montgomery County. Among the migrants are individuals and families who received the US government’s Humanitarian Parole Visa. Another group of Haitians was allowed in the country after being processed at various points at US southern borders with Mexico by DHS and placed under the status of asylum seekers. Since the early August meeting, the Office of Community Partnerships (OCP), along with the Burtonsville based Haitian church, Eglise de Dieu de Silver Spring (led by Pastor Joseph Berluche), has launched a series of outreach efforts to educate, provide guidance and help dozens of Haitian migrants living in the County connect to medical, MCPS and legal resources.
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Latin American Community
Hispanic Heritage Month Celebrations Around the County
This year, the County will be celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with a variety of entertaining and educational events that will highlight family and community progress. All events are free and open to the public. Click here to view a preliminary schedule of activities. A comprehensive calendar of Hispanic Heritage Month events in Montgomery County will be made available online at www.montgomerycountymd.gov/partnerships. For more information, please contact Jessy Mejia Terry at [email protected].
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Middle Eastern American Community
Mental Health Summit Report Now Available
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The American Muslim Senior Society’s 2022-2023 Mental Health Summit Report is now available. On September 11, AMSS will organize a roundtable, “Addressing the Mental Health Crisis Within Communities of Color: Raising Up Seniors and their Families,” to discuss its report resulting from three years of countywide community dialogues, webinars, and townhall meetings with seniors and their families, ethnically and economically diverse community groups, service providers, county and community agencies, interfaith and community leaders, and policymakers.
The report conveys key issues of concern for older community members and recommendations for short- and long-term policy and practice solutions that emerged from the summit sessions. The report underscores the urgent need for a robust mental health action plan for the County’s diverse, older residents and their caregiving families and is the basis for a second, soon-to-be-announced, “Call to Action” summit in 2023.
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September Holidays and Days of Interest
Labor Day, 9/4 | Krishna Janmashtami, 9/6 | Paryushan, 9/12– 9/20 | Rosh Hashanah, 9/15 – 9/17| First Installation of Adi Granth, 9/16 | Vishwakarma Puja, 9/17 |Ganesh Chaturthi, 9/18 | Yom Kippur, 9/24 – 9/25 | Mawlid al-Nabi, 9/26– 9/27 | Sukkot, 9/29 – 10/1 |Birth of Confucius, 9/29 | Pitru Paksh, 9/29 – 10/14
Upcoming Events
September 4 - The Montgomery County Interfaith 5K will begin at 8:00 am. This inclusive event is designed to bring together people of different backgrounds to meet, socialize and work together to better the entire community. The 2023 Montgomery County Interfaith 5K will continue to donate its proceeds to support the local Montgomery County community. This year's profits will benefit Gaithersburg Help and C-4. For more information click here.
September 7 - The Office of Community Partnerships and the Mid-County Regional Service Center are hosting an event on Thursday, September 7 from 11:30 am to 2:30 pm. The goal is to better connect faith and community leaders to resources available in the County, and hear about their concerns. There will be speakers from several departments and time to hear from attendees about their own experiences. While much of the discussion will focus on resources and related topics, there will also be time to talk about substance abuse and overdose, and will include a Narcan training. Lunch will be provided. Space is limited to 40 attendees, so only one attendee per house of worship or organization, please. Register here. Similar events will be hosted in October for the other regional service areas, dates pending.
September 10 - IFCW’s Interfaith Unity Walk will take place on Sunday, September 10 from 12:30 pm-5:30 pm.Register here for the Walk or visit the website for more information and continued updates.
September 19 - The Central Maryland Hate Bias Reporting Forum, 8:00 am. Find more information and register here.
September 27 - The Religious Land Use Working Group will meet at 2:00 pm. For more information please email [email protected].
September 27 - The Resettlement Working Group will meet at 7:00 pm. For more information please email [email protected].
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August Activities
Please click here to view.
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Multi-Cultural Humanitarian Event | |
Join Montgomery Sister Cities on September 17, 2023 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm for a Multi-Cultural Humanitarian event at the Silver Spring Civic Center Building's Great Hall. Engage and enjoy performances by MSC's five Sister City programs: Morazán, El Salvador; Gondar, Ethiopia; Xi'an, China; Hyderabad, India; and Daejeon, South Korea! This celebration of Montgomery County's diversity will feature hands-on activities, international music, authentic food samples, and lively dance performances. If interested in being a vendor, please contact [email protected]. | |
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Morazan Sister City
The Morazan Sister City Committee is planning its annual fundraising gala, to be held on Friday, September 22, from 6:30 pm to midnight at the Silver Spring Civic Center. The gala will be held during Hispanic Heritage month. For more details, please contact [email protected].
Want to learn more about Montgomery Sister Cities? Please don’t hesitate to contact [email protected] or learn more at https://www.montgomerysistercities.org/.
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