Local community leaders and volunteers reflect on Welcoming Week
Kerry Ward and her family are lifelong residents of Glencoe. Kerry is a Community Health Educator for McLeod County Health and Human Services and Meeker-McLeod-Sibley Community Health Services, working with the community to improve the health and safety of residents. She chairs the grassroots community group Together we are Glencoe that plans local Welcoming Week events and other opportunities to advocate for welcoming and belonging in her community.
As a resident of Glencoe, I sat on the City of Glencoe Comprehensive Planning Committee where we found that civic engagement and involvement was something our community needed to work on. After COVID-19, residents lost touch with each other; they were becoming isolated and lonely. I have learned through my years at Public Health that building community and connection improves mental wellbeing along with access to services and resources. We learned through our comprehensive plan that Glencoe is more diverse than we expected, with almost 20 percent of our population being of Hispanic origin. This is all part of why I wanted to get involved with Welcoming Week in Glencoe.
Welcoming Week can have a positive impact on our community. Learning to know your neighbor and how to connect with each other and finding our similarities can be very meaningful.
While it started out with Welcoming Week, events and activities around inclusion in our community have really broadened. I would have to say our Lotería event at the Glencoe Days town festival was my most favorite from the gatherings Together we are Glencoe hosted this year.
About Welcoming Week
Through Welcoming Week, organizations and communities bring together neighbors of all backgrounds to build strong connections and affirm the importance of welcoming and inclusive places in achieving collective prosperity. We provide funding and support for Welcoming Week celebrations in communities across our region as part of our membership in Welcoming America.