Kingfisher Global Leadership participants, Study Circle staff, and Liberty's Promise students

Ten Japanese university students visited Montgomery County on September 11 to learn about the County's immigrant integration strategies. The Kingfisher Global Leadership Program participants were given an overview of the County's demographics and strategies for immigrant integration by the director of the Office of Community Partnerships; visited Summit Hill Elementary School to learn about Linkages to Learning, a nationally recognized, holistic program that helps elevate multigenerational families from poverty; and experienced MCPS' Study Circles Program, which provides opportunities for effective dialogue and action to discuss topics -- such as race -- that are often uncomfortable. Liberty's Promise students from Kennedy High School joined the discussion. The group of students is touring the United States for two weeks to learn best practices to prepare themselves to be global leaders.

Montgomery County Welcomes You!

In celebration of National Welcoming Week, the Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center worked with County residents to make a "welcoming mural." The Center shared this activity at FutureFest in Silver Spring on September 15 and at the Friendship Picnic in Wheaton on September 22. The families and individuals depicted in the banner truly believe Montgomery County is a welcoming community, affirming that diversity makes our community a better place to live for everyone.

It's Montgomery County's annual Community Service Month (and, through October 10, Maryland's "Day to Serve")--an excellent time to rally your coworkers, neighbors, classmates, or other like-minded individuals to work together to collect specific types of items for nonprofits and government agencies that serve our community.

Several local organizations are recruiting groups (and individuals) to collect food for those in need, including Bethesda Cares, Women Who Care Ministries, Catholic Charities, and Interfaith Works. In addition, there are many opportunities to collect a variety of other needed goods. These include collecting toiletries and other hygiene items for Silver Spring Christian Reformed Church, cat food for the Montgomery County Community Cat Coalition, sports equipment for Leveling the Playing Field, and move-in kits for those transitioning out of homelessness for the Montgomery County Coalition for the Homeless. 

Find additional collection drive needs by searching the Montgomery County Volunteer Center's website for volunteer opportunities by filtering for opportunities that match the " Collection Drive" interest area. Or, if you'd like to develop your own collection drive, reach out to organizations that serve a cause important to you to learn about items they may need. Search for organizations by using the Cause filter to find those devoted to issues such as "Basic Needs/Food/Shelter,"  "Veterans/Military," or "Animal Welfare." 

 

#AfDES2019 is hosted by a coalition of local African diaspora community partners, led by Immigrant Community Services and the African Affairs Advisory Group. The summit targets potential entrepreneurs in ideation, entrepreneurs whose businesses are already set up and running, venture capitalists looking to fund startups and small businesses, technical experts and subject matter experts, technologists/creative innovators in need of a platform to share, collaborate and get assistance and lastly, service providers with entrepreneurship solutions. This event seeks to encourage entrepreneurship among the Pan-African community by offering entrepreneurs funding and business resources that are vital in starting, growing or expanding their businesses. For additional information, please reach out to [email protected] or visit  https://afdes.net/ .

Updates

The 10th Pan African Festival Celebration, held on September 21st, brought hundreds of people together for an afternoon of fun, learning and African cultural experiences. Thanks to the Panafest organizers for their remarkable work and to Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and the Office of Community Partnership for their support. Thanks also go to the Mayor of Gondar, Ethiopia and his delegation, Council members Wil Jawando and Craig Rice, County police, vendors, performers and the community at large. Kudos to the All Cameroonian Culture Development Fund (ACCDF) and the African Affairs Advisory Group (AAAG) for a job well done.  

County Executive Marc Elrich (left) and Dr. Muluken Adane (right), Mayor of Gondar, Ethiopia

County Executive Marc Elrich, Councilmember Tom Hucker, and community representatives welcomed a delegation from Montgomery County's sister city of Gondar, Ethiopia, which included Gondar's mayor (pictured above).

Golf Tournament Benefits Alpha Scholarship Fund

On September 6th, the Montgomery County Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, Fraternity, Inc. (IUL), hosted its First Annual Alpha Open Golf Tournament.  The tournament served as an opportunity to support the Alpha Scholarship Endowment Fund (ASEF), and fellowship among Alpha brothers, friends, and family at Bretton Woods Golf Course.  

Aging Information Exchange Summit

The African American Health Program invites you to the AAHP's 2019 Aging Information Exchange Summit. The summit will take place on October 10, 2019 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Silver Spring Civic Center. The purpose is to inform, educate, and motivate AAHP's aging populations to become more familiar with services and resources to support living in place and avoiding the disruption of families. Click here for details and registration information.

400 Years of Slavery

On September 10th, Councilmember Will Jawando presented a proclamation on behalf of the County Council marking 400 years since the first enslaved Africans arrived in the United States. In late August of 1619, a ship carrying 20 enslaved Africans arrived in present-day Hampton, Virginia, marking the beginning of more than three centuries of brutal and dehumanizing chattel slavery in the United States. More than 12.5 million Africans were captured, sold and transported to the Americas during that time.

October Events

> Filipino American History Month Reception and Open House - Please join  Asian American Youth Leadership Empowerment and Development (AALEAD) for the Filipino American History Month Reception & Open House on Wednesday, October 9, 2019 from 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Asian American LEAD Maryland Office, 15800 Crabbs Branch Way, Suite 300, Rockville, MD 20855. To RSVP, please email Mr. Neel Saxena at [email protected]. RSVP is on a first come, first served basis.  

> Diwali Celebrations

• Join County Executive Marc Elrich and the Diwali Planning Committee for the annual celebration of Diwali - A Festival of Lights on Wednesday, October 23, 2019 from 6:00 p.m. until 8:00 p.m. at the Executive Office Building Auditorium, located at 101 Monroe Street, Rockville, MD 20850. This event is free and open to the public, but RSVP is required. To RSVP, please email [email protected] with "Diwali RSVP" in the subject line.

• A Diwali celebration will be held on Sunday, October 20, 2019, from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. at the Black Rock Center for the Arts, 12901 Town Commons Drive, Germantown, MD 20874.  For more information, please visit  https://bit.ly/2nuKNMK

USA 2020 Census. I Need to Know...

On Wednesday, October 30th at 6:30 p.m., CAAG will host a discussion titled: "USA 2020 Census. I Need to Know..." This event will be held at the Civic Building in Silver Spring and led by staff from the Census Bureau and Office of Community Partnerships. The discussion will provide up-to-date information about the census, highlight the importance of residents participating in the census, and answer questions .

Hispanic Heritage Month Summary 

As Hispanic Heritage month comes to a close, the Office of Community Partnerships has been busy attending various events across the County, celebrating the diverse Latino community. Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich presented a proclamation at the well-attended Festival Salvadoreñisimo at the Montgomery County Fairgrounds on September 15th. The Executive addressed the 6000-strong crowd on the Salvadoran Day of Independence, as the event highlighted the County's Salvadoran diaspora and its music, food, and culture. The Office of Community Partnerships seized the opportunity to emphasize the importance of the Census 2020, and in a partnership with the local Spanish-language TV channel Telemundo, provided Census information in Spanish to hundreds of attendees. 

The American Film Institute's (AFI) Latin American Film Festival will end on October 2nd this year, and in commemoration of the AFI's 30th anniversary hosting this very popular film festival, a proclamation will be presented on behalf of the County Executive before the world premiere of the film "Days of Light." 

Latin American Advisory Group (LAAG) 

The County Executive's Latin American Advisory Group, in partnership with the Hispanic Employees Association, will be hosting a gathering with CountyStat to learn more about the new administration's outcome-based benchmarking and measures. The gathering will provide an important overview to learn more about this new process for measuring departmental and programmatic effectiveness, and establish a path for future measure of the community's welfare within the County Executive's seven priority areas. The meeting will take place October 8th at 3:00 p.m. For more information or to RSVP to attend, please email Jessy Mejia Terry at [email protected]. 

On Saturday, October 19th, the LAAG will be hosting the Latino Community Workshop, convening Latino community leaders and advocates in the seven priority areas, as outlined by County Executive Elrich. The workshop aims to gather actionable recommendations regarding each of the areas, as experienced by the Latino community of Montgomery County. The recommendations will be made to the County Executive and his administration later in the year.

Upcoming Events

On Saturday, October 5th, MEAAG is sponsoring a food drive outside Dawson's Market at Rockville Town Square from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. The event is a partnership with Mid-County United Ministries (MUM) and The Governor's Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs. As MEAAG's "Maryland Day to Serve," the goal is to collect at least 500 pounds of food for MUM to distribute to the most needy residents of Montgomery County. Please stop by and help out! For more information, click here .