Princeton Human Services Department

Welcoming Community

In 2015, Princeton joined Welcoming America, becoming part of a global movement proactively working to build welcoming communities that value inclusiveness, unity and diversity.

Council Goals: Provide a safe and inclusive community by:

• Establishing a Welcoming America subcommittee of the Human Services Commission
• Developing a Welcoming Princeton Plan
• Engaging and educating the public on Welcoming Princeton
• Executing the Welcoming Week program
• Working with Mayor, Council and Administration to sustain, implement and develop policies and practices to advance our welcoming community efforts

Welcoming Week:September 15th – 24th, 2017

Last September, Princeton hosted our 1st Welcoming Week joining 150 communities and 50,000 individuals worldwide. Our country and the community we serve are facing great challenges and it will take all of us, working together to change the rhetoric. Everyone – from schoolchildren to seniors – has a role to play in ensuring Princeton remains a welcoming place for all. Welcoming Week is a time to celebrate and amplify the values that unite us as neighbors, parents and colleagues, and that make our town more welcoming to newcomers and everyone who calls our community home and to recognize that our community is stronger because of our diversity, not in spite of it.

Check out our Welcoming Week Princeton 2016 Video by clicking here.

Welcoming Week Events:

Click here for a pdf of the events

Friday, September 15th 6:30 pm Trinity Church 33 Mercer Street Princeton, NJ	One Table Café, Trinity Church: A Historic Evening with Holocaust Survivor, Sol Lurie. Sol Lurie, age 87, celebrates 2 birthdays: he was born on 4/11/1930, and liberated on his birthday 4/11/1945. Lurie considers himself the "Miracle Man." Lurie is recorded in the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and has returned to the Buchenwald Concentration Camp where he was once imprisoned. He will share his story of what hate and discrimination did, and unfortunately is still going on. He will not leave this world until he accomplishes his mission of "to love and not to hate," he says. Click here for more information (Must RSVP by calling 609-216-7770) Hosted by Trinity Church and Princeton Human Services
Saturday, September 16th 10:00 am Meeting @ Hinds Plaza 63 Witherspoon Street Princeton, NJ	The Albert E. Hinds Memorial Walking Tour: African American Life in Princeton, Historical Society of Princeton: A one of a kind tour of the historic Witherspoon-Jackson neighborhood that gives the history below Nassau Street. Learn about the “Princeton Plan” that desegregated schools at the site of the Witherspoon Street School for Colored Children; hear about the life of Paul Robeson at his birthplace; and visit Birch Avenue, where many houses were moved when the establishment of Palmer Square demolished much of the historic Black neighborhood across from the University. Contact Princeton Human Services at 609-688-2055 to register. Hosted by the Historical Society of Princeton and Princeton Human Services
Saturday, September 16th 10:00 am Princeton Stadium	Community & Staff Day, Princeton University: The festivities coincide with a home football game of the Princeton Tigers, and they include family events such as a youth sports clinic hosted by Princeton University athletes, a community service project, entertainment, crafts, and an information fair featuring local community organizations. All activities are free. Click here for more information Hosted by Princeton University
Sunday, September 17th 10:00 am Princeton Public Library 65 Witherspoon Street Princeton, NJ	Naturalization Ceremony, Princeton Public Library: Immigrants become citizens of the United States by taking the Oath of Citizenship at this ceremony that is part of Welcoming Week. Welcoming Week is an annual series of events during which communities bring together immigrants and U.S.-born residents to raise awareness of the benefits of welcoming everyone – including new Americans. Click here for more information Hosted by LATF, Princeton Public Library, Princeton Human Services and the Arts Council of Princeton
Sunday, September 17th 4:00 pm Princeton Garden Theatre 160 Nassau Street Princeton, NJ	Film Showing, Swim Team, Princeton Garden Theatre: SWIM TEAM profiles members of the Jersey Hammerheads, a competitive swim team made up of a diverse group of teens on the autism spectrum, based in the state with the highest rate of autism in the country. A triumphant film that highlights the way inclusion benefits the youth in and out of the pool. Click here for more information Hosted by the Princeton Garden Theatre and Arts Council of Princeton
Monday, September 18th 7:30 pm Princeton Garden Theatre 160 Nassau Street Princeton, NJ	Film Showing, 8 Borders, 8 days, Princeton Garden Theatre: The documentary 8 BORDERS, 8 DAYS chronicles the struggles of a Syrian single mother and her two young children, who stage a dangerous escape across the sea on an inflatable raft after being denied resettlement in the United States. Click here for more information Hosted by the Princeton Garden Theatre, Princeton Public Library
Monday, September 18th 7:00 - 8:30 pm McCarter Theatre 91 University Place Princeton, NJ	Accessing the Arts Open House, McCarter Theatre: We invite our neighbors of all ages, backgrounds, and cultures to come to meet members of the McCarter staff and multilingual community hosting partners from Berlitz Princeton Language Center and tour our facilities. We’ll share information about McCarter’s theatrical offerings for 2017-2018, as well as about our exciting and eclectic music, dance and special event programming, which features artists of national and international renown. We’ll also provide tips on how to access our performance events, educational programs, and volunteer opportunities. A skilled teaching artist from our After School program will engage school-age students in theatrical play and offer a fun, interactive experience – therefore, families with children are especially encourage to attend! Refreshments, hand created by The Gingered Peach, will be served. Click here for more information Hosted by McCarter Theatre, The Berlitz Princeton Language Center & The Gingered Peach
Monday, September 18th Thursday, September 21st 2:00 - 4:00 pm Arm in Arm 61 Nassau Street Princeton, NJ	Arm in Arm Pantry Tours, Arm in Arm: Arm in Arm will be hosting tours of their food pantry for individuals to learn more about the services they provide for our community. Call Cecilia Avila at 609-396-9355 ext. 18 for more information Hosted by Arm in Arm
Thursday, September 21st 6:00 - 8:00 pm Hinds Plaza 63 Witherspoon Street Princeton, NJ	Cultural Exchange Night: LALDEF, Human Services, and the Princeton Public Library will host a Cultural Exchange Night at Hinds Plaza. Families, individuals and volunteers from different countries will come together to feature displays from their cultures/nationalities. All are encouraged to come “show and tell” their culture by bringing in items and sharing stories that represent their traditions. We will proudly celebrate the mix of countries, traditions and ethnic backgrounds living within our community. Click here for more information Hosted by LALDEF, Princeton Human Services, and the Princeton Public Library
Sunday, September 24th 2:30 - 3:30 pm First Church of Christ, Scientist 16 Bayard Lane Princeton, NJ	Public talk by Christian Science Church, Healing Power of Stillness: Our thoughts are like water -- when you still them, they become clear. In this stillness, we find connection beyond race, culture, gender, religion. We find commonality and embrace our uniqueness. Being at peace enables us to laugh more easily and discover love and community in the most unlikely of places. The talk “The Healing Power of Stillness” will offer guidance in how to practice this stillness in your own life. The speaker, Larissa Snorek-Yates, travels the globe to speak to people looking for peace and healing in their lives. As the pace of life gets faster and faster in Western societies, the need for a moment of pause and rest increases. Larissa will share examples of how stillness has impacted individual lives and brought a greater sense of inner peace. As Welcoming Week comes to a close, come and learn more about how stillness can foster greater receptivity and resilience in your life. By looking at timeless concepts from Christian teachings, we’ll see how universal the concept of stillness is and how it helps us not only find clarity but also discover healing and transformation in our individual lives. Hosted by the Christian Science Church
All Week Long	Open House: Healthy Aging, Princeton Senior Resource Center – One Free Class with voucher

If you would like to host a Welcoming Week event, please fill out the sign-up sheet
by clicking here.