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New American Economy and Welcoming America have selected Welcome Toledo-Lucas County (Welcome TLC) to receive a Gateways for Growth Challenge award in the third year of the initiative. Launched in December 2015, the Gateways for Growth Challenge is a competitive opportunity for local communities to receive tailored research, direct technical assistance, and matching grants from New American Economy and Welcoming America to develop multi-sector plans for welcoming and integrating immigrants. “We launched the Welcome TLC initiative five years ago because we realized the value of immigrants and refugees and the potential they bring to Toledo and Lucas County. Toledo-Lucas County has a unique immigrant population and history that has served us well in the past and will continue to serve us well in the future,” the Lucas County Commissioners said. “This is another step in Welcome TLC’s leadership in including Toledo-Lucas County’s small but growing and diverse immigrant population in our regional talent and economic development strategies,” said Mechelle Zarou and Reem Subei, Welcome TLC’s Co-Chairs. “Especially in this era of misinformation on immigration, Toledo’s immigrant community is to be celebrated and welcomed and we continue to work to put our region on the map nationally.” Following a rigorous application process, Welcome TLC and 12 other communities were selected for the third round of the Gateways for Growth Challenge. This year’s awardees, alongside Welcome TLC, include Bowling Green, Kentucky, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Charlotte, North Carolina, Flint, Michigan, Lexington, Kentucky, Lowell, Massachusetts, Memphis, Tennessee, Northern Kentucky, Roanoke, Virginia, San Antonio, Texas, and Wayne County, Michigan. In applying for the Gateways for Growth Challenge, Welcome TLC demonstrated a strong commitment to develop a concrete strategy that ensures all residents have access to the tools and support they need to succeed and contribute to their communities, and to highlight the contributions immigrants are already making locally. Foreign-born residents account for about seven percent of Toledo’s population and more than nine percent of Lucas County’s population. Welcome TLC will receive tailored research assistance from the Gateways for Growth Challenge to update a study on the demographics and economic impact of immigrants and refugees in Toledo. In 2014, the Lucas County Commissioners launched the Welcome Toledo-Lucas County Initiative in partnership with LISC Toledo with resolutions of support from Lucas County and the City of Toledo. Welcome TLC is governed by a Steering Committee of cross-sector community partners and leaders, including immigrants, refugees, and people of diverse cultures, that is focused on community outreach, language access, legal services, and workforce and economic development. More information on Welcome TLC can be found on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/WelcomeTLC and on LISC Toledo’s webpage www.lisc.org/toledo/our-work/welcome-toledo-lucas-county.