The Gateway Family YMCA Joins Welcoming America to Celebrate Welcoming Week

Union, NJ, September 21, 2016 --(PR.com)-- The Gateway Family YMCA will celebrate Welcoming Week, September 16th – 25th by hosting an open house at branches in Elizabeth, Rahway and Union, NJ. Welcoming Week is an annual celebration bringing together thousands of people at local events that celebrate the contributions of immigrants and refugees and the role each community plays to foster greater welcome. The Gateway Family YMCA is joining Welcoming America, a leading movement of inclusive communities making everyone who lives there feel like they belong, in hosting events to celebrate diverse communities.

“The Gateway Family YMCA’s participation in Welcoming Week through an open house and activities shows that in our community, people of all backgrounds are coming together to create stronger, more prosperous communities. We are proud to be a part of Welcoming Week, demonstrating that in places large and small, rural and urban, people are coming together to create stronger communities,” stated Krystal. R. Canady, CEO, The Gateway Family YMCA.

Throughout the week of September 16th – 25th, The Gateway Family YMCA is opening its’ doors to the community and providing activities to welcome everyone into the Y. For details on events at a specific branch, visit www.tgfymca.org. “Welcoming Week is a time to celebrate the values that unite us as neighbors, parents and colleagues, and to make our towns more welcoming to newcomers and to everyone who calls our community home,” added Melynda A. Mileski, EVP/COO.

“These celebrations are part of a powerful and growing movement in our country and around the world,” said David Lubell, Founder and Executive Director of Welcoming America. “Communities recognize that they are more vibrant and prosperous when everyone feels welcomed and can fully participate. In events across the world this week, new and long-time residents are building bridges that make their communities stronger.”

The Gateway Family YMCA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, health and community service organization of caring staff and volunteers dedicated to strengthening the foundations of community and stands For Youth Development, For Healthy Living and For Social Responsibility. Serving the communities in Eastern Union County and Northern Middlesex County for 116 years, The Gateway Family YMCA impacts the community by providing quality services to people of all ages, races, faiths or incomes.

For more information about The Gateway Family YMCA or Welcoming Week activities, please visit www.tgfymca.org or contact the Elizabeth Branch at 908-355-9622, Five Points Branch at 908-688-9622, or Rahway Branch at 732-388-0057.