This report from the Chief Medical Officer of Health Ontario explains why social connections are so important for our personal and community health. Thanks to our Welcome Group volunteers and newcomer participants, Together Project is working to decrease refugee newcomer social isolation and increase refugee social networks. Learn more about the power of social connections here. http://www.health.gov.on.ca/en/common/ministry/publications/reports/cmoh_19/cmoh_19.pdf

Together Project wishes to thank the Toronto Foundation for supporting our Co-Directors’ attendance at the International Metropolis Conference in Ottawa. Highlights include a keynote address from the minister, a thought-provoking address from Ketty Nivyabandi, and workshops on Social Inclusion and Refugee Integration; Making Connections: Community’s Role in Immigration; Implementing the Global Compact for Refugees; and Increasing Immigration Sustainability in an Era of Populism.

In partnership with The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto, Together Project is pleased to host The Ritz-Carlton Succeed Through Service Newcomer Hospitality Program for refugee newcomers. Through the generous support of the Ritz-Carlton Community Footprints team, this program is providing an introduction to the hospitality industry for 25 refugee newcomers. Participating newcomers have arrived in Canada from around the world. This program is running for the third consecutive summer until the end of August.

Together Project is honoured to receive a Vital Ideas and Leadership grant from the Toronto Foundation. Our Refugee Social Capital Accelerator initiative will allow us to deepen the impact of our Welcome Group model through further social capital research, building off of the Toronto Foundation’s Toronto Social Capital Study 2018. As well, we will develop and formalize relevant curriculum for volunteer training, and strengthen our evaluation and reporting mechanisms.

Together Project’s Welcome Group Program has been selected as a “Promising Practice” by the Pathways to Prosperity Project. To learn more about the program, download the Welcome Group brief and see the video interview with Together Project’s co-directors here.

The Welcome Group Program gives volunteers the chance to participate in their community, to give back, and to learn more about different cultures and newcomer communities. We were able to achieve multiple goals with the family members. For example, we found the desired high school for one family member and we helped the father get a job at a top-tier grocery story by preparing him for the interview and for the training orientations. I would encourage everyone who is thinking about volunteering with Together Project to go ahead and make a difference in newcomers’ lives, and, at the same time, bring fun and fulfillment into their own lives. #TogetherHello (Photo: Ardean Peters)