What is Welcome Rainbow?
Welcome Rainbow is a project created by the ANC under the Settlement and Resettlement department. The goal of the project is to build a safe, anti-racist, and anti-oppressive space to welcome and embrace individuals with diverse Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, and Sexual Characteristics (SOGIESC) because many of these individuals are in high-risk and unsafe locations due to anti-2SLGBTQIA+ persecution and discrimination. While many individuals with diverse SOGIESC experience challenges to their safety, security, and wellbeing, there is no universal story. These challenges are intersectional, meaning factors of one’s identity compound to create intersecting oppressions which shape one’s experience distinctly and emphasize the need for informed, intersectional, and compassionate support.
Through the Welcome Rainbow project, the ANC aims to support the various needs of individuals with diverse SOGIESC in every step of the settlement process. In addition to raising awareness about SOGIESC rights within the newcomer community in NL, we endeavour to sponsor five individuals with diverse SOGIESC annually.
How You Can Help
Financial Support. Before welcoming newcomers and refugees with diverse SOGIESC, sponsors like the ANC must demonstrate the ability to financially support new arrivals. As a community member, we invite you to donate to support this initiative through GoFundMe or directly to the ANC.
Share the Initiative. We invite all 2SLGBTQIA+, SOGIESC, and allies in NL to share our fundraising initiative amongst their families, friends, and communities as we strive to raise $20,000 for each sponsored individual to cover their annual cost of living expenses. We sincerely appreciate your support in reaching our 2021 sponsorship goal of sponsoring five individuals with diverse SOGIESC.
Volunteer With Us. Volunteers and community members interested in working together to create a welcoming community can contact volunteer@ancnl.ca.
Community Support
In addition to donating, you can arrange your own event and donate a portion of the proceeds to Welcome Rainbow. Whether you are an individual, an organization, a corporate or a small business, we are looking forward to collaborating with you to aid the Welcome Rainbow Project initiative.
Our first event in support of Welcome Rainbow was a pop-up hair salon on Sunday August 15, 2021, sponsored by The Seahorse Salon. Through the kindness and community support of The Seahorse Salon, $2500 was raised to assist our goal of creating a welcoming environment for immigrants and refugees with diverse SOGIESC arriving in NL. Thank you once again to The Seahorse Salon for your generosity, and thanks to The Shop, SALT for providing space for businesses with a passion for social justice and global human rights.
Learn more about the Welcome Rainbow project here:
- https://www.saltwire.com/atlantic-canada/news/new-support-for-lgbtq-refugees-arriving-in-newfoundland-and-labrador-100614839/
- https://www.cbc.ca/…/anc-project-rainbow-fundraiser
The Association for New Canadians is a registered charity; donations to the Welcome Rainbow project are tax-deductible.