Day 12: Amani participates in Amp Lab Challenge

There’s no better way to celebrate the finale of “12 Days of Amani” than to acknowledge the Amp Lab students who spent the fall creating awareness projects. The Amp Lab located at Electric Works is unique learning experience in which high school students are challenged to solve real problems by applying their talents. Amani was invited to participate in the Amp Lab challenge at the beginning of the school year.

Amani tasked the students with creating awareness projects that celebrated diversity and Amani’s Welcoming Week celebration. We are so grateful to these students for producing content, market research, and other deliverables that are often difficult for our agency to accomplish during our busy season. In return, we were grateful to give these students space to develop interpersonal and professional skills.

We were blown away by the projects these students created in such a short amount of time. Using photography, film, graphic design, and podcasting, students inspired us with their perception of how to reach younger audiences and what culture meant to them. We are excited to adopt some of the deliverables we received, including the impact video above.

The students behind this video project interviewed nominees and winners from the Welcoming Fort Wayne Awards and Director of Mission Advancement Keiara Carr on the importance of fostering a spirit of belonging. Please take time to see the talent of these students and listen to the message. Your support can make such a difference for our multicultural community.

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Day 11: One Beat - A Lip Sync Battle 2023

Photo Credit: Sean O’ Leary

In November, One Beat supporters raised more than $95,000 in just one night to support our multicultural community! We also thank our staff and volunteers for making the night successful.

This year’s performances featured some cinema favorites, Super Bowl performances, incredible props, and intense choreography. We are always so thankful to the Lip Sync bands for dedicating their time and energy to creating yearly out-of-this-world performances!

Congratulations to our One Beat Award-Winning Bands:

  • 1st Place: Peter Franklin Jewelers

  • 2nd Place: Barrett McNagny LLP

  • 3rd: The DeHayes Group

  • Beat the Donation Drum (Pre-Event Award for Fundraising): 3Rivers Federal Credit Union

  • Judges' Pick: Elevatus Architecture

  • Crowd Favorite: STAR Financial Bank

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Day 10: Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne announces grant

Brad Little, President &CEO, Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne and Ewelina Connolly, CEO, Amani Family Services

Photo Credit: Rolley Navarro

During the Welcoming Fort Wayne Awards in September, Brad Little, President & CEO of Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne, announced that the foundation granted Amani Family Services over $200,000 for the next two years to strengthen the Welcoming Fort Wayne initiative and its community advocacy efforts.

This investment allows Amani to hire an additional staff member to support cultural competency and the implementation of a city-wide Welcoming Plan. The funding also ensures our ability to convene the community partners and resources needed to create a more welcoming community.

Welcoming Fort Wayne’s work is directly supporting a stronger social sector ecosystem that includes the public, nonprofits and many other stakeholders in Fort Wayne. This month, the Community Foundation released a new four-year plan to strengthen change in our community. Read more about the Collaborate for Change: Social Sector Ecosystem Strategy Report.

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Day 9: Welcoming Fort Wayne Awards

Photo Credit: Rolley Navarro

Two individuals and one organization were honored in September for their work to make Fort Wayne a community that welcomes everyone during the Welcoming Fort Wayne Awards.

Winners include: Dr. Charles L. Coats, Vanessa Escobar and The Literacy Alliance.

The Lifetime Achiever Award was presented to Dr. Charles L. Coats to honor his lifetime dedication to serving more than 1,200 people of color and other underserved populations receiving healthcare at Anthony Medical Associates health clinic. Coats is a family medicine specialist who has been practicing for 20 years.

Vanessa Escobar was honored with the Emerging Leader Award. Escobar is a fitness instructor who has inspired fellow immigrants to invest in their health and self-confidence. She received more than 20 nominations from her Zumba students

The Welcoming Organization Award was presented to Literacy Alliance. The organization’s Project Connect program is a free English Language Learning program that meets at various times throughout the week. The class utilizes real-life situations to help practice skills.  

In addition to the awards, Mayor Tom Henry proclaimed September 15 as Welcoming Fort Wayne Day, and Community Foundation of Greater Fort Wayne President and CEO Brad Little announced the foundation has granted Amani Family Services over $200,000 for the next two years to strengthen its Welcoming Fort Wayne initiative and community advocacy efforts.

“We are happy to honor these individuals and organizations who have done so much to welcome and include immigrants and refugees in the Fort Wayne area,” said Ewelina Connolly, CEO of Amani Family Services. “Welcoming Fort Wayne Awards is an opportunity to celebrate the values that unite us as neighbors and makes our community more welcoming to all who call Fort Wayne home.”

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Day 8: Amani partners with the Literacy Alliance for ELL Classes

In August, Amani opened our doors to Amani’s first ELL class! We are so grateful to partner with The Literacy Alliance through the Project Connect English Language Learners program.

Through Project Connect, Amani’s clients are able to practice basic reading, writing, listening and speaking skills by utilizing real-life examples. The program is free of charge for students. Creating equitable access to language services and education is crucial to a better quality of life, workforce development and to developing spaces of belonging. We are truly thankful to collaborate on this initiative.

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Day 7: Malak Heiny named Bobilya Award Nominee and Gateways for Growth Survey

In July, board member Malak Heiny was selected as a 2023 David A Bobilya Excellence in Nonprofit Leadership Award nominee. Malak currently serves as City Attorney for the city of Fort Wayne, and has recently completed her final term as an Amani Family Services board member.

Malak’s energy and “can-do” attitude is an incredible asset to our organization and we are grateful to have her continued support.

Amani along with partners at Greater Fort Wayne Inc. and Downtown Fort Wayne deployed a community survey this month to gauged current attitudes toward belonging in our community.

Key Takeaways:

  • Only 35% of US citizen-residents responded that Fort Wayne was “Welcoming” or “Very Welcoming”

  • Nearly 50% of non-US citizen-residents came to Fort Wayne in pursuit of a better quality of life

  • 58.77% of non-US citizen-residents aspire to be an entrepreneur

In the year to come, Amani will work with community partners to address both the opportunities and challenges facing immigrants and refugees. Your support of our mission will help strengthen our efforts.

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Day 6: World Refugee Day

Photo Credit: Angel Campos

Amani gathered the community for a beautiful June Day in Foster Park for the annual World Refugee Day Celebration. The day was filled with music, dancing, and plenty of food (and candy!) for all in attendance. This global celebration recognizes the courage and resiliency of refugees. It is truly one of our favorite days of the year at Amani!

"This year the UNHCR named the theme for World Refugee Day as “Hope Away from Home”. Each day, through our clinical programs and the Welcoming Fort Wayne initiative, I see how Amani and our community work so hard to create a welcoming community for refugees who make Allen County their home. We truly witness the hope of so many refugees as they begin their lives here." - Melissa Grossman, COO  

We want to share a special thank you to our friends at Kroger for providing awesome goody bags for participants, the talented Amaneceres de Mexico from Renaissance Pointe YMCA for dancing, WELT 95.7 FM - Fort Wayne Community Radio for playing fantastic music, Vanessa Lobaton for sharing her beautiful story and leading Zumba and Angel Campos Photography for capturing it all so beautifully! Thank you to our friends at International House for joining in the fun! And a BIG thank you to our Amani staff and volunteers for making this day happen!

Cultural celebrations are critical in developing more inclusive and welcoming neighborhoods. We hope that you will join us in 2024!

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Day 5: Amani receives 2023 Award for Advancing Minority Mental Health from the American Psychiatric Association Foundation

In May, Amani COO Melissa Grossman attended the APA annual meeting in San Francisco to accept the award on our organization's behalf. We were humbled by this national recognition!

The Awards for Advancing Minority Mental Health were established in 2003 by the American Psychiatric Association Foundation (APAF) to recognize community organizations that have undertaken innovative and supportive efforts to:

  • Raise awareness in underserved minority communities about mental illness including the need for early recognition, access to and the availability of treatment, and the cultural barriers to treatment.

  • Increase access to quality mental health services for underserved minorities.

  • Improve the quality of care for underserved minorities, particularly those in the public health system or with severe mental illness.

Because of the population we serve, Amani has created innovative clinical programming and advocated for equitable mental health care for our local multicultural community for nearly 18 years. Your support helps us strengthen the impact for nearly 2,000 immigrants and refugees annually.

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Day 4: Ewelina Connolly selected as a Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation Fellow

The Mitch Daniels Leadership Foundation (MLDF) announced in April that Amani CEO Ewelina Connolly was one of 25 participants selected for its Class VI Fellowship.

As the sole representative from Allen County, Connolly is currently participating in the two-year curated program which includes monthly meetings and a robust coursework focused on state issues.

Connolly has used this incredibly competitive opportunity to advance discussions regarding New Americans who resettle in Indiana.

As the CEO of Amani, I have the privilege to be at the forefront of critical conversations focused on both the many challenges impacting immigrants and refugees, and the opportunities our diverse community has to offer to the economic and overall development of Allen County,” said Connolly. “I am honored to bring my learned experiences to advance these conversations on the state level and bring awareness to the unique considerations of culturally diverse communities.”

Connolly joined Amani in 2009, serving as Clinical Director and COO before being promoted to CEO in 2021. Under Connolly’s leadership, Amani serveed nearly 2,000 immigrants and refugees through its clinical programs in 2022. The agency also advanced its Welcoming Fort Wayne initiative, which advocates inclusion for a growing community of local immigrants and refugees and promotes cultural competency to the community at large.

The MLDF Fellowship was established in 2017 to create a statewide network of change agents who are actively working to make Indiana the best place to build a future. Fellows are selected based on their demonstrated leadership, entrepreneurial spirit, and alignment with the Foundation’s core principles.

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Day 3: International Women's Day | Amani Program Manager receives first Social Work Diversity Scholarship

In March, Amani had the opportunity to partner with Greater Fort Wayne Inc to celebrate International Women’s Day with GFW’s Women Network. Utilizing the theme of “Embrace Equity,” Amani hosted a panel featuring local multicultural women with different journeys.

The panel featured:

  • Flora Barron, Owner & Founder, Flora & Lily's Mexican Kitchen and Kanela Blended Drinks |  Flora Barron and her husband immigrated from Mexico to Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1993.  She worked various entry level jobs, from cleaning apartments to factory work, all while earning a Bachelor's degree in education and later a Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction. Flora worked for Fort Wayne Community schools for nearly twenty years. In 2017 she and her husband opened their first business in the form of a food truck called Flora and Lily's Mexican Kitchen. Currently, Flora dedicates her time managing and promoting their three companies and enjoying their precious grandkids. 

  • Farah Combs, Honors Program Director and Senior Lecturer in Arabic, Purdue University Fort Wayne | Farah is an immigrant and the daughter of Palestinian refugees. She is a Palestinian, but was born and raised in Kuwait as a "Without". The "Withouts" are a group of people who do not have an identity of belonging to a country or a homeland. Her identity / lack of identity is the primary reason she immigrated to America as a young adult. Not knowing the language or the culture in America, she was able to persevere and push through to build an identity. She currently teaches all levels of the Arabic language at PFW and International Communications.

  • Ines Etheridge, Loss Mitigation Specialist, PNC Bank | In addition to her role at PNC, Ines serves as a Community Advisory Board member for Amani Family Services. She immigrated to Fort Wayne in 1996 as a war refugee from Sarajevo, Bosnia. Ines graduated from North Side High School and received her bachelor's degree in English Literature from Purdue University Fort Wayne.

  • Malak Heiny, City Attorney, City of Fort Wayne | Malak Heiny was appointed by Mayor Henry as the City Attorney in 2022. Since 2013, Malak has served as associate city attorney for the City of Fort Wayne. She has been instrumental in providing leadership and direction on legal matters. Prior to her service with the City, Malak was a judicial law clerk for Indiana Court of Appeals Judge Patricia A. Riley. Malak holds a law degree from IU Robert H. McKinney School of Law. She is first generation Arab American and lifelong resident of Fort Wayne. Malak is a graduate of South Side High School and Indiana University, Bloomington. Malak is on the Amani Family Services Board and the Allen County Bar Association Board.

  • Nikki Quintana, Executive Director, Fort Wayne Metropolitan Human Relations Commission | Nikki is responsible for representing the Commission, directing the staff, and overseeing operations of the civil rights agency to eliminate unlawful discrimination. She is dedicated to promoting an environment of inclusivity and acceptance within the City of Fort Wayne. Nikki has trained and spoken on civil rights and discrimination at the local, state, and national level. She is sought after for advice in case management, employment discrimination, diversity and inclusion, and fair housing. Nikki holds a bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Saint Francis and a Juris Doctorate from Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. In 2018, she was named "Up and Coming Lawyer" by Indiana Lawyer. and in 2020, she was named in Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly's Forty Under 40. In 2022, Nikki was an inaugural recipient of the Indiana Latino Institute Elevated Latinos Under 40 award. She is active in her community and is a member of the Mayor's Commission on Domestic Violence, Rape, and Sexual Harassment, The League for the Blind and Disabled, Advancing the Voices of Women, and other organizations that promote equity for all.

The panel engaged in discussions about navigating the workspace, how their cultures have motivated them and how we can encourage more inclusion in our community for women and for immigrants and refugees. This partnership was Amani’s largest celebration of International Women’s Day and helped showcase the stories of both foreign-born and first generation residents.

March also marked a personal success for Associate Family Support Program Manager Maria Zamudio who was one of the first recipients for the IUFW Bachelor of Social Work Diversity and Equity Scholarship.

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Day 2: Northeast Indiana Immigration Network

This year, U.S. State Department of State, in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, launched the Welcome Corps, giving Americans the opportunity to sponsor refugees. As the program developed in early 2023, local organizations focused on immigrant and refugee resettlement felt it was important to share more education on the resettlement process. This partnership quickly formed into the Northeast Indiana Immigration Network.

Amani Family Services, Catholic Charities of Fort Wayne-South Bend, International House and the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation began working together in January to create quarterly learning sessions with a majority of the presentations being free and open to the community. Throughout this year, the network has been able to share their insight into refugee resettlement programs, legal services, impact data on immigrants and refugees and how to best welcome newcomers into our community.

The network has offered an opportunity for local agencies focused on immigration and resettlement to work together in creating new and innovative programming for the community. These programs have also offered the community the opportunity to understand how these agencies work together to ensure that clients remain at the forefront of our services. We look forward to continuing the sessions into 2024.

Programming is made possible by supporting partners and donors like you. Please consider making a gift to Amani during the holiday season!

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Special Thanks to our Partners

Day 1: January - Gateways for Growth

January kicked off with a year-long mission to collect the latest impact data and use it to create a new community narrative on cultural inclusion.

The American Immigration Council (the Council) and Welcoming America selected Fort Wayne, Indiana, to receive a Gateways for Growth (G4G) Research, Technical Assistance, and Matching Grant award as part of the fifth cohort of the initiative. Amani Family Services, Downtown Fort Wayne and Greater Fort Wayne Inc. formed a partnership to accomplish three main goals:

  • Develop a clear, detailed plan for creation of the Welcoming Plan

  • Gather an effective and influential steering committee

  • Produce a community report to share assessment results at Welcome Week

In June, the Gateways for Growth partners hosted a Call to Action meeting announcing a steering committee of community leaders and the launch a multilingual community survey. The community response was tremendous - nearly 800 residents responded to the community survey which provided new insight into the differing views of both foreign-born and locally-born residents.

In September, the G4G partners with the support of the technical assistance team launched the New Americans in Allen County report during Welcoming Week.

Here’s what we found out:

  • Immigrants are helping the county meet its labor force demands. Immigrants were 32.3 percent more likely to be of working age than their U.S. born counterparts.

  • Immigrants support the federal safety net. Immigrants contributed $65.3 million to Social Security and $17.4 million to Medicare in Allen County in 2019.

  • Immigrants are helping Allen County meet its rising labor needs in key industries. While making up 6.8 percent of the county’s overall population in 2019, immigrants represented 13.5 percent of manufacturing workers, 12.3 percent of construction workers, and 8.3 percent of hospitality workers.

  • Immigrants play a significant role in the county as entrepreneurs. Immigrants represented 9.9 percent of business owners in Allen County in 2019. About 1,300 immigrant entrepreneurs generated $37.9 million in business income for the county.

  • Immigrants in Allen County help create or preserve local manufacturing jobs. Immigrants strengthened the local job market by allowing companies to keep jobs on U.S. soil, helping preserve or create 1,200 local manufacturing jobs that would have otherwise vanished or moved elsewhere by 2019.

Both the community survey and New Americans In Allen County impact report have become critical pieces of information in working with the G4G steering committee, as well as local and state stakeholders. You can download both reports here.

In January, the G4G partners will launch a Welcome Plan based on hours of community discussions, however the implementation and execution will require individuals across many sectors to bring it to fruition. Your support of the Welcoming Fort Wayne Initiative is needed now more than ever. Can we count on you to help us sustain this incredible community movement?

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Special Thanks to our Partners and Sponsors

Welcome to 12 Days of Amani!

We gathered our list of highlights this year — and checked it twice — and we are certain that 2023 has been an incredible year of growth for our organization. Join us daily as we reflect on Amani’s mission and what we accomplished this year!

As an agency, we continued to use innovative practices to support the physical, emotional and mental well-being of our multicultural community, and we were fortunate to be nationally recognized for our contributions this year.

In addition to our clinical services, Amani’s Welcoming Fort Wayne initiative took a deep dive into gathering the latest impact data regarding New Americans living in Allen County to help better serve as advocates.

As we review this new data, it is clear that there are both threats and opportunities for immigrants and refugees in our community. We wish to amplify the voices of our clients and help our community create new pathways to building a more welcoming community. We are counting on you to help us do this work. Donors like you greatly impact Amani’s ability to provide a skilled, trauma-informed staff that supports mental health, family resiliency, substance abuse support, crime victim advocacy, and community development. Consider making a gift to Amani to support our goals for the year to come.

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"Amani" :  peace (Kiswahili), aspirations or wishes (Arabic)

Amani Family Services is a 501(c)(3) organization. Services funded by Amani are provided to all persons without regard to age, gender, race, religion, national origin, disability, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, immigration status, or any other barriers to participation.
Founded in 2006   |   2022 Annual Report  | 2020 Form 990