The Welcome Toledo Lucas County Initiative (TLC) works to build a more welcoming and inclusive community for immigrants and people of diverse cultures that supports a vibrant civic, economic, and social fabric for all. Welcome TLC is a collaboration of community partners housed in the Board of Lucas County Commissioners in partnership with Toledo LISC.

Welcome TLC is governed by a Steering Committee and organized by four Working Committees: Community Outreach, Legal Services, Language Access, and Workforce and Economic Development. In addition to the working committees, Welcome TLC hosts the annual Toledo International Film Festival (TIFF) in partnership with the historic neighborhood Ohio Theatre and Event Center and shares data and local success stories including the 2015 New American Economy report: New Americans in Toledo: A Snapshot of the Demographic and Economic Contributions of Immigrants.

History

A Core Committee of partners convened in 2013 to explore immigrant integration efforts in the area. Welcome TLC officially launched in November 2014 with resolutions of support from the Lucas County Commissioners and Toledo City Council. A strategic outline was developed with consultant Global Detroit in 2015 that created the committee-based organizational structure.