Our Vision...
Our VISION is to create opportunities for building a welcoming community based upon the recognition of and respect for the contributions of the diverse cultures within Mesa County. The long term goal of the project is to create an overall enhanced sense of integration within the community.
Read about immigrant newcomers in our community who are part of our photo essay project, Pursuing the American Dream: Stories and Photographs of Immigrants in the Grand Valley.
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Get Involved with
Welcoming Colorado!
Welcoming Colorado is a new statewide initiative seeking to transform the public dialogue on immigration into one of respect and dignity through relationship building, community education, and the media.
Project Common Ground
A Mesa County Community Integration Initiative
Engaging Communities ~ Connecting Culture
Please note that Project Common Ground has officially come to a close, but Mesa County community integration efforts have not! We hope that you will continue to explore the website for more information about what is happening in Mesa County to support immigrant and community integration.
Take a look at our final newsletter to find out what we were up to in 2009!
Project Common Ground was a Mesa County partnership of local residents, immigrants, community leaders and representatives from education, business, faith-based, health care, and non-profit organizations working together to promote a POSITIVE integration experience for immigrants (newcomers) and our community.
Thoughts on Community Integration…
Community integration refers to a two-way street in which immigrants are able to merge with their chosen community in a manner that is rewarding, positive, enriching and beneficial to both the immigrant and receiving community.
Integration relies on the basic 
human experience of compassion and acceptance, as well as our own need to learn and understand from one another.
Integration suggests access to understanding rights and opportunities as community members and to be welcome to participate and contribute.
Immigrant newcomers help diversify our community and share their cultural values, which makes for a well rounded community. Immigrants offer a variety of skills and talents to our community, and many of them start businesses here, as well. Immigrants also hold key roles in the civic life of our community.
Our Funders
Mesa County was one of 19 communities statewide that was funded by The Colorado Trust’s Supporting Immigrant and Refugee Families Initiative to develop and carry out a comprehensive plan for immigrant integration.
Fiscal Agent
Hilltop Community Resources, Inc. manages 21 programs and 11 community partnerships in Mesa, Delta, Montrose and Ouray Counties in Western Colorado. Hilltop’s mission is to “provide leadership for community-based services that promote self-sufficiency and enrich quality of life.”