Gateway Welcome Project Kicks Off Immigrant Welcome Week With A Big Assist from the St. Louis Construction Industry
More than $200K in Services/ Funds Donated to Build a New Soccer Field for Immigrant School Students with future Activities planned to Welcome Immigrant Children
They come to America to build a future and in some cases rebuild their shattered lives. Many of the nearly 400 immigrant and refugee children, from K-10th grade, who attend St. Louis Public Schools’ Nahed Chapman New American Academy (NCNAA) are getting their first taste of education – and of American life.
NCNAA students have received a special “Welcome to St. Louis” message from an unexpected quarter – the people and companies of the St. Louis construction industry. That welcoming message was delivered in a universal language that virtually all of the children, who come from 27 countries, “speak” and love: Soccer, in the form of a donated artificial surface soccer field.
On Sept. 13, 2016, NCNAA, which is located at 1530 S. Grand (near SLU Hospital), dedicated the new soccer field. It includes a custom designed shelter area and landscaping and was built through donated services and fundraising totaling more than $200,000 from the construction industry, the soccer community, and other supporters. The event was the centerpiece of St. Louis’ celebration of “Welcoming Week,” a national event which celebrates the contributions of immigrants to America’s history and to its future. The St. Louis celebration is being spearheaded by the St. Louis Mosaic Project.