Over 200 people attended the Brantford Immigration Partnership’s (BIP) fourth annual Newcomer Welcome Day event at the Lion’s Park Steve Brown Sports Complex on Wednesday, July 30, 2025.
The Brantford Immigration Partnership (BIP) is a group of community partners who work to ensure that the City of Brantford is a welcoming and inclusive community for all.
The goal of the BIP is to see that all immigrants within the community feel a sense of belonging and are able to succeed, and participate in the economic, social, civic and cultural growth of Brantford.
First held on August 24, 2022, the annual event was designed to give new Canadians the opportunity to learn about the local resources available within the community, while enjoying a host of family-friendly activities.
From Kids Can Fly to the Brant Skills Centre, SOAR Community Services, the Workforce Planning Board of Grand Erie, Darmont GivesBack, Brantford Galaxy Youth Soccer and the Neighbourhood Alliance of Brantford (NAB), over 60 agencies and partners were in attendance offering programing and service information, as well as various dance and sports activities.
“It was incredible to see so many local agencies and service providers come out to connect with newcomers and share more about the resources available in the community,” said Magdalena Bentia, Community Initiatives Coordinator of Strategic Initiatives for the City of Brantford. “The beautiful opening songs for newcomers by Gihekdagye Singers on behalf of Gihekdagye-Brisc Friendship Centre set a warm and uplifting tone for the day.”
Bentia added that the event not only puts local service providers all in one place, making it easy to share their resources and their many volunteer and job opportunities, but that it’s also a great way to connect other newcomers with each other.
“These events support newcomers in feeling a sense of belonging early in their settlement journey as they are navigating so many new systems and processes,” she said. “Newcomer welcome events also highlight the cultural richness of our community and the many skills and contributions newcomers bring to the City.”
Rudyanto Djong, who has been living in the Brantford-Brant area for eight months, said that while he only caught the tail-end of the event, he enjoyed getting to interact with the different services and ask various questions.
“It was nice, and we were able to find out a lot of different information which was very useful for us as newcomers,” he said.
Overall, Bentia said she was happy to see so many people, both newcomers and long-time residents alike, participating in the event.
“We were so pleased with the strong turnout of over 200 residents and newcomers who attended the Newcomer Welcome Day event,” she said. “Newcomer Welcome Day showcases how vibrant our newcomer community is and the many contributions they bring to the City. There was positive energy and engagement throughout the day, and many participants highlighted that they learned about new resources and free supports to help as they settle into their new community.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
