A new project by Advance Thief River focuses on welcoming and retaining international workers
Jul. 12—THIEF RIVER FALLS, Minn. — Advance Thief River, a regional economic development initiative, is starting a new project that focuses on welcoming and retaining international workers.
Brittany Rolf, the project coordinator, said the initiative will benefit Thief River Falls and help expand resources to assist newcomers.
"I'm really excited for this project to be able to have this opportunity to be working with these people, learning about their culture and also helping the community to kind of understand it, too," she said.
The Welcoming Communities project will build on and complement the Join Us Thief River program. Join Us was created in January 2023 and includes resources for newcomers — things like community navigators, employer profiles and a job hub. Advance Thief River recently received a $45,000 grant through the Northwest Minnesota Foundation, which it is using to push Welcoming Communities forward. The Northwest Minnesota Foundation gave out similar funding to other organizations in Minnesota for projects that focus on improving the inclusion of underrepresented community members and/or newcomers. Rolf was officially approved to be the project coordinator at the end of June, she said.
Welcoming Communities will build on the established assistance for newcomers, but also focus on international workers and their employers. Companies in the area have struggled to find workers and started hiring internationally, which has caused a domino effect of other companies to do the same, she said. Advance Thief River heard that the number of international workers coming in was more than expected, and decided there was a need to help the workers get established in town. After that, Rolf said, the goal is to retain them.
Rolf said she is in the planning stage so far and is going to be talking to employers and a pool of international workers to learn more about their needs. She already has ideas for community events, social gatherings and English classes, but things could change as she speaks to people and learns more about what struggles they're facing and what resources they need.
"We're excited to meet up with them," she said. "We're kind of in that stage right now, planting what we want to be seeded along the way and seeing what areas would benefit from this project most."
Michelle Landsverk, executive director of Advance Thief River, said the expected outcomes for the Welcoming Communities project are retention of the city's international workforce, an increased respect and appreciation for different cultural groups in the area, and a long-term systemic change in Thief River Falls' inclusivity and equality.
"I am excited about this project and what it will mean to the community — a community that now includes an increasing degree of diversity," she said. "It would be very fulfilling to see these new residents stay, put down roots and raise their families here."
More information about Advance Thief River and its different programs and projects can be found at its official website,
https://www.advancethiefriver.com/
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