2025 Welcome Award Recipients

 Press Release


For Immediate Release

September 3, 2025


For media inquiries, contact: Ricardo Diaz, 217-979-0255  xpenn.diaz@gmail.com or Janel Gomez, 217-403-8843 janel.gomez@champaignil.gov


Congratulations to the 2025 Recipients

of the Immigrant Welcome Awards!

 

 


 


(Urbana/Champaign, Illinois) The CU Immigration Forum, as sponsor of the 12th Annual Immigrant Welcome Awards, is happy to announce the recipients of this year’s awards. The 2025 Immigrant Welcome Award winners are:


  • Student Leadership Award – Maria Emilia Mancero

  • Business Leadership Award – La Paloma Mexican Delicacies

  • Community Impact Award – Amnesty International of UIUC

  • Emergent Leader Award - María Jiménez

  • Immigrant Leadership Award – Ishtiaq Khan

  • The Claire Szoke Distinguished Service Award – Tam Thi Dang Wei


All award recipients will be honored during the Immigrant Welcome Awards Ceremony and Celebration on Saturday, September 20, 2025.  The celebration starts at 2 PM and will be held at Lewis Auditorium of The Urbana Free Library (210 W. Green St. Urbana). The event includes entertainment, special guests, and features the Bulgarian/Balkan accordion as played by Colin Hochstetler, M.M. Musicology. The public is invited to attend this free event and reception to celebrate the diversity of cultures that make up Champaign-Urbana.


The Immigrant Welcome Awards Ceremony and Celebration is sponsored by C-U Immigration Forum and cosponsored by City of Champaign, The Urbana Free Library, the City of Urbana, Urbana Arts and Culture Program, University YMCA’s New American Welcome Center, Immigrant Services of Champaign-Urbana, The Refugee Center, The Immigration Project, Bend the Arc Jewish Action of Champaign-Urbana, and the Immigrant Justice Team of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Urbana-Champaign. The 12th Annual Immigrant Welcome Awards Ceremony and Celebration is part of 2025 Welcoming Week, a national week of events that brings together immigrants and U.S. born residents in a spirit of better understanding and unity.


The CU Immigration Forum’s Steering and the Planning Committees recognize we each have a story to share and Welcoming Week this year encourages us to share them and find commonalities.


What does the Champaign-Urbana Immigration Forum do? We advocate, educate, network, and celebrate the contributions of immigrants. Whether working for local immigrant justice, highlighting issues that our immigrant neighbors face, hosting local forums, creating shows on WRFU and UPTV or celebrating diversity through the annual Immigrant Welcome Awards, we stand with our immigrant communities.  


Media Contacts:

Ricardo Diaz – CU Immigration Forum – 217-979-0255, xpenn.diaz@gmail.com

Janel Gomez – - City of Champaign – 217-403-8830,  janel.gomez@champaignil.gov 

Lauren Chambers – Urbana Free Library – 217-367-4405, lchambers@urbanafree.org


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