Gilchrist Center Celebrates 15th Anniversary

For Immediate Release: Thursday, October 20, 2016

The Charles W. Gilchrist Center, the County’s immigrant resource center, celebrated its 15th anniversary at the World of Montgomery Festival on Sunday, October 16, 2016 at the Rockville Campus of Montgomery College. Center staff and volunteers were joined by County Executive Ike Leggett, members of the Gilchrist Family, County Council President Nancy Floreen, County Councilmember Sidney Katz, former County Executive Sid Kramer, former Member of Congress and Ambassador Connie Morella, and other former elected officials and community leaders for the celebration.

“For many of our newest residents, the Gilchrist Center is their first step on the road to prosperity,” said Leggett. “Whether they have come to study, to be with family, or to flee repression or violence, the Gilchrist Center has for 15 years provided a warm and welcoming environment. For those with limited resources, the Gilchrist Center provides classes in English, computers, and citizenship at virtually no cost. The Center connects our new neighbors to the resources and information they need to thrive.”

The Gilchrist Center opened its doors on September 8, 2001 as the Charles W. Gilchrist Center for Cultural Diversity in a Wheaton storefront. The Center was established by former County Executive Doug Duncan and named in honor of Montgomery’s second County Executive whose welcoming spirit is carried on by the Center’s work to support immigrant residents.

“We’re proud that people from all over the world want to make Montgomery County their home,” said Floreen. “For fifteen years the Gilchrist Center has served as our official welcome center, helping our newest residents get the skills and resources they need to participate civically, to contribute to the economy and to realize the American dream.”

As part of the anniversary celebration, in order to better reflect the center’s work over the last 15 years, the Center changed its name to the Charles W. Gilchrist Immigrant Resource Center. The center also unveiled a new logo inspired by a mural created by students from Arts on the Block, a local nonprofit that provides project-based job and life skills training for underserved high school students through the arts.

The Center is a gateway for County immigrants where they may obtain information and referrals to programs and services offered by government agencies and community organizations, strengthen their life skills through English and basic computer classes, and increase their knowledge to prepare for civic life and U.S. citizenship. In the last year, 8,219 residents attended English, Spanish, and computer classes at low or no cost while 9,245 residents were connected to services by phone or in person. Center sites are conveniently located in Wheaton, Gaithersburg, Germantown, and East County (Briggs Chaney area). For more information, please visit: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/gilchrist, or call 240-777-4940.

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Release ID: 16-439
Media Contact: Public Information Office 240-777-7650