Focusing on People and Partnerships are the Keys to Providing the Benefits of Citizenship to Employees

Wendy Kallergis is being honored as a Promoting Citizenship in the Workplace Champion of Change.

Nearly a century ago, at the height of the U.S. immigration boom, Bethlehem Steel became one of the first U.S. employers to begin providing free English language instruction to its immigrant workers. Today, the National Immigration Forum’s Bethlehem Project continues that mission by facilitating the citizenship of the country’s eligible immigrant workforce.

My family and I have lived in Miami for more than thirty years. Caring about the families who live in our city has always been very important to us, so it was an easy decision to help introduce South Florida to the Bethlehem Project.

With more than 500,000 employees eligible to become citizens, Miami is one of the cities with the most potential for the Bethlehem Project. The project’s goal is simple: Help eligible immigrants become citizens, which not only helps immigrant families but also businesses in South Florida.

My work is in the hospitality industry, and partnerships have always been an integral part of my strategy to build a stronger organization. In South Florida, the Bethlehem Project has worked with Baptist Health South Florida, the Miami Dolphins, and Miami Dade College. Within the hospitality industry, I’ve helped connect the Bethlehem Project with numerous hotels and resorts. As the project expands, we will continue to reach out to colleagues in other cities, like the San Francisco Hotel Council.

What we’re doing is simplifying the citizenship process: cutting back on bureaucracy, creating in-house workshops, and connecting immigrants and new citizens with employers and human resource representatives in the hospitality industry.

The benefits are crystal clear: We’re providing our industry with an expanding workforce, and we’re creating a sense of loyalty among our workers. At the same time, we’re opening doors and generating prosperity for immigrant families and our community.

Our board and our membership embraced this program, as our employees are at the heart of the hospitality industry. Being honored as a Champion of Change for my work on this project is truly an exciting and humbling recognition.

The human resources director of one of our first business partners said it best: “With this partnership, we demonstrate to our employees that we care and support their best interests as much as we care for our community.”

Wendy Kallergis is President and CEO of the Greater Miami & The Beaches Hotel Association.

Citizenship: A New Strategy for Financial Inclusion and Inclusive Economic Growth

Bob Annibale is being honored as a Promoting Citizenship in the Workplace Champion of Change.

At Citi, we are focused on innovative and practical solutions to ensure that communities have access to resources and opportunities that enable them to achieve their potential and to climb up the economic ladder. Immigrants are, historically and increasingly, a dynamic part of our neighborhoods, and their financial success is directly tied to our nation’s economic growth. That is why Citi joined the mayors of Chicago, Los Angeles. and New York, as well as The Center for Popular Democracy and The National Partnership for New Americans, as the founding corporate partner of Cities for Citizenship.

Cities for Citizenship is a major national initiative that recognizes the contribution of immigrants and how citizenship can serve as an economic asset. It aims to increase citizenship among eligible U.S. permanent residents, as well as encourage cities across the country to invest in citizenship and financial capability programs.

On behalf of Citi, I am honored to be named as a Champion of Change by the White House. But I must share this recognition with all of my coworkers at Citi and with our partners who have provided critical national leadership, especially Mayor Bill de Blasio, Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and Mayor Eric Garcetti.

Our shared goal is to increase access to legal and financial services and contribute to enabling more inclusive cities across the country. Through this program, cities and their community partners will deliver financial counseling, legal support, application guidance, naturalization test preparation, and other assistance to eligible immigrants.

This initiative and partnership will enable immigrants to build a valuable financial identity as they also pursue a national identity. This is critical since the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reports that about 20 percent of foreign-born households have never had a bank account, which has driven immigrants to use alternative financial services that often come with higher costs and risks. Instead, Cities for Citizenship aims to build a stronger foundation for the American Dream.

Moreover, it is a strategy that makes good economic sense.

There are approximately 8.8 million legal permanent residents in America who are eligible for citizenship. These are documented residents who pay taxes and work lawfully. Yet, 52 percent of them remain low-income. Their naturalization would provide access to better-paying jobs, academic scholarships, and other benefits. It would also provide billions of dollars in stimulus to the national economy over the next few years.

This would mean up to $1.6 billion for Chicago’s economy, $2.8 billion for the Los Angeles economy, and a $4.1 billion boost for New York City’s economy, according to the report “Citizenship: A Wise Investment for Cities.”

Cities for Citizenship considers citizenship and immigrant integration as powerful platforms to promote widespread financial inclusion and truly inclusive economic growth. We are excited to work with more municipalities on this project and share the collective efforts of our partners with The White House.

Bob Annibale is the Global Director of Citi Community Development, which leads Citi's initiatives and partnerships supporting inclusive finance.

Serious Illness Taught Me the Value of Insurance

Cecelia Smaha is being honored as an Affordable Care Act Champion of Change.

I don’t remember driving home from work with the Georgia Department of Labor on November 19, 1999. I had flu-like symptoms and felt awful that day. My housemate was so alarmed when I arrived home that she tried to get me to call an ambulance. I refused because my insurance would not pay for the ambulance if the hospital didn’t admit me. I didn’t think I was that sick, and I couldn’t afford to pay the ambulance fee.

Blessed by God to have such a caring housemate, I made it through the weekend. But on Monday, I ended up in the hospital in a coma and was placed in the acute intensive care unit. Three weeks later, I awoke from the coma to learn that I’d had a severe E. coli bacterial infection and was lucky to be alive.

I was in the hospital for seven weeks, but I also had a long period of recuperation to follow that hospital stay. I never gave any thought to the cost of my hospital stay until I got the bill from the hospital. I couldn’t fathom paying almost a quarter of a million dollars! And that bill didn’t even include any of the doctors’ bills nor the aftercare with home nurses. I didn’t have that kind of money. The only thing I owned was my car.

I was advised not to pay anything until I checked with my insurance company. As it turned out, my insurance paid for everything. Because of residual effects from this illness, I still have medical complications, but my insurance continues to pay. This was a lesson of a lifetime: Everyone needs insurance.

On December 12, 2001, I was privileged to become an associate of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central Community. In this role, I help provide services to people who are less fortunate, including the economically poor and the less well-educated. When the Affordable Care Act passed, I was jubilant. I saw this as an opportunity to put Mercy into action. I jumped at the chance to help spread information about the ACA through Get Covered America in Georgia.

I gave my time and energy to helping get the word out at churches, on the streets, and by working 10 hours each week for more than two and a half months at our local Kmart. Through a mutual agreement with Kmart and Get Covered America, I was privileged to do an event at our local Kmart, where I set up a table and greeted customers, explaining the Affordable Care Act to local shoppers. Through these opportunities, I helped make contact with over 2,000 Georgians.

I look forward to working with Get Covered America again this year. I am also spreading the word about my state’s refusal to expand Medicare, and I’m working to ensure its expansion—because nobody should be left without health insurance.

Cecelia Smaha is an associate of the Institute of the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas South Central Community.