Reverend Sturgis Poorman, a retired Presbyterian minister, returns to Pennsylvania from peace-keeping mission work in Africa. He feels the call to teach English to immigrants and refugees. He joins with the Lower Bucks Center for Church and Community (LBCCC), an interfaith organization that mobilizes local churches to address community needs.

In February, Rev. Sturgis Poorman, working with LBCCC founder Reverend Al Krass, and with volunteers Virginia Lavanish; Richard and Mary Keeler; and Bill and Camille Kennedy, starts a program of free English classes at the First Baptist Church of Langhorne and the Langhorne Presbyterian Church. Our immigrant and refugee students ask for more and different classes. The first of our free computer classes is held at the First Baptist Church in Langhorne. At the request of the Lutheran Children and Family Services, free citizenship preparation classes begin in Bensalem.

An official office is established on Richardson Ave. in Langhorne, PA, hosted by the First Baptist Church.

English classes are offered at Philadelphia Racetrack, in collaboration with VITA of Bucks County.

The International Dinner is such a success it becomes WTS’s signature fundraising event..

Rapid growth in the numbers of students, volunteers, classes and partnerships drives the need to formally separate the program of free classes from the LBCC. A new IRS-approved 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation is created. It is called “Welcoming the Stranger," its name chosen from the Bible, Matthew 25:35, “I was a stranger, and you welcomed me.”

Welcoming the Stranger hires its first Executive Director, Meg Eubank, an experienced volunteer teacher.

Welcoming the Stranger is the proud recipient of the Bucks County Agency on Aging’s “Loretta Osbourn Volunteer Site of the Year Award,” given to an organization that provides a positive experience to its volunteers.

The Board and staff vow to continue Rev. Poorman’s work: helping immigrants become self-sufficient, active contributors to their new country and community by teaching them English, preparing them for the world of work, familiarizing them with cultural institutions, and creating a sense of belonging.

Welcoming the Stranger is one of five nonprofits from across the U.S. selected from 9,300 nominees to receive the prestigious Atlantic Renewal Award. Funded by Atlantic Magazine and the Allstate Insurance Company, this is an award of $40,000 for two successive years.

Meg Eubank steps down in a planned departure. Administrator. Patricia Lorenz is promoted to Acting Executive Director.

To continue offering free instruction to its growing number of students, Welcoming the Stranger pivots to online classes during the COVID pandemic.

Patricia Lorenz, a native of Colombia, began as a WTS student of English in 2016 and attended citizenship preparation classes before joining the administrative staff in 2018. She became a U.S. citizen in 2021.

We initiate a hybrid program of online and in-person classes that allow for greater student and volunteer participation.

Attorney William Kennedy began working with Rev. Poorman in 1998 and served as Board President from 2008-2023. Lois Heist is named as Interim Board President.

After a few years pause due to Covid restrictions, Welcoming the Stranger resumes our traditional fundraiser, the International Dinner. The 300 attendees include donors, volunteers, staff and students. The students provide the gourmet homemade dishes. Ginny Lavanish receives our annual award, presented to an individual chosen for their service and their impact on the organization. Stories are shared in an atmosphere made yet more festive by a silent auction and raffle.

At a May gala, we celebrate our 25 years in service as we honor and thank WTS volunteers, staff, and donors for their time, their compassion and their dedication to integrating immigrants and refugees and into our community.

Since its inception in 1999, Welcoming the Stranger has served over 6,000 thousand students from 115 countries and 371 students have achieved citizenship. Our area of service, including both online and in-person classes, now extends throughout Bucks, Montgomery, Philadelphia, Lehigh, and Northampton counties in Pennsylvania and Burlington, Hunter, and Mercer counties in New Jersey. We begin the next phase of our journey with a dynamic new Board President, Robert Ferrante. Work on a new strategic plan starts soon.