Volunteer committee asks mayor to welcome new Draper residents, highlights cultural events

Tara Bradshaw, a volunteer member of the Community Engagement Committee, told the meeting transcript that the committee is asking Mayor Tory Walker to write a welcome letter to new Draper residents and is organizing cultural events to help newcomers feel included.

"I get to volunteer with 10 other awesome volunteers," Bradshaw said. "We try to bridge the gap of social, economic, and cultural, differences in the community and help everybody learn more about each other and their cultures." She said Cinco de Mayo is coming up in May and mentioned the committee’s International Arts and Crafts Festival in September.

Bradshaw said the committee’s work began after conversations with students in the Latinos in Action club at Draper Park Middle School, including one student who asked that neighbors learn more about her culture. "A few months ago, as a committee, we decided that we would love to have our new residents feel more welcome. So we asked Mayor Tory Walker to write a letter welcoming our new residents," she said.

She also described a recent collaboration with the Draper Firefighters to "do a sub for stand up for 1 of our local families here." The transcript wording for that activity is unclear; Bradshaw presented it as a joint effort with firefighters to support a local family.

The remarks in the transcript are presented as a summary of the committee’s ongoing outreach: promoting cultural events, creating a welcome letter for new residents, and partnering with local first responders on community support activities. The transcript does not record any formal action taken by the city or a vote on the committee’s requests.

The Community Engagement Committee’s events mentioned in the remarks include a Cinco de Mayo observance in May and an International Arts and Crafts Festival in September; no specific dates, budgets or formal city endorsements were specified in the transcript.