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A new initiative called “Welcome to Rheinland-Pfalz!” provides information on resources available to U.S. service members.
“In an effort to support U.S. families and help them prosper as members of their German community, the initiative set up this one-stop website on which all the communities can display their local information in English to U.S. families,” said John Constance, Atlantic Academy project manager. “The website is meant to connect the dots of already available resources.”
The Ministry of Interior, Rheinland-Pfalz, laid the groundwork of the initiative in 2014. In May 2016, the Facebook page was established, and in June of this year the website became available to visitors.
The website comprises four sections: project communities, guide, volunteer opportunities, and German-American institutions.
The project communities section provides local information about recreational activities, local events and points of interest as well as local businesses, public services, contact information for the town halls, the recycling system, and internet connections in the community.
The guide features general information on life in Germany, the German mentality, and what American families who are new to Germany need to be aware of when arriving in Rheinland-Pfalz.
The volunteer opportunities section gives interested individuals information on giving back to their community.
The section labeled institutions provides references to to organizations in Rheinland-Pfalz and the specific services they provide to U.S. service members and their families.
“The local resources are provided by the local representatives themselves who know their village best and can list accurately the full range of offers in their community,” Constance said. “The state initiative helps the communities with placing the information on the page and translating the information into English if needed.”
One service member who recently retired from the military, along with his wife, used the website to seek out community volunteer opportunities.
“I recently retired from the Army and my wife is German. She works at one of the local schools and we have lived in the local area several years and thought we could help to provide useful information and continue helping the communities we have been very proud to be a part of,” said William Pfannenstiel, U.S. Army Staff Sgt., retired.
Pfannenstiel also appreciated how simple and user-friendly the website is.
“I was impressed by the helpfulness of the website,” said Pfannenstiel. “Often when a service member arrives they have many questions. Previously, to answer those questions a person would have to go on different websites for information about schools, community, or services offered on base. The Atlantic academy has built a directory and built a relationship with local communities to get information from their areas. They are trying to acquaint and integrate the service members and their families with the German and especially the Pfälzisch way of life.”
This enterprise aspires to expand the initiative to include more opportunities.
“We’re constantly trying to get the word out to the military community about this program and the helpful resources we offer,” Constance said. “Another intention is to incorporate more communities close to military installations into the program to expand the spectrum of local opportunities displayed on the website for U.S. families living in Rheinland-Pfalz. A positive feedback by the military will support the adoption of the project resources in new communities leading to an all-encompassing representation of local offers.”
Every month “Welcome to Rheinland-Pfalz!” holds a German-American stammtisch. Stammtisch is a German word that means a regular get together.
“In April, we hosted an art exhibit with the Overseas Art Education Association and displayed artwork of local [military] students at the town hall in Kaiserslautern,” Constance said. “We also held a luncheon on entrepreneurship in July, which provided information about starting and running a business for Americans to open their own business in Germany. In addition, we constantly support our project communities, enabling them to host events for Americans they otherwise would not have been able to.”
“I want to thank the U.S. Armed Forces for the fruitful cooperation on all levels, which is a distinct sign for the very positive German-American relations we are experiencing here in Rheinland-Pfalz,” Constance said.
For more information and resources visit www.welcome-to-rlp.org/ or www.facebook.com/WelcometoRLP.
