September 30, 2026
Goodwin Living Celebrates Team Members at the Eighth Annual Citizenship Celebration
By Angus Ricks
When I walked into the auditorium of Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads to help set up for the eighth annual Citizenship Celebration, the first thing I noticed was the considerable number of chairs set out for audience members. “This seems like too many chairs,” I thought. “Are they really expecting this many people to come to this event?”
I assumed that only the first three or four rows would be occupied by residents who had seen a poster or flyer pinned to a bulletin board somewhere around the Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads campus advertising the event. Yet, as the event’s start time approached, resident after resident began to fill the auditorium, each with a smile and waving a small American flag that they had picked up at the entrance. Some residents were wearing America-themed T-shirts, and one had even dressed their dog in an American flag bandanna.
The room didn’t just fill up; it became packed. It was so full that extra chairs had to be brought in because there were so many residents in attendance. Wall to wall, people from this Goodwin Living community filled the auditorium to support team members who have begun a new and exciting chapter in their lives and celebrate a program that helps them on their journey. It’s a passion shared by residents and team members across all Goodwin Senior Living Campuses and Goodwin Living Health services.
Uplifting Team Members on Their Path to Citizenship
At Goodwin Living, our mission is to support, honor and uplift both older adults and the people who care for them. The Goodwin Living Foundation furthers this mission through the power of philanthropy. Thanks to the generosity of donors, the Goodwin Living Foundation is able to fund a variety of programs that help our team members thrive. One such program is the Citizenship Program.
Goodwin Living is made up of 1,400+ team members who come from more than 65 countries. Many team members balance taking care of themselves and their families in the U.S. while also supporting loved ones who still reside in their home countries. Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads resident Rita Siebenaler saw this, as well as the ever-increasing cost to apply for citizenship. As a descendant of immigrants herself, she knew how much of an impact attaining citizenship could have not only on an individual, but also their descendants. She wondered if the Goodwin Living Foundation could provide a way to help immigrant team members overcome the cost barrier to attaining their U.S. citizenship.
With the foundation’s support, Rita started a fundraising campaign in 2018 among residents at Goodwin House Alexandria and Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads. It raised more than $40,000 in just two weeks, and the Goodwin Living Citizenship Program was born.
What Does the Goodwin Living Citizenship Program Do?
Thanks to the Goodwin Living Foundation and its generous donors, the Citizenship Program has helped cover U.S. citizenship application fees for team members in our community since 2018. In 2022, the foundation expanded the program to cover application fees for up to two immediate family members of Goodwin Living team members who have at least one year of service at Goodwin Living. This support for team members and their families has made the application process feel a little less daunting and has allowed team members to focus on other aspects of their journeys.
Once the fees are covered and the applications have been completed, team members can then begin to focus on studying for the U.S citizenship exams. Recognizing that studying for the entrance exams can be both a time-consuming and challenging effort, the foundation further supported resident efforts to come around team members: each team member who is a part of the citizenship program has the option to work with a resident tutor. The Goodwin Living Foundation covers the fees of any educational resources needed for this effort.
These partnerships have made team members feel supported in a process that can otherwise feel overwhelming. Resident tutors have found the tutoring program to be a way that they can give back to their community while also cultivating new and meaningful relationships.
To date, the Citizenship Program has helped more than 200 team members and their loved ones successfully become citizens of the United States.
Stories of Impact
The Goodwin Living Foundation hosts an annual citizenship celebration to honor these individuals, learn more about their stories and express gratitude to the many residents and team members who support the program through donations of time and money.
This year, two events were held, one at Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads and the other at Goodwin House Alexandria. During each event, residents and team members got to hear from several Goodwin Living team members who had utilized the program in their journey toward U.S. citizenship.
Nicola Stevens: A Journey from Uncertainty to Security
Originally from Jamaica, Nicola Stevens became a U.S. citizen in 2021 with help from the Goodwin Living Citizenship Program. She is a dining services supervisor at Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads and has worked with Goodwin Living for 13 years.
Nicola’s journey to citizenship was not easy. After meeting her future husband while he was vacationing in her home country of Jamaica, Nicola waited many years as he worked through the difficult process of getting her a green card so they could be together in the U.S. Finally, 10 years later, Nicola was able to come to the U.S. and start a new life with her now-husband.
Obtaining a green card was life-changing for Nicola, so when the opportunity to have her application fee covered with assistance from the Goodwin Living Citizenship Program presented itself, she made sure to take advantage of it.
One of the main reasons Nicola wanted to become a citizen was security, not only for herself but also for her child. “If I’m safe, he’s safe,” she shared during the panel discussion at the Citizenship Celebration.
Now that she is a citizen, Nicola can live without fear of being separated from her loved ones and can instead focus on building the life she desires for herself and her family in the U.S.
Ransford Kyere: Initiative Meets Support
Ransford Kyere is a cook at Goodwin House Alexandria. Originally from Ghana, Ransford and his siblings spent several years separated from their parents after his father had won a lottery for a green card. Ransford finally arrived in the U.S. at age 11 after his father successfully petitioned for him and his siblings to move to the United States and pursue the American dream with their parents. He grew to love the U.S.
As he grew older, Ransford recognized that it was becoming harder to obtain U.S. citizenship. He did not have the luxury of becoming a citizen through his parents, so he began researching how he could become a citizen on his own and remain in the country he had called home for half his life.
Ransford began working at Goodwin Living and met colleagues who were becoming citizens. He eventually learned that many of them were helped by the Goodwin Living Foundation and its Citizenship Program. Ransford joined the program and studied as much as he could in his free time using free educational resources he found on YouTube. The Goodwin Living Foundation supported him throughout his journey, and Ransford officially became a U.S. citizen in 2025.
A Community That Supports Journeys to U.S. Citizenship
As the eighth annual citizenship celebration drew to a close, Ransford Kyere and Nicola Stevens expressed that they felt honored and thankful to be part of such a supportive and compassionate community. So did I. After seeing the Goodwin House Bailey’s Crossroads community come together in celebration of Goodwin Living team members’ successful journeys to citizenship and hearing about the high number of residents in attendance at the same event at Goodwin House Alexandria the day before, it was clear to me that the Goodwin Living community truly cares for one another.
The Goodwin Living Citizenship Program has helped hundreds of Goodwin Living team members and their loved ones become naturalized U.S. citizens and will continue to help members of our community on their journeys to citizenship. To learn more about the Goodwin Living Citizenship Program, please visit the Goodwin Living Foundation website here.
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Angus Ricks is a fall 2026 intern with the Marketing and Communications team and plans to graduate from Marymount University this fall with a degree in communication. Outside of work and school, Angus enjoys training for endurance triathlons and playing golf with friends.
