If you have just one hour a week to have lunch with one of our refugee students, we need you!
I am looking forward to my 8th year of volunteering twice a week as a FISH tutor/mentor for ESL students at Jackson-Via Elementary School. These students (about 60, most of whom are refugees) are very eager, enthusiastic learners who just need a little support and friendship as they get used to their new country.
Many of these kids have left grandparents behind in their old country, so they really enjoy a little time with their substitute “grandma” or “grandpa” reading a story with them or playing an educational computer game. For more information about refugee children in our Charlottesville area, see the very informative Charlottesville Tomorrow article:
But these aren’t the voices of students learning French or Spanish for graduation credit. They are the voices of students for whom English is a second language, and for whom Charlottesville is a safe haven from the suffering they faced in their home countries. via Charlottesville, Albemarle schools embrace refugee students ⋅ Charlottesville Tomorrow.
For more information or to volunteer, contact JABA FISH.
Contact me directly through the form below:
Live & Learn! 