The post 2023 Immigrant Student Success Toolkit appeared first on The Immigrant Learning Center ..read more

The post Community Across Cultures Book Guides appeared first on The Immigrant Learning Center ..read more

George Mason University honored philanthropist Diane Portnoy with an honorary doctor of humane letters in May. The post GMU Recognizes Immigration Advocate Diane Portnoy With Honorary Degree appeared first on The Immigrant Learning Center ..read more

Winners of the regional How My Community Benefits From Immigration essay contest announced  The post Local high school students reflect on community and the benefits of immigration appeared first on The Immigrant Learning Center ..read more

Reading resident Jerry O’Connell convinced Lucille Beeth to volunteer at [The Immigrant Learning Center] and later both brought friends John and Joanne Harney to the center. O’Connell in turn originally learned about the charity and its mission from Reading resident and longtime ILC volunteer Rose Thompson The post Reading residents honored for their dedication to creating a welcoming ILC community appeared first on The Immigrant Learning Center ..read more

Immigrating to the U.S. is challenging under the best of circumstances, but it can be especially harrowing for an asylum seeker. When Maria Luz, a Salvadoran American student at The ILC, crossed into the United States, she, her husband, and their two sons faced an uncertain future. Happily, Maria Luz was able to successfully apply for the asylum that she and her family needed. Now she faced the same challenges as so many other immigrants: learning English and becoming a citizen. The Immigrant Learning Center was able to help with both obstacles. She now speaks English more confidently and rec ..read more

When Yveline came to the United States, she spoke almost no English. She took pride in helping people as a nurse midwife in Haiti, and it was hard adjusting to a life where she felt that “no one can help me and I can’t help anyone.” She wanted to go back. Her mother encouraged her to enroll at The Immigrant Learning Center instead. Yveline thrived immediately, progressing quickly through our free English classes. After just six months, she enrolled directly in a college nursing program. Today, she’s once again working as a nurse. I’ll let her tell you what that means to her: “My dream come t ..read more

This Mother’s Day, as I celebrated the memory of my own mother, it occurred to me that, for me, Mother’s Day (and Father’s Day) is also The ILC Day. That’s because I created The Immigrant Learning Center to help parents like my own who struggle to make a good life for their children in this country. Although my mother was from Poland and Rachida is from Morocco, I see in them both the desire to offer their children a better life. Rachida left behind friends and her career to build a new life in the United States. To give her family a better life, however, she needed to learn English, and to e ..read more

Like many new Americans, Xiaolan felt isolated when she first moved to the United States. She didn’t speak English and stayed at home with her children, unable to find a job or new friends. With our English classes and Next Steps classes, The Immigrant Learning Center was able to help her with these challenges. She befriended a number of her classmates while they worked together to learn English. Xiaolan is also well on her way to finding the job she wants. With the support of her advisor at The ILC, she enrolled in a higher education accounting program. We’re proud to share that she recentl ..read more

Immigrants have a unique history of service in the U.S. military. By looking at the ways in which they have kept Americans safe and benefitted our country as service members, perhaps we can find solutions to problems the military faces today. For instance, the Army fell 15,000 soldiers short of its recruitment goal in 2022 in what leadership is calling “the war for talent.” Historically, foreign-born service members have made vital contributions to the military, filling desperately needed roles as highly skilled translators. In the face of struggles across the board with the U.S. labor force ..read more