“Imagine moving to a foreign land and not having the ability to communicate with anyone outside your family. Imagine the obstacles preventing you from being able to provide for yourself and your family. Now imagine an organization willing to help you overcome these barriers, one that gives you the tools to become a contributing member of your adopted community.
Imagine how much that organization helps you feel less like an outsider, helps you begin to survive, and then, to thrive and achieve the dignity that every human being deserves.
Supporting BEACON helps immigrants in our community, and also gives me purpose as a retiree who can volunteer to teach these deserving people in need.” ~Mark, Volunteer Instructor, High Intermediate level, in-person class
“As a middle and high school teacher, I often find myself pleading with my students trying to convince them of how vital the information I’m trying to instruct them on is for their future. That’s never the case when I teach for BEACON. Each semester, I like to start by asking my students why they are learning English. With determined faces, and often tears in their eyes, these dedicated adult learners tell me they are going to “make a better life” for their families, “find a better job,” especially those who find themselves drastically underemployed in their new homeland. The reason that resonates in my heart the most is mothers who are determined to be able to help their children with homework so they can succeed and have every possible opportunity as new Americans.
These ESL learners are dedicated, self-motivated, and eager to succeed both for themselves and their families, and I am humbled as a volunteer to be a part of it.
Your generosity makes it possible for women who never had the opportunity to attend school in their country of origin to learn to read for the first time. It makes it possible for men who were masters degree level engineers in their country of origin to see the possibility of something beyond driving for Uber. Your generosity means that America feels more like a home country than a foreign place, and that English is accessible and not an obstacle to a better life. Thank you for all that you do to make this possible.”