Nonprofit provides English tutoring to migrants living in Gardner: How you can help

In the wake of dozens of migrant families moving into the hotels in Greater Gardner, the Gardner Community Action Committee reached out to a regional nonprofit to offer them English learning classes.

More than 40 adult migrants are working towards learning and improving their English speaking, reading and writing capabilities with the aid of Literacy Volunteers of the Montachusett Area, a nonprofit based in Fitchburg.

Literacy Volunteers of the Montachusett Area help battle English illiteracy in the North Central Mass. region by providing individual and confidential adult tutoring sessions in basic literacy and lessons in English for non-native speakers.

Literacy Volunteers of Montachusett Area Executive Director Zwanieke Visser said this new partnership has a spinoff of their typical grant-funded program. The sessions started in early October, and the nonprofit plans to continue the sessions as long as people need them.

Officials at the Gardner CAC reached out to the literacy organization seeking a partnership so the migrants in shelters in Gardner can have an opportunity to improve their English skills. Visser said in addition to the space used to hold the tutoring session, the Gardner CAC supplies food for breaks and transportation to the Senior Center.

The tutoring sessions are held every Monday in the Gardner Senior Center at 294 Pleasant St. from 10 a.m. to noon.

Visser said that 46 people have signed up for the weekly sessions since early December, and the list continues to grow. The program is set up through the partnership so instead of individual sessions they are working in small groups.

Currently, there are 11 volunteers, so each volunteer gets three to five students at a time. The group sizes will fluctuate based on volunteers and students.

Visser said the sessions don't allow walk-ins because there are limited resources, and the session aims to teach the migrants. She said because these sessions are group tutoring and not one-on-one, the organization's usually state funding does not cover the cost of supplies.

"They are incredibly motivated to learn English," she said. "You can see that they are really trying to get better."

How donations are providing the supplies and time for the tutoring

All of the tutoring session supplies were privately donated because the nonprofits' state funding does not cover large group tutoring sessions. Still, they don't have enough books and materials to give every adult their tutoring books as the number of sign-ups increases.

"We usually don't do large group tutoring; we do one-on-one, so MDESE funds do not cover this," she said. "Even though we don't do large groups, we still wanted to help this group, so we partnered with the CAC."

The total cost of supplies per student is $25. Visser said each student gets two books, and money also goes towards printing costs of flashcards, pencils, pens, and other teaching materials

If you're interested in donating money or teaching materials, please visit the Literacy Volunteers of the Montachusett Area website at lvmonta.org or the Gardner CAC website at gardner-cac.org.

How to become a volunteer

Prior teaching experience is required, and most volunteers are retired classroom teachers or English Second language teachers and special education teachers. But they don't need to have to lead a classroom to help.

Volunteers can have prior tutoring experience and proof of tutoring certification. Or they can get tutor-certified, through a program with the nonprofit.

"These sessions are to support the influx of migrants in the area, and to do that, we need more resources to extend our services," she said. "This organization needs volunteers to work, and this is a very rewarding position if you are interested."

Cherie McComb, a retired Gardner School teacher, regularly volunteers for the Literacy Volunteers of the Montachusett Area. She said she reached out to her retired Gardner school teacher network to gather more volunteers for the weekly sessions.

McComb said a lot of the adult migrants have children under four years old who aren't old enough to go to school yet, so she provides child care while they are studying.

"Naturally, while they are playing with the donated toys and coloring books, I implement small lessons," she said. "Sound of letters, words, colors, and how to spell their names."

If you're interested in volunteering for the Literacy Volunteers of the Montachusett Area, contact them through their website at lvmonta.org.

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Migrants in Greater Gardner work with literacy volunteers: What to know