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ILI

The International Language Institute of Massachusetts (ILI) promotes intercultural understanding and diverse communities by providing high-quality language instruction and teacher training.

You are here: Home / News / April is Volunteer Appreciation Month!

April 12, 2022

April is Volunteer Appreciation Month!

We at ILI are endlessly grateful for the many hours volunteers donate to supportThank you Volunteers with flowers our school and students.  Since September, volunteer tutors have helped 36 students and former students with 315 hours of individualized support; the volunteer conversation circle teacher has led 60 hours of class with 14 different students; and the marketing materials support volunteer has devoted many hours to creating materials for ILI’s Language Travel Program.

Volunteers help make our community stronger by supporting and empowering our immigrant neighbors; helping them find their voice as they navigate life in a different culture.  Volunteers also strengthen the community by helping boost our organization’s capacity to serve. The commitment to helping others and supporting our programs is as inspiring as it is humbling.

Thank you to all the ILI volunteers for sharing your skills, talents, and time; thank you for your compassion and empathy; and thank you for working to strengthen our community. You all make a difference!  And don’t just take our word for it, here are some words of gratitude from students who meet with volunteer tutors:

“My tutor is understanding and friendly.”

“I appreciate her time and I am very glad for her tutoring.  It’s so great.”

“She is very empathetic and searches for different interesting topics.  She helps me a lot.”

“My tutor is wonderful, she supports me a lot.”

“The tutor I have is excellent.  She helps me with my homework and teaches me new things.” 

“My tutor is really very good. I like her. She teaches really well. Time is not a problem for her. She can extend the duration of the lesson. She teaches a subject that I don’t understand very well. I hope ı can work with her for a long time.”

“My tutor is amazing. She has a lot of patience teaching me pronunciation and new vocabulary . I appreciate it.”  

“I really appreciated that I could work with a tutor!  It was really helpful.”

“My tutor is flexible, helpful, and kind.” 

“My tutor helps me not only improve my English, but also helps me with my personal difficulties.” 

“I always feeA bog shout out to ILI Volunteers!l good with my tutor.”

“My tutor listened to my English very patiently.” 

“My tutor is a very good teacher. I believe that I have improved a lot since I started to talk with him.” 

If you or someone you know is interested in volunteering with ILI,  visit ili.edu/volunteer or contact the volunteer coordinator, Laura@ili.edu.

Longtime ILI volunteer tutor Cindy Mahoney earns Points of Light recognition!

Points of Light, an international organization that focuses on outstanding volunteers, awarded CindyVolunteer, Cindy Mahoney sitting at her desk. Mahoney a Daily Point of Light recognition for exceptional volunteers who spark change and improve the world. ILI joins Points of Light in “celebration of the power of people who tackle society’s greatest challenges, and build stronger, more vibrant communities through volunteerism and everyday actions, like Cindy.” Read her story and join the Global Volunteer Month celebration.

Written by Laura Robinson

Article by ILI Staff / News

ILI News

  • Mayor Honors Past ILI Board President February 1, 2023
  • ILI featured in EL Gazette magazine! January 25, 2023
  • The Top 5 Benefits of Learning English Online with Native English Speaking Teachers January 18, 2023
  • Interview with Edwin Cubillos, Colombian photographer and peace activist December 14, 2022
  • Massachusetts State Senator Jo Comerford visits ILI October 17, 2022
  • Business English Guide to Improve Your Communication Skills October 12, 2022

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“Music is the universal language of mankind.” “Music is the universal language of mankind.”
― Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

ILI English and French instructor, Josh Owsley is also a musician! He will be playing bass with @landownerband tonight at @thedrakeamherst . 🎶Hope to see you there!

📸Photo by @vagabundodeltiempo 

#ili #internationallanguageinstitute #massachusetts #northampton #landowner #livemusic #teacherfeature #thedrakeamherst  #community
Congratulations 🎉 to our graduates  Jeffrey ( Congratulations 🎉 to our graduates  Jeffrey (Peru), Azhar (Kazakhstan), Ruveyda (Turkey), Andrei (Russia) and Yasemin (Turkey). Every month we have an international potluck to celebrate our graduates. You might have seen Azhar’s cakes before, but the cake that she made, as you will say, is truly over the top! We are sad to say goodbye to the students, but excited about the next steps that they will be taking in their lives.

Cake by @_azhar_bakery 

#ili #internationallanguageinstitute #massachusetts #northampton #studentlife #azharbakery #potluck #education #internationalstudents #ialc #ialclanguages
“We must risk everything for the raw recipe of o “We must risk everything for the raw recipe of our passion” 

We had such an engaging afternoon at @parlorroommusic with ILI Board Member + former president of @gccgreenfield Bob Pura. Bob led a reading and discussion of his new book The Community’s College: The Pursuit of Democracy, Economic Development, and Success, which he co-wrote with Dr. Tara L. Parker. Audience members also got the chance to learn more about the process behind the creation of the book. 

Thank you for joining us! 📚

#ili #internationallanguageinstitute #massachusetts #bobpura #authorevent #reading #discussion #communitycollege #thecommunityscollege #northampton
Today Bob Pura and Tara Parker read from and lead Today Bob Pura and Tara Parker read from and lead a discussion of their book The Community’s College: The Pursuit of Democracy, Economic Development, and Success! 📚 Join us at @parlorroommusic at 2pm. 

In their book, The Community’s College: The Pursuit of Democracy, Economic Development, and Success, co-authors Dr. Robert L. Pura and Dr. Tara L. Parker explore the extraordinary impact of this country’s community colleges on people, communities, and our democratic traditions.

As the book’s foreword by Lynn Pasquerella, President of the American Association of Colleges and Universities, states: "[T]he analysis offered by Dr. Pura and Dr. Parker unveils how community colleges—distinctively American institutions—are more essential than ever to fulfilling our nation's historic mission of educating for democracy."

Pura, a member of the ILI board of directors, retired in 2018 as president of Greenfield Community College after 17+ years in that position. Parker is the recently appointed Dean of the College of Education and Human Development at UMass Boston.
 
#thecommunityscollege #authorevent #ili #bobpura #taraparker #theparlorroom #northampton #community
TOMORROW - Saturday, January 28th don't miss an Au TOMORROW - Saturday, January 28th don't miss an Author Reading & Discussion with Bob Pura + Tara Parker at @parlorroommusic at 2pm!

Bob Pura, former Greenfield Community College president (18 years) and now an ILI board member, was on the Bill Newman radio show yesterday discussing his new book. 

So many of our students have found success at @gccgreenfield . Here's a photo of all of ILI's students who were at GCC during Bob's last year...including former board member, Aimee Salmon. Aimee is at Mt. Holyoke and graduating this semester, Florice is at Tulane, Bene is at Smith, Orphee is at Western New England University, Flora just graduated from Western New England and is an electrical engineer in Connecticut and Lastone graduated from UMASS and works in Boston.

➡️Listen to the radio show here: https://whmp.com/podcasts/the-communitys-college/

#whmp #ili #thecommunityscollege #bobpura #taraparker #communitycollege #authorevent #northampton #internationallanguageinstitute #massachusetts
This past fall, ILI applied to #MassachusettsDepar This past fall, ILI applied to #MassachusettsDepartmentofElementaryandSecondaryEducation’s (DESE) competitive grant program to help fund our free English classes for immigrants and refugees. The hard work paid off. When DESE announced the recipients, ILI was on the list! ✨

“We were thrilled to get the good news,” said Macey Faiella, director of ILI’s English programs. “The pandemic shed new light on the disparities that face immigrants and refugees, and we reassessed our program to include greatly expanded offerings. DESE responded positively—all to the benefit of the students.” Starting this fall ILI will teach four levels of online and in-person evening classes and a new intensive in-person morning course. 

For 34 years, ILI has partnered with the state to provide free English classes in western Massachusetts. This award extends the partnership for an additional five years. It funds about two-thirds of the overall program. ILI is responsible for the remaining costs.

#ili #internationallanguageinstitute #massachusetts #dese #education #grant #nonprofit #freeenglishprogram #mass #community
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