Launched in 2019, The Immigrant Learning Center Youth Board provides teenagers an opportunity to learn about our mission to give immigrants a voice. They engage in direct and indirect service with immigrant and refugee adult students while developing leadership skills and gain a behind-the-scenes understanding of not-for-profit work. For those members of the Youth Board who are themselves an immigrant or who have immigrant parents, the cause can be very personal. Regardless of their background, we hope that participation in the Youth Board will give these young people insight into their own identities as they learn ways to positively influence their communities.

Several of The Immigrant Learning Center’s adult students have high-school and college-aged children who volunteer at The ILC in recognition of the support given to their parents. We also have a strong partnership with the nearby Malden High School students who volunteer with our Family Literacy Coordinator, leading book groups and other efforts. We believe that when young people are fully engaged and their opinions and perspectives are respected, they are more likely to commit themselves to making their schools, their communities and their own lives better.

The ILC 2022 Youth Board Members

Members of The ILC Youth Board attend nine different Boston-area high schools: Central Catholic High School (Lawrence, MA), Medfield High School, Milton Academy, Needham High School, Newton Country Day School, Noble and Greenough School, The Winsor School, Triton High School and Weston High School.