The Immigrant Learning Center expanded its leadership team July 1 when it welcomed Vincent Rivers as its first executive director. Founder and CEO Diane Portnoy will continue as The ILC’s CEO, concentrating on longer-term strategy for growing and strengthening the organization. Rivers will take on the responsibility of overseeing the day-to-day operations of The ILC.
The Immigrant Learning Center (The ILC) has received a $50,000 grant from the Malden-based Adelaide Breed Bayrd Foundation. This grant will help fund The Immigrant Learning Center’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs.
Three Massachusetts residents were honored Tuesday, April 6, 2021, at The Immigrant Learning Center Immigrant Heroes Award Benefit. The event paid tribute to the tremendous achievements of three honorees and to the 1.2 million immigrant essential workers in Massachusetts without whom the COVID-19 pandemic would have been much worse.
A new, free resource, Welcome to the New World Curriculum and Learning Guide, is now available for teachers who are looking for engaging ways to teach about timely issues like migration, refugees and the Syrian Civil War.
The Immigrant Learning Center is the recipient of the Library of Congress 2020 Literacy Award American Prize. These awards honor organizations doing exemplary, innovative and replicable work to expand literacy and promote reading, and comes with a $50,000 donation.
In honor of the tremendous contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs to the commonwealth, 252 business and community leaders gathered for the eighth annual Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Benefit.
The Immigrant Learning Center is honored to announce the nominees for the 2019 Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards. Thirty-Eight outstanding business leaders who are Massachusetts residents from 26 countries and founded businesses in 24 local communities, from Hyannis to Springfield, are contending for these eighth, annual awards. More than a competition, in today’s environment where powerful forces are sending messages to immigrants and refugees such as “go back to your country,” these Awards send a message of gratitude to the international entrepreneurs who have chosen Massachusetts as their home to live, innovate and create jobs.
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. seeks outstanding immigrant entrepreneurs to be honored at the 2019 Barry M. Portnoy Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards. Nominations are being accepted now through September 2, 2019, for outstanding immigrant business founders in four categories: business growth, neighborhood business, high-tech business and life science business. Self-nominations are encouraged.
Under the direction of The ILC teachers, volunteers spend three hours a day, one to four days a week, helping foreign-born adults learn reading, writing, grammar and conversation skills in English, prepare to become U.S. citizens, and increase their understanding of American culture.
MALDEN, Mass, June 4, 2018 / A group of 61 dedicated volunteers were honored by The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) on June 1, 2018. These local residents take time out of their busy schedules each week to help hundreds of immigrant and refugee adults who study English at The ILC.
MALDEN, Mass, May 7, 2018 /On Thursday, May 3, 2018, 230 business and community leaders came together at the Royal Sonesta Boston to honor Massachusetts immigrant entrepreneurs at The 2018 Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Dinner hosted by The Immigrant Learning Center (ILC).
MALDEN, Mass, March 26, 2018 / Forty Massachusetts residents from 24 countries who founded businesses in 18 Massachusetts communities, from Hyannis to Springfield, have been nominated for The 2018 ILC Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards. They are outstanding business leaders who are making their mark in four business categories: growth, neighborhood, high-tech and life science.
Free performances highlight the immigrant experience at Malden Public Library, March 29 and 30, 2018
There will be two free performances by students in The Immigrant Learning Center (ILC) Theater Class at the Malden Public Library in the Maccario Room. On Thursday, March 29 at 1:30 p.m., they will perform Arriving, and on Friday, March 30 at 10:30 a.m., they will perform Lost in Translation.
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) seeks outstanding immigrant entrepreneurs to be honored at the seventh annual Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Dinner on Thursday, May 3, 2018, at the Royal Sonesta Boston in Cambridge, Mass.
On Saturday, October 28, 2017, The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) and 224 guests from as far away as Washington, DC, celebrated its 25th anniversary in style… In recognition of all the ways the community benefits from its work, Malden Mayor Gary Christenson presented The Immigrant Learning Center Founder and CEO Diane Portnoy with the key to the city…
A group of 58 dedicated volunteers were honored by The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) on May 19, 2017. These local residents take time out of their busy schedules each week to help hundreds of immigrant and refugee adults who study English at The ILC. By learning to communicate in English, the students can fully contribute to the economic, civic and cultural life in their communities.
Massachusetts business and community leaders came together on Thursday, May 4, 2017, to honor the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs at The Immigrant Learning Center’s 2017 Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Dinner at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Mass.
MALDEN, Mass, March 27, 2017 / On May 4, 2017, at The Immigrant Learning Center’s sixth annual Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards, 36 Massachusetts residents from 23 countries who founded businesses in 19 Massachusetts communities will be honored by more than 250 business and community leaders.
Business and community leaders joined Massachusetts Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Jay Ash and U.S. Commerce Secretary Penny Pritzker in honoring the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs at The Immigrant Learning Center’s 2016 Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Dinner on Thursday, April 28, 2016, at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Mass.
March 21, 2016 / On April 28, 2016, at The Immigrant Learning Center’s fifth annual Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year Awards, more than 250 business and community leaders will come together to honor 42 immigrants from 26 countries who founded businesses in 18 Massachusetts communities. These nominees represent outstanding business leaders from across the commonwealth in four business categories: growth, neighborhood, high-tech and life science.
Tonight the National Immigration Forum will honor three prominent leaders in technology, education, and immigrant advocacy for their work promoting the value of immigrants and immigration to our society.
This performance describes the journey of immigrating to the United States from a child’s perspective and includes folk tales from several countries. It was first performed on Friday, August 14, 2015, for children in the vacation camp program at BASEC in Belmont, Mass. The upcoming performances are open to the public and appropriate for both children and adults.
Nearly 250 business and community leaders joined Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker in honoring the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs at The Immigrant Learning Center’s 2015 Immigrant Entrepreneur of the Year Awards Dinner on Thursday, May 7, 2015, at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, MA.
This funny and touching performance is inspired by the personal experiences of students in the Immigrant Theater Group illustrated with stories and songs. The Immigrant Theater Group is comprised of students of The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) who reside in Malden and surrounding communities.
Today, The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) of Malden, Mass. announced its support of the first Immigrant Heritage Month, which was declared by Governor Deval Patrick in June 2014. Immigrant Heritage Month is a nationwide initiative spearheaded by the not-for-profit Welcome.us in partnership with corporations, media outlets, organizations, celebrities, and faith, civic and political leaders to gather and share inspirational stories of American immigrants.
More than 200 people came together last night to celebrate the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs in Massachusetts personified by 35 nominees and four award winners at The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc.’s 2014 Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Dinner at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Mass. The nominees in attendance each received citations from their respective legislators, and the four winners also received trophies. All were impressive examples of entrepreneurial spirit.
Dr. Marcia Drew Hohn was named Outstanding Educator of the Year by the Massachusetts Coalition for Adult Education at its annual NETWORK Conference on April 4, 2014….Hohn has worked in the adult basic education field for more than 25 years. She currently serves as the director of the Public Education Institute at The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc.
The show will tell the story of leaving home and facing the challenges of traveling to a new place using Aesop’s fables paired with folktales from the students’ native countries. The performers are studying English at The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. and come from Brazil, China, Congo, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Haiti, Hong Kong, Iraq, Turkey and Vietnam.
The MIRA Coalition is proud to join with the Massachusetts Office for Refugees and Immigrants, the Office of Access and Opportunities, and The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. in celebrating Governor Deval Patrick’s upcoming declaration of Immigrant Entrepreneurship Month 2013 (October 15 to November 15).
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) added 11 profiles of immigrants who founded U.S.-based, not-for-profit organizations to a new Social Entrepreneur section of its online Immigrant Entrepreneur Hall of Fame.
Two hundred people came together last night to celebrate the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs in Massachusetts personified by 23 nominees and three award winners at The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc.’s 2013 Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Dinner at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Mass. The nominees in attendance each received citations from their respective legislators, and the three winners received a trophy and a citation from Massachusetts Treasurer and Receiver General Steven Grossman. All were impressive examples of entrepreneurial spirit.
A new study entitled Immigrant Entrepreneurs Creating Jobs and Strengthening the U.S. Economy in Growing Industries released today by The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. shows that immigrants play an outsized role in growing industries relative to their presence in the general population. In so doing, they are supporting a high rate of job creation and market expansion.
A new book from Malden-based The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. called Immigrant Struggles, Immigrant Gifts, distributed by University of Virginia Press January, 2013, and available for sale at Amazon.com, chronicles the experience of 11 immigrant groups in the U.S. Written by 11 experts in their respective fields, their stories share familiar themes of hope, setbacks, deep loss and perseverance as seen through the eyes of Chinese, Germans, Italians, Jews, Muslims and many others.
In reaction to the bipartisan framework for comprehensive immigration reform released by eight U.S. senators on January 28 and President Obama’s plan for comprehensive immigration reform announced today, The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. releases the following statement from Diane Portnoy, president and CEO:
The ILC began operations in 1992 with three staff members offering free English language classes to 60 immigrants and refugees. Today, with a staff of 30, it serves more than 900 immigrants and refugees a year and educates the public about the value that immigrants bring to this country.
A new study of the immigrant population in Massachusetts was discussed yesterday at a briefing held at the Massachusetts State House. The study entitled Massachusetts Immigrants by the Numbers, Second Edition: Demographic Characteristics and Economic Footprint was commissioned by The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. and presented by the study’s authors, Dr. Paul Watanabe and Dr. Alan Clayton-Matthews, to an audience of nearly 50 legislative aides and members of community organizations and consulates.
Three Massachusetts business owners were honored last night at The Immigrant Learning Center’s Immigrant Entrepreneur Awards Dinner at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Cambridge, Mass. The event highlighted the outstanding contributions of the three award winners, the 21 nominees and the thousands of immigrant entrepreneurs across the commonwealth.
A new institute to conduct research about immigrants and their contributions in the United States was launched this month as a joint venture between George Mason University and The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) of Mass.
The Immigrant Entrepreneur Hall of Fame was launched online today by The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) to pay tribute to 61 immigrants who made significant contributions to the U.S. economy and to highlight the importance of immigrant entrepreneurs to the prosperity of the country.
Today, Governor Deval Patrick proclaimed October 14, 2011, through November 14, 2011, the first “Immigrant Entrepreneurship Month.” The Governor began his remarks by saying, “We are one community.” He went on to stress the importance of calling attention to the significant role that immigrants play in the health and expansion of our economy.
These free performances are produced by The ILC Theater Program which helps immigrants improve their English skills through writing and performing plays and creates greater understanding of world cultures and the immigrant experience in the Malden community. Featured performances will include a song about the joys of fatherhood from Cameroon, a demonstration of the art of bullfighting from Columbia and a traditional Haitian folk song. All are welcome to attend.
November 17, 2010 / The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. in collaboration with Babson College presented a statewide conference at the College that confirms Massachusetts immigrant entrepreneurs are engines of economic growth and job creation in the Commonwealth.
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) today unveiled two groundbreaking research studies about immigrant entrepreneurs and immigrant homebuyers to over 120 business and community leaders during a special presentation at The Omni Parker House.
May 4, 2004 / The Immigrant Theater Group at The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. today unveiled its second original drama about immigrant experiences entitled From Darkness to Light at the Malden Public Library.
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) today hosted Governor Mitt Romney who took a “virtual tour” of the globe as he visited immigrant and refugee adults enrolled in The ILC’s adult literacy classes. Approximately 120 students from 43 countries greeted the Governor, some of whom shared their business, community and political experiences as newcomers to America. Governor Romney later addressed more than 80 of the Center’s supporters.
May 6, 2003 / A Department of Education monitoring team highly commended The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. for demonstrating best practices in a number of program and management areas as part of its recent five-year assessment of the Center.
Illustrating the need for expanded English literacy services, The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. marked 10 years of providing Massachusetts immigrant and refugee adults with adequate knowledge of the English language to lead better lives and become productive workers, parents and community members.