When Gladis came to the United States in 2002, her plan was to stay for a year earning money to help support her family back in El Salvador. She didn’t know any English, but she thought of this country as the land of opportunity and was sure she could find work. Her plans to return home were interrupted when she fell in love and got married here.
The next 15 years were devoted to raising her children. In 2017, when the youngest of her three daughters was old enough to go to kindergarten, Gladis came to The Immigrant Learning Center as the first step to re-starting her career. Because she had been in this country for so long, she had picked up some spoken English, but could not read or write it. In a regular English program, she would be stuck in a class that was too fast for her writing or too slow for her speaking. Thanks to generous supporters like you, The ILC has an extensive Literacy Program. Gladis was placed in the Remedial Writing class.
As her skills improved, she was transferred to the Level 3 class. She completed Level 3 and Level 4 and moved to Next Steps, where she learned about the Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) training program at JVS. After a written exam and two interviews, Gladis was accepted into the program. She started her training on April 9. Her children are very proud of her.
The biggest gift Gladis says she received from The ILC is confidence. She says, “ILC helped a lot. Now I feel less shy. I didn’t want to talk in English. I didn’t feel comfortable. Now, if I make a mistake, it’s OK. I feel a lot better.”
Thank you for your continued support that makes stories like Gladis’ possible.
Diane Portnoy
Founder and CEO
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc.
Thank You!
Countless supporters help The ILC give immigrants a voice. Here is a heartfelt thank you for some recent acts of kindness:
The Malden Library for donating space for The ILC Theater Class performances.
Tatiana Bougdaeva from East Boston Savings Bank and Bill McLeod from SCORE for speaking to the Entrepreneurship Class.
About Us
The Immigrant Learning Center, Inc. (ILC) of Malden, MA, is a not-for-profit organization that gives immigrants a voice in three ways. The English Language Program provides free, year-round English classes to immigrant and refugee adults in Greater Boston to help them become successful workers, parents and community members. The Public Education Institute informs Americans about the economic and social contributions of immigrants in our society, and the Institute for Immigration Research, a joint venture with George Mason University, conducts research on the economic contributions of immigrants. For more information, visit the website at www.ilctr.org or Facebook page ImmigrantLearningCenter.