Disclaimer - I also don't attend church here, but this WELS church seems worth a try as they are very engaged in the community and providing a useful service.
If you are looking for a volunteer opportunity, look no further! All you need is a decent grasp of conversational English and you can make a difference and make some friends while doing this.
As other reviewers have stated, this church offers English classes for (Spanish speaking) immigrants 3x/week, 2 hours each. It is highly flexible, accepting volunteers from nearby schools, churches, and the community for whatever time commitment they can make. I initially signed up for 1 or 2 nights a week, but loved it so much that I signed up for every night I was available! I helped 2 students with English, they threw in some Spanish lessons for me, and we learned about each other's lives as we learned each other's languages. I developed a great relationship with the 2 students I worked with - so much so that I was sad when one of them was paired with someone else. We are going out for margaritas to celebrate the end of a recent session!
The church is extremely generous and donates the space, electricity, and copies of the worksheets that guide our lessons. Other funding comes from other congregations, grants, and donations from students and tutors.
The English lessons are headed up by Lori and Issac, two fluent English/Spanish speakers. Students and tutors alike enjoy Lori's enthusiasm and consistency. Isaac offers voluntary Spanish language Bible studies at the end of each day's lesson. Childcare is usually available for children older than 4.
At the end of a lesson block student's accomplishments are recognized by having volunteers read their compositions and giving out certificates to students who have had perfect attendance or attended certain numbers of lessons (like 100). Afterwards there is a delicious potluck. It's a great celebration of the progress students make and a chance for locals to try some great Mexican food.
For more information check out the English Language Partners page on Facebook. Hope to see you there! read more