News

ESLIM is delighted to introduce our new program administrator, Connie Hauer. She is already part of the ESLIM family, having taught advanced students at Centreville United Methodist Church for the last three semesters.Connie also teaches an intermediate ESL class at the Hogar Center in Manassas, and she has done freelance, one-on-one tutonring for clients including a journalist and an embassy employee. In preparation for all of these activities, she earned a TESOL certificate.

Previously Connie taught school for 34 years. And for three years, she and her husband coordinated volunteers for an overnight shelter that their church in Tennessee hosted once a week during the winter months.

Connie’s starting date was December 7. She and Dorothy Hettmann, our longtime program administrator, will overlap during a period of training and transition. Like Dorothy, Connie will work an average of 10 hours per week. We are blessed to have her on board, and I hope you will give her a warm welcome.

Ohood is from Afghanistan. She has attended classes at one of our sites for the last five semesters, working her way through two levels during the first four semesters and then landing a job at Five Guys. With the extra practice at her job, she jumped two more levels between her fourth and fifth semesters. We are proud of her progress!

English as a Second Language and Immigrant Ministries (ESLIM) is a consortium of churches that has provided low-cost English classes to non-native English speakers like Ohood for more than 25 years. Last semester, more than 875 adults participated in classes with the assistance of more than 275 volunteers at our 18 locations stretching from Leesburg to Washington, DC.

Our activities include:

• recruiting, placing, and training volunteer teachers for ESLIM’s programs
• returning phone inquiries in English and Spanish
• advertising the classes in foreign-language media and
• maintaining a website with resources for students, volunteers, and churches.

We invite you to join us in reaching out to immigrants who want to improve their lives. We operate on a very small budget but leverage these dollars into a program that puts together volunteers and students in ways that enrich lives. Your financial support will allow ESLIM’s member churches to keep their registration fees low (which currently range from no fee at all to just $40, with scholarships available for all who cannot pay) and to focus their spending on class-related materials and teaching supplies.

ESLIM would be pleased to receive your support at:

English as a Second Language and Immigrant Ministries

c/o United Methodist Church Bi-District Business Manager

3600 Chain Bridge Rd.

Fairfax, VA 22030

Or to make a donation via PayPal, please visit http://www.eslim.org/donate/.

Thank you in advance for your support of this effort to help our newest neighbors like Ohood improve their lives.