ROARING FORK BROADCASTING COMPANY
After 30 years of welcoming immigrants and helping them adjust to life in the Roaring Fork Valley, English in Action is preparing to ratchet up its efforts.
The nonprofit organization this week launched the public phase of its campaign to raise $5 million for a new Center for Communication in El Jebel. It’s already raised $4.2 million after 22 months of “quietly meeting” with key donors as well as its volunteers and adult students, according to development director Heather Hicks Stumpf.
“We are humbled by the support we’ve received,” she said.
Executive director Lara Beaulieu said English in Action officials are especially proud of how they raised the money. Typically, nonprofit fundraising efforts kick off by collecting large grants from a handful of donors. English in Action received donations of $20 to $2,000 from nearly 250 adult students and the volunteers who help them improve their English skills, she said.
“This project is funded by community members from all walks of life who care deeply about our mission,” English in Action said on its website.
To reach its fundraising goal, the organization will engage businesses and individuals and take advantage of an opportunity for a matching grant.
The success in collecting contributions has convinced English in Action to apply for its building permit from Eagle County. Beaulieu said construction of the new center is expected to take 12 to 14 months. It will replace a nearly 40-year-old, 1,800-square-foot facility in El Jebel that English in Action outgrew some time ago.
“We’re simply bursting at the seams in our current space,” Hicks Stumpf said.
The owner of the site, Crawford Properties, gave English in Action the confidence to move forward by providing a 50-year lease. The new center will be built where the old office is currently located. When completed, English in Action will have a 6,000-square-foot home for its staff offices, space where it can host community events and volunteer training for 20 to 60 people, hold multiple classes simultaneously in different spaces, provide private nooks for tutors and students and provide a safe play space for children of students or volunteers.
The larger space will allow English in Action to do what it does more effectively and also grow. It currently serves close to 400 students per year and has more than 200 adult students waiting to be paired with a tutor, according to Beaulieu. But it won’t grow for growth’s sake. It will add capacity when appropriate, she said. One instant advantage will be providing small-group classes for students while they wait for assignment to a tutor.
The new center provides advantages beyond extra meeting space. It provides a welcoming message at a time when immigration is spurring divisive conversations and political battles in the U.S.
“We place equal importance on language-learning and cross-cultural community building,” Beaulieu said. “We bring people of different backgrounds together to celebrate culture and diversity. The interactions we see are overwhelmingly positive.”
For that reason, English in Action is calling its fundraising effort the Welcome Home campaign. More information about the organization and a link for donations can be found at englishinaction.org.