English in Action breaks ground for their new communication center
Glenwood Springs Post Independent
Andrea Teres-Martinez/Post Independent
English in Action hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its new communication center on Wednesday, inviting students, tutors and community members to commemorate the historic occasion.
Despite the gray and cloudy weather, which threatened rain with every passing second, spirits were high among the crowd.
“As a longtime tutor with my student, Gloria, who’s standing right there, I show up for her because she asked for help to speak English with confidence and to actively participate in her community,” Lynn Nichols, chair of the Welcome Home campaign for English in Action, said during the ceremony. “… As a donor, I feel that I can expand that impact to open doors and bring opportunities to our immigrant students.”
English in Action is a nonprofit organization with a mission “to strengthen the quality of life for everyone in our community by helping adult immigrants learn to read, write and speak English, and by cultivating cross-cultural friendships.”
Founded in 1994, the organization serves around 400 students ages 18 and older with the help of their 300 volunteers who serve as tutors in their programs. The organization serves as a touchpoint for immigrant learners to connect with and access services that can help them overcome the challenges of finding employment and housing, registering children for school, and accessing medical care.
Last month, English in Action held a kickoff party for their newly announced Center for Communication in El Jebel. The state-of-the-art facility will serve as the organization’s new home as they continue to serve the English-learning needs of the Roaring Fork Valley’s immigrant community. The kickoff party also served as a farewell to the old building, which sat on the same land that is now under construction.
The groundbreaking event itself saw English in Action students, tutors, board members and community leaders step up to the microphone to deliver messages of gratitude to those in attendance. Aside from several short speeches and photo opportunities, the celebration offered tours around the bare space that would soon be the communication building, as well as lively music, empanadas and other refreshments.
“In order to design a building, we had to take all of the needs of the students, the tutors and the staff into consideration,” English in Action Board of Directors member Gary Harada said during his speech. “We think we’ve done that, and we’ve got a building that will honor the commitment that all the individuals have made to both the learning and the teaching of English.”
The first to take a shovel and break the fresh ground on the construction site, per invitation from Executive Director Lara Beaulieu, was long-time student Maria.
Maria was one of the first donors for the communication center, bringing in a crisp $100 bill from her own savings when the project was still just an idea. In addition to bringing in eight more $100 donations, Beaulieu shared that Maria would spend her time in the old building praying for a new space for English in Action.
“Maria has had the idea of this building since well before we started planning, and she dreamed that this building was going to become a reality,” Beaulieu said. “Maria has been a student since 2017, and I would like her to take the first shovelful … with the golden shovel.”
Maria’s excitement was radiant on her face as she posed for the camera, took the first shovelful, and threw her arms up in the air in celebration. Project leaders, campaign cabinet members, students, tutors and more took turns taking shovelfuls.
Work on the new English In Action Center for Communication begins as the organization hits $4.3 million of its $5 million fundraising goal. According to English in Action Development Director Heather Hicks Stumpf, half of the funds have come from English in Action’s very own students and tutors.
“I just want to extend my deepest thanks to our campaign donors. We counted it up and there’s 270 of you all, and I’m so proud to share that half of our campaign donors are our very own students and tutors,” Hicks Stumpf said. “Thank you all so much for investing in this project and for the time that you give to one another. It’s really inspiring.”
Crawford Properties provided English in Action a 50-year land lease, meaning all of the money raised toward the communication center can go toward the building itself rather than the purchase of the land.
“To help raise the remaining $700,000, the organization has secured a $50,000 matching grant from a group of old friends who rallied to do good. English In Action is looking for donations of any size to help complete the project,” an English in Action news release states.
The new building will be located at 33 Gillespie Drive in El Jebel and is expected to be completed in 2025. In the meantime, English In Action programs are running at full capacity at a temporary office in El Jebel provided by Crawford Properties.
“In order to make this dream a reality we still need to raise some more funds, so we invite you if you haven’t gotten involved already to join in the campaign,” Hicks Stumpf said. “You could do that by making a donation or spreading the word to a friend who maybe hasn’t heard about us, who wants to feel this feeling of joy of giving, of investing in a brighter community and unlocking potential for all of us who live and work here in this amazing valley.”
“This new building that we’re about to embark on understands and recognizes that challenge (of learning English) and celebrates our students who are so determined to learn,” Nichols said. “Our students inspire us, and so as a donor I give to English in Action because I want to empower all of us to build connections.”
