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If you are willing to donate a little of your time and energy to volunteering, the rewards are enormous. Tutor a child, interpret for hospital patients, or help foreign-language speakers with their English conversation skills.

Below are some organizations looking for your language talents, sorted by General, French, Spanish, and International opportunities.

Organizations wishing to be listed here, please contact us.




  • University of Michigan Health System
    Ann Arbor, MI

    If you have limited language abilities, you may apply to Volunteer Services as an "LEP Visitor" (Limited English Proficiency), to interact informally with children or adults. Click here for more information.



  • Freedom House
    2630 W. Lafayette, Detroit, MI
    (313) 964-4320
    FHShelter@aol.com

    Freedom House is an emergency shelter in Detroit that provides various services for people seeking asylum in the U.S. and Canada. They are in need of French-speaking volunteers to tutor children.



  • Asociacion Latina Alcanzando Suenos (ALAS)
    Ann Arbor, MI
    Amanda Fox, foxal@umich.edu
    Are you interested in working with Latino children or teaching English to adults in the Ann Arbor area?

    ALAS is looking for Spanish-speaking volunteers to work with both children and adults during the fall term. Volunteers are needed who are willing to help Latino children with homework in English while reinforcing their Spanish speaking and writing skills. Also, we are looking for anyone who would like to teach adults English. Since tutors are usually enrolled in Spanish 448, we do ask that you have 400 level profiency in Spanish in order to tutor.

    ALAS is a student group organized by students and a core group of parents in the Latino community who share the goals of helping immigrants maintain their own culture and language while learning the necessary skills in English to have a successful life here in the United States.

    This is an extremely rewading experience with an organization that is dedicated to academic and cultural enrichment. We work with truly amazing children and adults in an environment that stresses diversity and academics. Time commitment would be around 3 to 5 hours per week but anyone interested is encouraged to get involved, regardless of actual amount of time available because we can probably work something out if you can only commit to one day. All tutoring/teaching will take place in Trotter House on Mondays and Wednesdays, 5:30-7:30pm.

    If youre interested, just stop by on those days and you'll be placed with a student to tutor for the semester.

  • Ecuador Volunteer
    Reina Victoria 1325 y Lizardo Garcia Quito-Ecuador
    Contact: Francisco Pastor
    email: info@ecuadorvolunteer.com


    Ecuador Volunteer, an international nonprofit organization founded in 1999 that is committed to providing internship and volunteer opportunities in social, educational and community development in Ecuador. We recruit over 70 volunteers for per year from all over the world, and alumni are over 350 since we have founded. Our volunteers and interns have improved a lot of instructions at local communities in Ecuador. Volunteers and interns work based around Quito, main programs offer experiences of cultural exchanges, work and help with local people in need. We arrange placement in the environmental or community area. The environmental area involves working in nature services on a wide variety of projects, the community works helping street children, elderly people and educating people. We dedicate alternative achievements to solve these problems, making a difference and a better world. In addition, we work with a Spanish school and offer volunteers to have lessons to have better relations with people within the different projects.
  • En Nuestra Lengua
    Contact: Professor Teresa Satterfiled, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, University of Michigan
    email: tsatter@umich.edu

    The "En Nuestra Lengua" Literacy and Culture Project is a service-learning collaboration between the University of Michigan and the Spanish-speaking community in Ann Arbor to address the significant academic achievement gap faced by Hispanic students, ages 3-10.

    Currently, En Nuestra is seeking Native Spanish-speakers to read to children one Saturday morning Oct.9 thru Dec. 11, 2010, a 30-minute session, anytime between 10:30am-12:30pm at Ann Arbor Bach Elementary School. For more information please see flyer here or visit the organization website here.
  • Operation Educate Children (OEC)

    Operation: Educate Children (OEC) believes that every child has the RIGHT to access quality education, and strives to bring educational opportunities to children everywhere, both in the local and in the international community.

    For more information contact oecboard@umich.edu.

  • Migrant Health Program (pdf)
    Saline, MI (15 minutes from Ann Arbor)
    (734) 944-0244
    migranthealth@voyager.net


  • PALMA (Proyecto Avance, Latino Mentoring Association)

    We are a bi-weekly tutoring group that helps Latino students in the Ann Arbor area with their schoolwork. Our primary goal is to help foster academic excellence by encouraging the students to learn and monitoring their progress. To learn more about PALMA you can visit our website.

  • St. Mary Student Parish
    331 Thompson Street, Ann Arbor, MI
    Sue Waters, slwaters@umich.edu or (734) 663-0557 ext. 229

    Spanish-speaking students are needed to help with the Parish's new ministry, serving the Hispanic/Latino community. You may assist with baptism and catechism classes for Spanish-speaking children and adults, translate forms and information, provide information in Spanish to families and migrants, and assist with the weekly Spanish Mass and other celebrations.  Semester and summer help needed.

 





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