February 10, 2022 —On Sunday, May 5, 2019, Casa Guanajuato of Kennett Square, presented to the residents of Kendal~Crosslands Communities (KCC) an award for their dedicated countless volunteer hours giving back to the community tutoring over the years with the English as a Second Language (ESL) program as part of the Adult Literacy Program (ALP). “This program has not only enriched countless individual’s lives over the years, it has changed their lives forever, enabling them to communicate in English”, says Kathleen Snyder, President, Casa Guanajuato. The award will be received on behalf of the tutors by Betty Warner, Kendal resident, who brought the ALP program and Kendal residents together.
An additional award was given to recognize ALP and accepting it was Filomena Elliott, ALP Director, who trains new volunteers several times each year. The mission of the ALP is to provide free educational instruction to community adults and to improve the literacy of the educationally disadvantaged to levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family and in society. “Our ALP students have a strong desire to learn English; they wish to better themselves, to communicate with the teachers and doctors of their children, and to advance to more desirable careers”, says Elliott.
“At the moment, we have about 50 tutors from the four communities (Kendal at Longwood, Crosslands, Coniston, and Cartmel)”, says Betty Warner. The first tutor training at the community occurred back in January of 2016 and the goal was to train 5-10 residents. However, the response from KCC residents was so overwhelming that over 100 residents have been trained, and at least 30 new volunteers are recruited each year. “Many of the students remain in touch with their tutor, even if they no longer need the tutoring; the bonds which form are substantial”, says Warner, “and residents enjoy the weekly discussions with their students.”
The award ceremony took place during the Kennett Square, Cinco de Mayo celebration.