What it Means to Teach

After finding organizations scattered through the U.S. and world dedicated to helping people become more literate in English, a few of them reached out to me, three of which I find most important.

One of my first contacts was the organization "RefuNet," based in the UK, which connected volunteers with students for both English literacy and other subjects. It was incredibly encouraging to see a website pop up that matched all my needs, so I felt like it would be the perfect match and I could start right away. The only issue, however, was that most of their students and refugees were in Britain, so our time zones became problematic. Even when I reached out to their Instagram, it was a little frustrating that what stood between me and people that needed help was our geographic location, something I couldn't adjust to very quickly.

Another organization, the "Washington English Center" located in Maryland, was holding both online and in person events, and I was able to set up an interview with their Associate Director of Volunteers, Yaritza Abrego. Though our time zones varied a little bit, it wasn't as drastic compared to central time vs. greenwich mean time. It surprised me a bit that most recruiters don't have a target audience of students and teenagers, so though I wasn't constricted by time, I was by age. To work with most students, volunteers had to be over 18, and no exception could be made because of certain policies. Again, many factors out of my control ended up dictating the opportunities I could participate in, but at the same time, they narrowed my searches and helped me get the right organization to work with.

From where I was least expecting it, I got a response from the organization "Volunteer English" in Pennsylvania, one of many non-profits I reached out to in hopes that something would open up. Because of their nature of volunteering, they unfortunately only sought those located in Pennsylvania. Their program coordinator, Ann Ryan, mentioned a few programs in each state, but most requiring an age of 18+. In her last few paragraphs, though, something caught my eye: "an organization that provides online English tutoring for Ukrainian youth."

I researched a bit further into the program, ENGin, and looked to apply. Not only was the program accepting volunteers 14+, but it was online, and past/extensive experience wasn't required. After weeks of searching and checking. my email, I got one connection that seemed to check all of my boxes, and I could finally put some of my time into good use. I could find someone in the place I was years ago, wanting to learn English to connect with my peers, and I could be their bridge to cross the barriers of language.