Popular Madison House program helps both adult and child Latinx migrants gain academic, applicable skills
For University students, it can be easy to get lost in the University bubble and become complacent with the ends of the universe being Alderman Road and the University Hospital. Latinx and Migrant Aid, a program of Madison House, encourages students to involve themselves with the larger Charlottesville community by engaging with the region’s migrant workers.
With six volunteering sites, eight program coordinators, four community partners and 74 student volunteers, LAMA is a service organization dedicated to helping Latinx migrant workers and their children in Charlottesville improve their English speaking and general academic skills.
LAMA partners with Sín Barreras, a Charlottesville nonprofit that holds themed events for the area’s immigrant community, does advocacy work on Latinx issues and provides individual client services for legal and immigration issues. Sín Barreras is LAMA’s most popular volunteer site.
“That site is mostly just adult ESL classes, and we also offer child care while the parents are being tutored in English,” said Sara Garcia, fourth-year College student and LAMA head program coordinator. “Some of [the migrant workers also] work on their driving test or … complet[ing] their GED.”
Students join LAMA via Madison House’s new GivePulse website, where they can apply to the program. Due to program size constraints, not all students who apply are selected for the program, with priority given to returning volunteers. All students can volunteer in one of the six LAMA sub-programs — Homework Helpers, Migrant Camps, Cherry Avenue, Iglesia de Palabra Viva, Sín Barreras and Adult Tutoring.