In This Issue:
HOGAR STAFF
John Odenwelder
Director
john@hogarimmigrantservices.org
Education Services:
Danielle Tillilie
Group Manager
danielle@hogarimmigrantservices.orgx235
Lisa Ehm Waller
Manager
lisa@hogarimmigrantservices.org,
x238
Allison Corbett
Manager
acorbett@ccda.net,
x243
Emily Prouty
Manager
eprouty@ccda.net, x239
Brooke Hammond Pérez
Manager
brooke@hogarimmigrantservices.org,
x251
Danny Quinn
Manager
dquinn@ccda.net, x237
Bill Kelly
Data Manager
wkelly@ccda.net, x229
Legal Services:
Michelle Sardone
Group Manager
michelle@hogarimmigrantservices.org
Cindy Brown
Paralegal
cindy@hogarimmigrantservices.org
Nancy Carbajal
Receptionist
nancy@hogarimmigrantservices.org
Christie Turner-Herbas
Staff Attorney
christie@hogarimmigrantservices.org
Enrique Vargas
Paralegal
enrique@hogarimmigrantservices.org
Chelsy Weber
Staff Attorney
chelsy@hogarimmigrantservices.org
Social Services:
Dawn Dumas
Manager
ddumas@ccda.net
(703) 443-2481
Angie Marchetto
Intake Coordinator
amarchetto@ccda.net
(703) 443-2481
Hogar Immigrant Services
6201 Leesburg Pike
Falls Church, Va 22044
T: (703) 534-9805
www.hogarimmigrantservices.org
If you would like to have this newsletter sent to a different email
address or if you would like to
unsubscribe from the mailing list, please email acorbett@ccda.net.
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The Hogar team bonding at a Nats game in honor of John's birthday
 A Note from John So much is happening at Hogar, it is difficult to know exactly where to start in bringing everyone up to speed after the summer break. First of all, a hearty "Welcome!" to our new volunteers and a "Welcome back!" to those of you veterans who are returning for yet another year.
Over the summer, Hogar learned it had once again received the EL/Civics and CBLO grants from the Virginia Department of Education. This prompted us to hire some additional folks on the Education team and to take down additional space in our Falls Church office. The new classroom space was completely empty just days before the start of the new semester. But thanks to a generous donation from BB&T's Lighthouse Fund (and some frantic online shopping for tables and chairs by our very own Brooke Hammond-Perez), we were able to have the new classrooms ready for occupancy on Day 1. White boards followed a few days later, as did trash cans, wall clocks and the like. The important thing is that learning began for a whole new set of students we were not able to accommodate this time last year.
In other big news, we are pleased to announce that Hogar was selected by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) to receive a direct services grant to expand its citizenship education and naturalization assistance programs. With the help of this grant, Hogar will enhance the citizenship program at its home office in Falls Church, expand its fledgling program in Sterling (Christ the Redeemer), and open a third site in Dale City (Holy Family). Further, Hogar will increase the frequency of its mobile naturalization workshops to one per month in convenient locations throughout northern Virginia. Hogar is one of only 48 direct services grant recipients nationwide that were selected from a pool of over four hundred applicants.
Of course with all of this good news and funding comes change. There are new faces in the office. A new manager may be covering your ESL site. We will be doing more citizenship outreach and more naturalization workshops. The term "growing pains" is an apt one for what the next couple of months will bring until we get used to our larger staff and additional commitments made to our grantors.
Please continue to be patient with us during these growing pains. Please know that we value the gifts of your time and energy (and occasional monetary donations!) on behalf of Hogar. Please do not be afraid to contact us and share your feedback on how we might do things smarter and/or faster. But, above all, please help us keep the focus on our mission-- putting our students and clients above all and consistently and warmly "welcoming the stranger" among us.
Thanks,
John
Education Updates
Welcome Allison, Emily, Daniel and Bill!
 Allison Corbett, Manager, Education Services
Allison is joining Hogar Immigrant Services after teaching English as a Second Language for a year in a Chicago community center, Universidad Popular. She graduated from the College of William and Mary in 2009 with a degree in Hispanic Studies and American studies. Throughout college she taught English classes and helped design curriculum for the student-run ESL program Community Partnership for Adult Learning. She also gained experience with public health outreach in the Williamsburg and Eastern Shore Latino communities.
 Bill Kelly, Part-time Data Manager
Bill joined the Education Team at Hogar Immigrant Services in September 2010. He will be working 20 hours a week, helping out with data entry, program management for St. Joseph's ESL site, program coordinator for the computer classes, and liaison for the Contractor Connection.
Prior to this, Bill worked for a year as Program and Volunteer Coordinator for the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) at Catholic Charities' Glebe Office.
He is a retired member of the federal senior executive service (SES) who held several human resource and program management positions both within and outside the Continental USA. Bill the former Director of Personnel Plans for the U.S. Air Force and former Director of the U.S. General Services Leadership Institute. During his 30 plus years of federal service, he received numerous recognitions of accomplishment, including the prestigious Presidential Rank Award in 2008 for his efforts in desgining government wide workforce flexibility solutions.
Bill holds a Master of Arts in Psychological Measurement from the University of South Florida and is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute. He is married to his high school sweetheart. They have three children and three grandchildren and reside in Reston, VA where they are members of St. John Neumann Parish.
 Emily Prouty, Education Services Manager
Originally from northern Colorado, Emily comes to Hogar after spending a decade in Nashville, Tennessee as a student and honorary Southerner. During her time at Vanderbilt University, she completed a Bachelors of Art in Latin American Studies, a Masters of Education in Community Development & Action and studies for a year at the Pontificia Universidad Catolica de Valparaiso in Chile. Her academic work took her to Ecuador, Brazil, Argentina and Bangladesh and allowed her to explore most of Latin America, which she adores. After completing the necessary coursework for a Doctorate in Community Research & Action, Emily realized that she missed being in the world with people far too much for a career in academia to truly suit her. She is excited about the abundant public transportation and many museums available in her new DC home. She also enjoys running, farmers' markets, Pilates, public parks, and potted plants.
 Daniel Quinn, Citizenship Program Manager
Daniel joins Hogar Immigrant Services as the agency's Citizenship Program manager after serving more than two years with the Peace Corps in Cameroon, Central Africa. In addition to his primary duties as an Agroforestry Volunteer, he also taught English and computer literacy to both children and adults. Before Peace Corps, Daniel graduated with degress in Communications and Business Administration from Elon University (North Carolina) where he also worked for a year as an Assistant Track Coach at Queens University of Charlotte. While still in school, Daniel worked with young adults with developmental disabilities in a summer life assistance program through the ARC, a national non-profit. Born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland, Daniel now resides in Washington, D.C.
Volunteers Needed!
Hogar’s recruitment of volunteers to teach ESL or Citizenship classes is ongoing! If you are interested in volunteering, or know someone that is interested, please contact Lisa Ehm Waller at (703) 534-9805, ext. 238 or lwaller@ccda.net.
Hogar’s Education Services are Expanding!
In response to student requests and in order to fulfill more unmet need, Hogar’s Education Team has decided to expand its programs! After two successful grant years at Our Lady of Angels Church in Woodbridge, Hogar has decided to replicate its success by starting up a new grant-funded ESL program at Holy Family Church in Dale City. Intensive ESL classes will be offered at Holy Family Church on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Friday evenings from 7 to 9 pm. Six levels of ESL classes will be offered at Holy Family to be able to better serve all of its learners. In addition to starting up a new grant site in Dale City, Hogar has also decided to expand its main grant site in Falls Church. In order to serve more immigrants in the area and respond to increasing demand, Hogar has rented out additional classroom space, enabling us to offer an additional five classes across three different class periods. An additional Friday evening Transitions class will also be offered to High Intermediate and Advanced learners to help students transition from ESL to other continuing educational and professional opportunities. Topics in this class will include job searching, résumé building, and information on continuing education and career options available in the community.
Upcoming Trainings:
October 2, 2010- 1:00 PM-3:00 PM- Using Computers in the Classroom- Computer Literacy is a skill almost as necessary as English competency if you want to advance yourself if today's world. If you have a computer in your classroom, come learn some new and innovative ways to incorporate digital learning into your English class. You will learn how to help your students gain valuable computer skills that will encourage autonomous learning, increased job skills, and increased ability to participate in civic life all in the context. The training will take place from our Falls Church office located at 6202 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church VA.
October 16, 2010 10:00 AM-4:00 PM- Boot Camp: Did you miss our Boot Camp earlier this season? Come out to get a crash course and some extra tips for teaching ESL. This training will also be at our Falls Church location.
Legal Updates
The Legal Team has had a busy summer. We’re happy to share with everyone the great news that we’ve had lots of successes over the last couple of months. We’ve helped a number of families reunite this summer through consular processing, the process through which U.S. citizens or permanent residents petition for their relatives overseas. We also helped three clients obtain U visas, a special form of legal status for victims of crime who have cooperated in police investigations. Numerous other clients obtained their permanent residency this summer with our help, through marriage-based adjustment, domestic violence-based applications, or other means.
In addition, the Legal Team recently wrapped up another busy summer of assisting our Salvadorian, Honduran, and Nicaraguan clients in re-registering for Temporary Protected Status. Temporary Protected Status extends nationals of these countries ongoing authorization to live and work in the United States. In all, our five legal team members, with tremendous help from our excellent volunteers and summer interns completed 261 re-registration applications.
Citizenship Updates
Hogar held a citizenship application workshop on Saturday, September 18th at the Langston Brown Community Center in Arlington.
The next workshop is scheduled for Saturday October 30, 2010
from 10 am to 1 pm at:
Christ the Redeemer Catholic Church
46833 Harry Byrd Hwy.
Sterling, VA 20164
The cost is $30 (including pictures). All interested applicants should call 703 534-9805 x250 to pre-register.
Social Services Updates
The Western Regional office of Catholic Charities celebrated an important milestone on August 31st, 2010. It was the 1 year anniversary of the big move to its new location at 12 Cardinal Park Drive, Suite 105 Leesburg, VA 20175. The move from one office space to another gave the Emergency Services office more workable space and the ability to expand food services. This move would not have been possible without the generous donation of office space by the Loudoun based small business M.E. Flow.
Because of their generous donation and their constant support, the Western Regional office hosted a lunch for all the employees of M.E. Flow. The office wanted to say thank you for the countless hours that the employees of M.E. Flow have contributed to the office. Their support has included moving of furniture, picking up large donations of food, donating fresh vegetables and general maintenance of the office. Without their help, the office would not be the same.
Thank you, M.E. Flow for all that you do for our office. The Western Regional Office appreciates you!
Tip of the Month
What: Explore teacher/student roles in the classroom and reflect on previous learning experiences- an activity to promote community-building in the classroom and encourage students to take an active role in their own learning experience.
Why: Here at Hogar, we pride ourselves on our student-centered classes and curriculum. While there are some guidelines prescribed by books and grant funders, we know that students are the experts of their own learning and encourage teachers to step away from traditional, teacher-centered methods that often don’t take into account students’ actual experiences and needs.
It is likely that your adult students, even those with limited formal schooling, have strong opinions, associations, and feelings about their own educational experiences, and which color how they approach learning in their adult years. A good way to begin the year is to have a conversation about the students’ learning preferences and past experiences. Giving students a chance to reflect on their own educational experiences can allow them to voice some discomforts they may have, compare their learning preferences to those of their classmates and to take an active role in shaping classroom life. This can be done in a variety of ways and can be adapted for classes of different levels.
How:
Begin with one or more pictures of different “learning situations.” It would be best to have a few pictures that show different things, for example: students working in groups together, a student writing at the board, a teacher lecturing at the front of a classroom, a frustrated student, etc.
For beginning and low-intermediate English students:
For intermediate-advanced classes:
Volunteer Spotlight
Usually we feature one of Hogar’s excellent Volunteers in this section but now that September is upon us and we’re gearing up for the Fall semester it’s time to shine the spotlight on all of the fantastic Volunteers who ensure the continuity and success of our programs. As any Volunteer Coordinator will know (and I sure do!) the backbone of a Volunteer based program is…(drum roll)…the Volunteers themselves! So, whether it is someone who volunteers his or her time to give legal advice in immigration matters, file away documents and make copies, or teach ESL or Citizenship, that someone ensures that Hogar is able to continue to offer the services that we do. Our Volunteers come from all walks of life but share the common features of generosity and kindness. In a word: Volunteers make Hogar go round!
So, thank you veteran Volunteers and welcome new Volunteers! We consider you integral members of the Hogar family and will do our utmost to give you the credit and appreciation you deserve. Remember, we truly can’t do what we do without you!
September's Vignette
Grant of permanent residency for the widower of a U.S. Citizen
Alfred emigrated to Canada in 2000 from his native Kenya to participate in a special education opportunity for refugees. He went to college in Toronto and studied information technology and eventually was granted Canadian citizenship. In the years that followed he came to the United States as a visitor various times in order to see his brother who has been living in Northern Virginia. On these trips he met an American woman and fell in love, and in 2005 they were married. Alfred and his wife were almost the same age, 40 years old, and neither had ever been married before. They had a small wedding in Washington DC and took pictures on the National Mall and in front of the Washington Monument. Their closest family and friends joined them in their happiness.
Soon after they were married, Sandra began the process of petitioning for her husband’s greencard so that he would have permanent legal status in the United States. They did not have much money for legal fees, so they decided to file the paperwork with US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) themselves. They went to their USCIS interview and were told that their family petition would be approved, but that Alfred could not receive his greencard because the Service needed his Kenyan birth certificate. He was given a certain number of days to meet their request, or his case would be closed. Unfortunately, due to practical issues and administrative difficulties in Kenya, Alfred’s mother was unable to send him his birth certificate before the deadline, and his application for legal permanent residence was denied. The couple was discouraged after having lost their application fees and putting forth so much time and effort, and so Alfred remained out of lawful status. Sadly, in April 2009, Sandra fell ill and passed away at the age of 44. They had been married for four years.
Alfred continued living in Northern Virginia and was able to find work using his IT skills at a national cable tv/internet service provider. A few years after his wife’s death, he came to Hogar Immigrant Services to inquire about the possibility of legalizing his status. There was much hope when he was told that he could re-apply for his greencard as the widower of a US citizen. Unfortunately, in the midst of the application process and before he received approval of his work permit from USCIS, his employer found through E-verify that he had not proven his eligibility to work in the United States. He lost his job about 3 months before he was granted a work permit based on his pending greencard application.
At the USCIS interview, the Officer asked Alfred many questions about his marriage and the death of his wife a year and a half ago. She looked at photos of their wedding and requested proof that they had comingled their finances. She asked how they met and what his wife did for a living. The 45-minute interview was very emotional for Alfred and he spent much of it fighting back tears.
A few weeks after the interview, Hogar staff received correspondence from USCIS stating that Alfred’s permanent resident status had been approved. That same day, with his greencard in his hand, he made a phone call to the Hogar office, weeping with joy and barely able to speak. “I just wish that Sandra could be here with me to know it is finished,” he said. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, and God Bless you.”
*On October 28, 2009 President Obama signed into law an amendment to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) which eliminated the two year marriage requirement for immigrants applying for permanent residency as widow(er)s of US citizens. Prior to this change, the couple had to have been married for at least two years before the death of the US citizen petitioner in order for the immigrant spouse to qualify. Although this change was not necessary in Alfred’s case, many immigrants in his situation are now eligible for permanent resident status whereas they would have been ineligible under the former law.
Bits and Pieces
Catholic Heritage Festival - Saturday, October 2
Mark your calendars for the Catholic Heritage Festival, Saturday, Oct. 2 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Bull Run Regional Park in Centreville. Celebrate with fellow Catholics of all ages and nationalities from across the diocese with Mass, great food, games, music, sporting events, dancing and more. Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate the oneness of our Faith at Arlington’s second diocesan-wide Catholic Heritage Festival. For more information visit
www.catholicheritagefestival.org
Donations Needed for Local Refugees
Catholic Charities’ Office of Migration and Refugee Services works in our diocese to help “Welcome the Stranger” (documented refugees/asylees). The office is currently needs like-new donations of: cribs and baby items, blankets, trundle beds, bunk beds, twin-sized beds (mattresses, box springs and metal bed frames), kitchen tables and chairs, lamps of all sizes, rugs, brooms, vacuum cleaners, microwave ovens, teapots, coffee makers, toasters/toaster ovens, blenders and other kitchen appliances, TVs and converter boxes, pots and pans, dishes, and eating/cooking/serving utensils. The following NEW items are also needed: toothbrushes, toothpaste, body wash, baby diapers, feminine products and other toiletries, large and small trash cans and house cleaning supplies, and IKEA Gosa Slan pillows ($0.99 each). Gift cards are also welcome from Target, IKEA and Metro SmartTrip. Financial donations to help purchase these items are also welcome. Tax receipts will be provided for all donations. Contact Milena Mejia at mmejia@arlingtonrefugeeservices.com or (703) 841-3868 for more information on how you can help newly arriving refugee families.
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