Cairn University’s Community English Learning Program Receives Grant from Penn Community Bank Foundation

This past May, Cairn University's Community English Learning Program (CELP) received a generous $5,000 grant from the Penn Community Bank Foundation.

Penn Community Bank Foundation is an initiative that seeks and funds local efforts to better the surrounding community. Their core value categories include community enrichment, local business growth, economic self-sufficiency and opportunity, and disaster recovery and emergency services. Penn Community Bank identified CELP as an undertaking that fosters the kinds of values they aim to support.

Organized by School of Education professor Marika Ravin, CELP faithfully educates adults seeking to learn or improve their English. Students and volunteers gather every Wednesday evening during the academic year for a few hours to learn in a community-oriented environment. The CELP initiative is maintained by a majority of Cairn students, faculty, and staff who joyfully give their time to teach English.

With the grant, CELP can expand the teaching team and obtain new curriculum for prospective students. This impact goes beyond tangible resources. CELP, which has been running for nearly seven years, estimates that this generous gift can impact over 800 individuals. CELP projects it can help re-engage previous students in order to better prepare them for education and a career, and fund other program activities. The benefited individuals make up immigrants, refugees, and international students from the Dominican Republic, Haiti, China, Turkey, and many more.

The Community English Learning Program is incredibly grateful for this grant and is excited to support the local community. To learn more about the initiative or volunteering opportunities, visit cairn.edu/CELP. To learn more about the Penn Community Bank Foundation, click here.