Daughters of Wisdom Awards $15,000 Grant to The Opening Word Program for Immigrant Women
The Daughters of Wisdom has awarded a $15,000 Wisdom Fund Grant to The Opening Word, a literacy and job readiness program for adult immigrant women, the vast majority of whom live below the poverty line. The mission of The Opening Word is to unlock the language ability of these women, providing them with a key to future personal empowerment, increased civic and social responsibility, and enhanced skills for membership in the work force. Since the pandemic, this organization has broadened its mission to include assisting this already vulnerable population with decreasing hunger, addressing physical and mental health challenges, connecting students to technology for virtual learning and connections to local services, and including vaccine information and testing kits. During 2021-22 school year, The Opening Word held classes both in person and virtually during periods of increased infection in the community. Upon re-opening in the Fall for the 2022-2023 school year, classes are in-person, with COVID safety protocols in place.
“During the pandemic, we needed to get tablets and Wi-Fi extenders and routers to students who didn’t have internet access,” said Executive Director Gillian Kissinger, describing the urgent need to make technology accessible to students during the shift to remote learning. “Once we did that, we did have great success. We had great attendance,” she added. During this unprecedented time, the students, including mothers at home with infants, were still able to continue their studies, learning English to build better lives for their children and families.
State funding cuts to adult education programs during the pandemic definitely impacted the agency, so grants from foundations, including the Daughters of Wisdom grant, have been very significant in closing funding gaps. The Opening Word is very grateful to the Daughters of Wisdom and to all of their benefactors. The Daughters of Wisdom Fund grant will contribute to the continued re-opening of onsite learning at Opening Word in Amityville, Huntington Station and Wyandanch, providing students with English language literacy, job readiness skills, parenting and life skills, and case manager support. The grant will contribute to the salaries of three teachers, one at each Opening Word site, as well as a mental health program. Due to pandemic-related fiscal challenges, Opening Word eliminated the Career Developer position. Teaching staff will continue to be responsible for incorporating workforce readiness into the everyday ESL curriculum.
The Opening Word serves 300 immigrant women each year, the vast majority of whom earn a low income, or no income at all. They range in age from being 17 to being in their eighties and come from all over the world: Central America, Turkey, China, Poland, Haiti, Iran, The Philippines, South America, the Dominican Republic, and many other countries.
As participants increase their English language literacy, it is hoped that the women will increase their job readiness skills and overall physical and emotional health. This project aligns with the Daughters of Wisdom mission, because it addresses injustice, violence, poverty, and oppression, especially among women and children.
This is a second-year grant to the Opening Word. This grant was endorsed by the Daughters of Wisdom who reside in Huntington Station – Sr. Marilyn Soeder, Sr. Bernadette Sassone, Sr. Maria Jesus Pinedo Aguilar, and Sr. Marie Josee Seide.
Opening Word students studying English at the Amityville site.
Opening Word helps many women, including mothers of infants and young children, to learn English.
Women learning English during a class at Opening Word in Amityville.
Opening Word students with Executive Director Gillian Kissinger (third from left) and Sister Jane Creighton, OP (center)