Funders, English for Speaker of Other Languages (ESOL) programs from across the city, and English language learners gathered on Thursday morning at Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center (BCNC) to celebrate the launch of the third phase of the English for New Bostonians (ENB) Initiative.

Launched in 2001 by the Mayor's Office of New Bostonians and Office of Jobs and Community Services, several local foundations and corporations, and community representatives, ENB's mission is to increase long-term capacity to meet the demand for English classes felt by local immigrants and their families, communities, businesses, schools, unions and other institutions across the city. Despite recent economic struggles, foundations and other donors have stepped up to the plate to continue meeting an important need of Boston's immigrant community.

Elaine Ng, agency director at BCNC, an ENB grantee since 2001, welcomed attendees before giving way to Dan Singleton, a Co-Chair of ENB's oversight committee and the Deputy Director of Adult Services at the Mayor's Office of Jobs and Community Services, who served as Master of Ceremonies for the event.

Robert Lewis Jr., Vice President for Program for The Boston Foundation, touched on the importance of ENB to the Boston community, highlighting the importance of English to the earning potential of immigrant workers, and urged other Foundations to continue their support of the city's English language learners.

Prior to awarding the grants, Liz O'Connor of Strategy Matters, Inc., presented her evaluation of ENB's second phase, which highlighted the Initiative's contributions to Boston's ESOL system, programs, and learners. According to the evaluation, ENB funding increased the flexibility of ESOL scheduling, added approximately 1,200 seats annually to Boston ESOL system, and reached underserved linguistic and geographic communities. Claudia Green, director of ENB, then discussed how the Initiative had used the results of the evaluation to inform and improve its work moving forward.

Presenters representing all three sectors of the ENB partnership awarded $745,000 worth of grants in three grant categories. City Council Vice President John Tobin and Jesús Gerena, co-chair of ENB's oversight committee and director of community development and organizing at Hyde Square Task Force, congratulated the Established and Multi-Media grantees, with funds going primarily toward increasing the number of seats available in ESOL classes across the city. Angela Brown, senior program officer at the Hyams Foundation, congratulated grantees in ENB's Emerging grant category, which supports up-and-coming programs through investments in technical assistance and capacity building.

Vyoulit Mykhayel, an immigrant from Lebanon who attended ENB-funded Action for Boston Community Development SouthSide ESOL Program in Roslindale, shared her story of overcoming adversity in her native country, learning English, and achieving her dream of returning to the job she had practiced before immigrating to the US from Lebanon-a seamstress. "It's a wonderful program," says Mykhayel, "my life has been changed from the earth to the sky."

Now in its eighth year, ENB has significantly expanded Boston's capacity to serve English language learners; successfully tested new strategies to reach learners at home and at work; encouraged new investment by diverse stakeholders; and heightened awareness about immigrant and language issues across all sectors.

ENB has had a profound impact on the lives of immigrants in Boston, including Jesuina Da Veiga, a student at Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses Log School. "I like the program at the Log School because it helps people to learn English," she says. "For me it is very important. Before, I didn't speak English. Now I can speak English and now I can work in the hospital."

Established program grantees included Action for Boston Community Development Southside ABCD ESOL Program, the Asian American Civic Association, Boston Educational Skills and Training Corp., Boston Chinatown Neighborhood Center, East Boston Ecumenical Community Council, Ed! ucati on and Training YMCA International Learning Center, Catholic Charities - El Centro del Cardenal, Federated Dorchester Neighborhood Houses, Inc., Catholic Charities - Haitian Multi-Service Center, International Institute of Boston, Irish Immigration Center, Jackson Mann Community School and Council, Inc., Jamaica Plain Community Center Adult Learning Program, Mujeres Unidas en Acción, Thomas Gardner Extended Services School, and the Worker Education Program.

Emerging program grantees included the Association of Haitian Women, Educational Development Group, Inc., Eritrean Community Center, Boston Higher Education Resource Center, Neighborhood Of Affordable Housing, Saint Mark's Community Education Program, and the Somali Development Center.

Recipients of Multi-Media program grants were Jackson Mann Community School and Council, Inc. and Jamaica Plain Community Center Adult Learning Program.

For full list of programs by neighborhood: http://tinyurl.com/media-list-of-programs

For more information: www.miracoalition.org/esol

Press release distributed by the MIRA Coalition