The Volunteer Center of Madison County’s Language Bank is Helping to Knock Down Communication Barriers in Madison County
The Volunteer Center has more than 120 volunteers, fluent in cultural diversity and a variety of languages spoken by limited or non-English speaking persons who live and work in Madison County. Requests are coming in regularly from non-profit social service agencies, schools, law enforcement and healthcare.
HUNTSVILLE, AL (PRWEB) March 9, 2007
Imagine being a non-English speaking resident of this community and needing to speak with your child’s school teacher. What if you became ill, or needed the help of a police officer? Imagine how difficult it would be to understand important information vital to your health or your child’s well-being.
The Volunteer Center of Madison County’s Language Bank Program helps to bridge that gap. The Volunteer Center has more than 120 volunteers, fluent in cultural diversity and a variety of languages spoken by limited or non-English speaking persons who live and work in Madison County. Requests are coming in regularly from non-profit social service agencies, schools, law enforcement and healthcare.
All the volunteers who give so graciously of themselves recently met for the first time this quarter and the feedback that was received was inspiring. One of the volunteers was quoted as saying, “It feels good to tear down walls. Language is simply a means of communication, but when there is a barrier in place that keeps that from happening, that wall needs to come down.” How stimulating and interesting it is to be in a room surrounded by people from all over the globe, with different customs, languages, beliefs, and to know that every one of them is there simply to make life a little easier for someone they have never even met.
If you are fluent in English and at least one other language and are interested in volunteerism, please contact:
Pam Cox
Volunteer Programs Manager
The Volunteer Center of Madison County
Phone: 539-7797
Www. volunteerhsv. org
The Volunteer Center of Madison County is the premier connection between volunteers and community needs. We partner with the community to mobilize volunteers and provide solutions to local challenges. We build the capacity of partner agencies – United Way and Combined Federal Campaign – to involve and manage volunteers and to address local needs through volunteering. Created in 1969 as a clearing-house to link new volunteers with non-profit organizations, the Volunteer Center believes that only people can solve community problems.
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