History
The Giving + Learning Program was created by Bonnie Peters in 2001 and was originally funded by Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI). In the beginning, the program matched retired nurses from the Riverview Place assisted living facility with new Americans who needed help studying for their Certified Nurse’s Assistant exam. Today, Giving + Learning is still administered at Riverview Place, and since its conception the program has provided ESL assistance for over 800 new Americans with the contributions of over 500 volunteer mentors from Fargo, ND and Moorhead, MN.
Volunteer mentors typically give one hour per week to help a new American adult improve his/her English language skills. Mentors come from all walks of life but share a common interest in building cultural understanding within our community. Using local, regional, and national grants, the program has been able to utilize the gifts of volunteer mentors to provide educational support to new Americans in the Fargo-Moorhead and Pelican Rapids areas.
The original goal of Giving + Learning was to mobilize the gifts of older Americans to provide English as a Second Language and other educational opportunities to new Americans in the Fargo-Moorhead community. As the program has grown, however, Giving + Learning has been fortunate to receive volunteers of all ages, including student groups from Concordia College (Moorhead), Minnesota State University-Moorhead, and North Dakota State University (Fargo). Volunteer mentors typically tutor for 1 hour per week, and they are highly appreciated and always needed (see our Volunteer page to find out more about becoming a mentor).
Currently, Giving + Learning is staffed by Rachel Mertz (Volunteer Coordinator) and Kris Schipper (Business Officer, grant writing), along with assistance from Kim Wagner (Chief Development Officer), and Jeff Pederson (CEO/President of Villa Nazareth).
