Grant dollars are coming to the aid of Delaware’s Hispanic population

November 15, 2017

The Arsht-Cannon fund is awarding more than $677 thousand to 27 non-profits in Delaware. The funds are meant to improve the lives of Hispanics living in the First State. Listen to this story.

  The Polytech Adult Education’s Family Literacy Program is receiving $50 thousand over the next two years. Program Director Dr. Betsy Jones says all the grant money with go to fund instructional costs for English as a second language programs. “There’s kind of multiple strands to an ESL program like ours. So, one is speaking, another is listening, reading, writing and now we’re bringing mathematics into the conversation as well. So, the majority of our students are concentrated at the very beginning level of ESL,” said Jones. Ismel Ramirez is a Guatemalan immigrant living in Milford. He is one of 313 adult students enrolled in the course. “Now it’s a little bit more easy communicating with my boss, because they speak only English, and I understand now and they talk with me and they say ‘oh, your English very good.’ So, I’m ok, yeah,” said Ramirez. Over the past 13 years, the Arsht-Cannon fund has gifted just under $9 million to Delaware nonprofits to benefit the state’s Hispanic population. Of this year’s grant, $350 thousand is headed to organizations serving Hispanic communities in Sussex County. Link: Delaware Republic