Empowering Refugees in Lancaster, PA: Grape Leaf Empowerment Center and Grace Lutheran ESL

Once dubbed the “refugee capital of America,” Lancaster, PA is a rich blend of ethnic, cultural, and religious backgrounds. Between 2013-2017, Lancaster County welcomed more than 1,300 refugees from around the world-more than 20 times more per capita than the U.S. as a whole.
Though many refugee families have made a home in Lancaster, opportunities to learn English are limited and fraught with barriers. For example, many of the refugees are women with small children at home who lack transportation and child care services to be able to attend English as a Second Language (ESL) classes.
In partnership with the Grape Leaf Empowerment Center, and with funding from a Penn Medicine CAREs grant, twice weekly, volunteers pick up refugees who are otherwise unable to travel, and their children, and bring them to Grace Lutheran Church where they are taught the skills they need to apply for jobs, speak with health care providers, and fully integrate into their communities.
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