Presentation Lantern

The center offers hospitality, educational opportunities and advocacy to adult immigrants, especially women, who are striving to better their lives. In 2022, 100 volunteers gave a total of 3,000 hours of volunteer service to support the programs. 243 individual immigrants were helped in 2022.the center provided united states history and government tutoring in preparation for the citizenship test. The center also provided literacy tutoring in reading, speaking and listening in english. Programs were offered both in person and online. Online tutoring for students in the area include delivery of textbooks, food, household goods, care packages, etc. For students with financial need and no family in the area. 79 immigrant students were paired over the course of the year to study english and citizenship, including 55 pairs currently meeting weekly and 17 pairs online.the center offers a daca scholarship program, allowing up to 6, $500 scholarships to daca recipients or dacaeligible, per year (geared toward precollege, college, postcollege teens and adults who may benefit from financial assistance in paying the hefty biannual paperwork renewal fees of over $500, or have a need for support with books, tuition, or other vital needs pertinent to obtaining formal job training or education). 6 daca recipients have been helped since the daca assistance program began in 2019.112 immigrants in 29 households were helped with emergency financial assistance in 2022. These dubuque-area neighbors included refugees from afghanistan, ukraine, and myanmar; asylum seekers and immigrant adolescents who came to the u.s. from guatemala; and victims of trafficking, abuse and other violent crimes who came to the u.s. from honduras and mexico.in 2022, based on a united way grant, the center added a significant financial literacy element to their programming, bringing in experts from the banking and finance community to speak with english and citizenship students and other immigrants about financial literacy ranging from how to open a bank account to how to buy a house. The center plans to continue this programming as long as united way funding continues.