ROANOKE, Va, – Thousands of dollars to help with literacy here in the Roanoke Valley just arrived at a local non-profit that helps adults with reading, writing, and even obtaining their citizenship.
The grant was awarded through Freedom First Credit Union’s (FFCU) Community Grants Program which supports the work being done by community organizations to break down barriers, enable people to fully participate as local citizens, and help families achieve economic success and a better quality of life.
A minimum of 60 foreign-born adults at different stages of their naturalization process will receive aid with this money.
BRL offers in-person beginner-level English and Civics classes for lawful permanent residents at the earlier stages of their immigration journey as well as online and in-person high intermediate and advanced level citizenship preparation classes and citizenship study groups for foreign-born adults who have started their naturalization process.
The goal is a 100% pass rate for the learners who take their citizenship test.
“Roanoke is a refugee resettlement city so by default we have a large portion of refugees who are here and would be eligible to apply for their citizenship,” stated BRL’s Executive Director Dr. Ahoo Salem. “Also, the diversity is quite high. It’s around 7% of the population, if I’m not mistaken, are foreign born. That means there is a large population who would be eligible to apply for their citizenship.”
Founded in 1985, Blue Ridge Literacy offers English literacy services to adults living in the counties of Roanoke, Botetourt, Franklin, Alleghany, and Craig, and the cities of Roanoke and Salem. Last year, over 300 adult learners were served through ESOL classes, one-on-one tutoring matches, and citizenship preparation classes.