Level up by sharing your time and bilingual skills with the Nashville community! We’ve got some recommendations for places to plug-in at all English/Spanish levels!
NICE (Nashville International Center for Empowerment)
About NICE: Nashville International Center for Empowerment’s mission is to ensure refugees and immigrants achieve their full potential now and for generations to come. Our goal is to empower refugees and immigrants with resources and opportunities that will aid them in their resettlement and equip them to be successful in the future.
Fun fact: NICE was founded in 2005 by a a group of Sudanese refugee men and women, including President/CEO Dr. Gatluak Ter Thach, who desired to help other refugees and immigrants living in Middle Tennessee.
Bilingual volunteer needs: Check it out here and sign-up here. They’re looking for anything from translating paperwork to teaching English classes. There’s something for everyone, and it’s such a friendly, welcoming community to join!
Whitsitt Elementary School PTO & Garden
About Whitsitt: Whitsitt Elementary is located in the Woodbine neighborhood not far from where we host our community classes at Cosecha Community Development. They serve families of all different languages, and Spanish is a big one!
Bilingual volunteer needs: The Whitsitt Parent-Teacher Organization (PTO) needs interpretation for some of their meetings. For the ’23-’24 school year, they need a Spanish-English interpreter on the following dates: November 14, January 23, March 26, and April 30. Email Deirdre Arnett at dmariearnett@gmail.com to sign up for a date!
Also, our partners at Cosecha help maintain an amazing school garden at Whitsitt Elementary. They’re either at Whitsitt or Wright Middle (see below) every Wednesday at 10 AM. Join master gardener Celia and practice your Spanish or English! Feel free to sign-up or show up.
Wright Middle School Reading Buddies & Parent-Teacher Conference Support
About Wright Middle: Wright Middle School is located in Glencliff off of Antioch Pike, and over 500 of it’s 700 families are Spanish-speaking! Jenn Dewall is the long time Community Achieves site coordinator there, and she is a dream to work with. If you’re looking to support Spanish-speaking students, Wright is the place!
Bilingual volunteer needs: Jenn and the team at Wright are looking for bilingual volunteers to serve as tutors during the school day. They also need volunteers to help interpret for their parent-teacher conferences, the first of which for the ’23-’24 school year is on Friday, October 27th. For more information or to sign up, email Jennifer.dewall@mnps.org or call 629-910-6490 (this phone number does not receive text messages).