At a volunteer event for JEVS, staff from Vanguard participated in activities to support participants of JEVS Human Services. Once a participant of the JEVS Center for New Americans, Galina reflected on her time in the program in 1999.
Galina found JEVS CNA when she fled her home country of Uzbekistan to come to the United States at 19 years old. “My teacher Esta held up a small packet of round ‘coins’ to the class saying: ‘These are Septa tokens and today we will learn how to buy them and how to use them on the bus.’” Galina shared.
Along with her parents, Galina attended classes where they learned how to buy coffee at Wawa, where to pay utility bills, how to put gas in the car, and how to create a resume and apply for jobs.
Most importantly, her instructor taught her how to speak English well enough to find her first job.
Galina now works full-time at Vanguard and comes back to JEVS to volunteer her time and skills to our clients and participants.
Posted in Blog JEVS Program: Center for New Americans