“The commitment from the Mother Cabrini Foundation to this program over the years has enabled us to serve hundreds of people,” said James Stabler-Havener, director of Fordham’s Institute of American Language and Culture, which houses the Community ESL program. He added that they’ve been able to double the program’s capacity since the Mother Cabrini Health foundation started funding it in 2019.   

The heart of the program is its English language classes, held at the Rose Hill campus and St. Francis of Assisi Church in Midtown Manhattan. The classes at the Rose Hill campus can draw more than 150 community members per week. The program is a six-hour weekly commitment, and it produces results, Stabler-Havener said.

“We assess our students from semester to semester and we have outstanding outcomes,” he said. “We’re really proud of the progress they make.” 

Empowering Latina Leaders

One group of participants that Stabler-Havener is especially proud of are those in the Values and Faith-Based Leadership Program, a unique bilingual leadership course made up primarily of Latinas from the Bronx. 

The women are selected for the program because they’re already demonstrating leadership in the community, with many of them volunteering with local churches and service organizations. Participants come from all educational backgrounds, from advanced degree holders to those who haven’t completed high school. During the 10-month program, they receive free laptops and learn to give presentations, use digital organization tools, and plan and implement their own projects in the community. 

“Instead of someone like me coming into the neighborhood and saying, ‘What do migrants need,’ [the participants]do a needs assessment, coordinate the purchasing, do all the project planning and logistics. From conceptualization, organization, to implementation, and then a reflection process at the end, it’s really a full project planning and program evaluation skillset,” Stabler-Havener said. 

The goal is to empower the women to develop their leadership skills and put them to use in practical ways. 

“It has been an experience I never thought I would have; first for being a Latina woman, and then for being a mother with three children. I thought that at my age there was no opportunity to continue studying,” said Julia Ocampo, a recent participant. 

Ocampo worked on a project that delivered free hygiene kits to migrants. She says she’s proud of what the group was able to accomplish. “For us it is a great achievement to be able to help alleviate some of the bad experiences migrants go through on the way to get to this country,” she said. 

According to Valerie Torres, who teaches the program, many participants are, like Ocampo, deeply grateful for the opportunity. “The first time I take my students into campus they are in awe. Tears are often shed,” said Torres. “They are already leaders and some at first do not realize it. They have such a desire to learn and improve their communities.”

About the Mother Cabrini Health Foundation 

The Mother Cabrini Health Foundation has provided funding for Fordham’s Community ESL program since 2019. Named for Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini, the patron saint of immigrants, the foundation offers grants to community organizations in New York City that support the health and wellbeing of immigrant communities and other vulnerable populations.