ACLAMO stands for Accion Comunal Latinoamericana de Montgomery County, or the Latin American Community Action of Montgomery County. ACLAMO is also derived from the Spanish verb “aclamar,” which means “to proclaim, to shout forth.” We want our community to know that they, too, can achieve the American Dream of success. ACLAMO Family Centers provides educational programs, social services and health access to Latino and other low income residents by empowering them to succeed and become productive members of society.
The fund’s primary mission is to alleviate the vicious cycle of chronic poverty in the nation of Sierra Leone through the generation of educational and economic opportunities for the native Sierra Leoneans. Our efforts are conducted with the intent to impact these communities in a significantly progressive and sustainable way. We believe that the areas we have identified, education and economics, will be the most essential areas to village and national development. Although there are many aspects where these two areas overlap, we focus on each separately and approach the problems with unique initiatives.
The Sierra Leone Children’s Fund’s strategies Sierra Leone are:
Short-term
Primary School Renovation
School Clinic Initiative
Teachers Training Program
School Team Sports
Long-term
Women’s Micro-finance Program
Village Businesses: Bakery, Community Center, Mechanic/tire Shop, and Restaurant
Lutheran Children and Family Service of Eastern Pennsylvania commits itself to serve vulnerable children and families in community through culturally competent ministries of care, nurturing, shelter, advocacy, and counseling, including but not limited to foster care, adoption, family preservation, education, resettlement, housing and job development. Students can get involved with our refugee resettlement program, BOOST after school program, and our West Philadelphia Senior Community Center.
The Lutheran Children and Family Service Refugee Resettlement Program is a local affiliate of the National Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service, which assists refugees and asylees through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Department of State. When a refugee family arrives to the area, Lutheran Children and Family Service is responsible for gathering available resources, finding housing and employment, and providing general cultural orientation. Our refugee resettlement services are designed to create a smooth transition to life in the local community and to promote economic self-sufficiency. Volunteers are needed to mentor refugee families, escort refugees to appointments, provide homework help for refugee youth, set up refugee homes, assist with ESL classes, tutor unaccompanied refugee minors, collect donations, and provide childcare at workshops.
BOOST (Best Out of School Time) is a program through Lutheran Children and Family Service that provides before and after school programs to over 900 youth at 11 schools in Southwest, West, North, and Northeast Philadelphia. Volunteers are needed to assist with homework and lead clubs and workshops for our students.
The West Philadelphia Senior Community Center (WPSCC) is a program through Lutheran Children and Family Service that offers dynamic and rewarding activities and events for older adults, ages 50 and above, who are residents of Philadelphia. WPSCC offers a computer lab with new computers and iPads for instruction and use, a fitness room with physical trainer and various exercise programs, as well as an array of daily classes and activities that enrich the mind, body and spirit. Volunteers are needed to teach classes in topics such as Spanish, quilting, woodworking, and scrapbooking.
If interested, please complete a volunteer applicationhere!
African Family Health Organization is a non-profit organization that works with members of the African and Caribbean immigrant and refugee communities in the greater Philadelphia in order to improve their access to healthcare and social services. AFAHO provides direct services to nearly 1,000 members and reaching another 2,500 through community outreach. One of the issues AFAHO focuses on is the development and implementation of programs aimed at mitigating structural and cultural barriers to HIV/AIDS care for African immigrant women in Philadelphia.
Volunteers may choose to either work directly with members of AFHO’s target community or in their office supporting the staff by providing clerical, professional or other services.
Some of the health programs and services they offer are:
Health education workshops
Medical escort services
Translation & Interpretation
Development of bi-lingual health education materials
Access to screening services including HIV Counseling & Testing; Pap Smears; GYN exams; mammograms etc
HIV/AIDS prevention, education, counseling, testing and linkage to medical care
Breast Cancer awareness, education and support
Access to Medical Care for the under-insured
a maternal and child health services for pregnant women and new mothers.
The human services provided include:
English as a Second Language (ESL) classes
Adult literacy programs
Life skills training
Computer Literacy
Cultural adjustment workshops to assist in adapting to the culture of the U.S.
Puentes de Salud is a non-profit community health and wellness organization that partners with the Mexican immigrant population in south Philadelphia to promote well being by providing health care in addition to a variety of other programs. Currently, Puentes de Salud is working in partnership with the Graduate School of Education (GSE) at The University of Pennsylvania to develop an after school tutoring & mentoring program that focuses on the education of undocumented, immigrant children in the elementary grades 1-3. We are seeking motivated and committed volunteers to join us in this effort as tutors and mentors. Group tutoring sessions will pair tutors with two to three students to help them with their homework, educational development, and social support. This opportunity will require a commitment of 2 hours per week, with a minimum of one semester of service requested. Tutoring sessions will be held at the United Communities building at 8th and Snyder in South Philly. We are hoping to have teams of 2 tutors paired with 4 students, with a mandatory meeting one afternoon per week and drop-in hours on the other days.