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| August-September-October 2005 |
THE 17TH ANNUAL
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE GALA MEANS
“TIME TO TANGO!”
 Since
1989 IH has presented a gala benefit, which supports IH
programs and services. 2005 means that it is “Time
to Tango!” Traditionally, the gala highlights a particular
country. This year we will be highlighting Argentina and
the gala will showcase fine Argentinean wine and cuisine,
as well as the famous area of Buenos Aires, La Boca. The
gala will be held at The Westin Charlotte on November 5.
With Latin
American music setting the tone, festivities will begin
at 6:30 pm. The evening will open with a cocktail reception,
followed by dinner at 8 pm. A live and a silent auction
will unfold as the evening progresses.
The musical group Moon Dance will provide this year’s
musical entertainment from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am. Items to
be auctioned off during the silent auction will include
gift certificates from restaurants and spas, ethnic basket
collections, sport items, tableware, and other amenities.
The live auction will offer two Lufthansa business class
tickets, jewelry from Perry’s at Southpark, diamonds
from Donald Haack Diamonds, and sporting tickets to major
events.
Argentina
is famous for its passionate tango dancers so the dance
floor will be the centerpiece of the evening. The stage
will feature two traditional Argentinean La Boca houses,
a silhouette of a tango dancer, and balloons, recreating
the experience of a fiesta. A pair of professional tango
dancers will open the dinner hour with a display of original
dances.
Tickets are priced at $150 per person. To purchase, please
contact
Adele Daniels at 704-333-8099 ext.12 or adaniels@ihclt.org.
With Tango dancing, music and great food the gala will be
one to remember.
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INTERNATIONAL
HOUSE ANNOUNCES A CHANGE IN OUR LEADERSHIP TEAM. PLEASE, READ
OUR “DIRECTOR’S CORNER”
ON THE NEXT PAGE
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Be whisked
away to
romantic and exiting
Argentina on Nov.5, 2005. Enjoy the IH Gala “TIME TO
TANGO” at The Westin Charlotte Hotel
(See article for more
information)
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DID YOU NOTICE? We are changing our name
to ACCENTS to better represent our global outlook.
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English Tutoring Program (ETP)
The English Tutoring Program is a key component in the process
of empowering individuals of diverse national backgrounds as they
seek their dream of becoming a vital part of our thriving community.
Proficiency in the English language is one of the greatest hurdles
faced by new immigrants on the road to becoming self-sufficient.
Since 1993, International House has assisted over 480 individuals
of Asian, African, European and Latin American descent. Over this
past ten years more than 400 local tutors have donated their time
and talent to assist in this program. The result is not only providing
English language skills to internationals in our area, but also
the creation of personal relationships that help to break stereotypes
and promote cross-cultural understanding.
IH is very grateful to all of the individuals whohave contributed
through the years to make this program a success. Special thanks
go to Ms. Rosemary Schmid, who has provided support and guidance
for this program since its inception. In addition, we want to
thank the TJX Foundation and the Merancas Foundation. We are pleased
that a newly established partnership with Central Piedmont Community
College will provide additional educational resources to enhance
our program’s efficiency.
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 Andrew Clark was born and
raised in High Point, NC. After graduating from high school, he
moved to Charlotte to attend UNCC where he studied mechanical
engineering and international studies. While in school, he traveled
to several countries including Haiti, Ireland, and Germany, and
he studied for a semester in Glasgow, Scotland.
After returning from Scotland, Andrew took a job as a web developer. Unfortunately,
Andrew had absolutely no experience or training in the field,
but thanks to a patient boss who was a great teacher, he soon
got the hang of things. This experience gave Andrew the valuable
skills that would allow him to volunteer at International House,
where he updates the website and answers (or attempts to answer)
technology-related questions the staff may have. Andrew graduated
from UNC Charlotte in May and will soon be leaving to a still
unknown exotic locale for two years with the Peace Corps. Andrew’s
hobbies include playing and listening to music, travel, and an
unhealthy obsession with Formula One Racing.
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Ready to Engage Yourself? There is a diverse assortment of
volunteer opportunities at International House such as: Technical
Operations Support Volunteer: Knowledge of layout principles
and aesthetic design concepts, Dream Weaver and Fireworks, Skill
in web page design, Ability to produce still graphics. Handyman
(Handyperson) “Virtuoso”: Ability to perform minor
repairs. Download the Volunteer Interest Form and Application
online at www.ihclt.org.
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INTERNATIONAL
HOUSE LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION SERVICE SUCCESSFUL IN
ITS FIRST 18 MONTHS
In February 2004, International House launched its initiative
known as the Language Interpretation Service (LIS). This
program was developed to provide additional funding for
our mission of advocacy for the international communities
in Charlotte. Additionally, it allows IH to offer a service
to the greater Charlotte community.
From both standpoints, the program is off to a successful
start. The success has been largely due to the addition
in September 2004 of a major hospital in the Charlotte
area as a primary client. The relationship was made possible
by the competitive pricing of the service and by the appeal
for the hospital of working with International House and
contributing to its mission in the community. With this
alliance, International House has been averaging 100 interpreting
service calls monthly since the beginning of 2005.
Through LIS, International House has been able to help
facilitate communication between patients of limited English
proficiency and their health care providers in the Charlotte
area. Without the help of a professional interpreter,
these patients would be accompanied by a non professional
such as a family member or friend, and could experience
minor to critical communication problems.
International House has been able to provide a professional
service by carefully selecting the interpreters in its
program, providing general interpreting training, communicating
the expectations of its clients to the interpreters and
responding to ongoing questions related to the service
that have arisen in the past 18 months.
In the coming months, IH plans to continue working with
its existing client base, and to continue to get the word
out about LIS. Interpreters interested in working through
the program are encouraged to inquire at International
House, and Health Service Providers interested in working
with International House can be assured of getting a professional,
tried and tested program that helps the international
communities around Charlotte in more ways than one.
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CORNER
The following are quotes from native inlingua instructors
about their languages:
- “Chinese consists of approximately 200,000 characters.
The culture is 5,000 years old”
- “Spanish is very phonetic. The words are written
the way they are pronounced”
- “The English language is very unique in that
it is hardly ever pronounced as it is written”
- The circonflex (^) in French means that the word once
had an “s” after the vowel”
- “Arabic is a unique
language that is read from right to left”
- “The German language is very direct. Friendships
that are made by Germans last forever”
- “Italy is such an old country and at the same
time so modern and fashionable”
- “In El Salvador, no foreigner will feel unwelcome”
- “Russian is a beautiful language with a very
flexible structure”
- “The Mexican dialect is very unique in that
the people speak with diminutives to show love”
- “The Portuguese language of Brazil differs a
lot from its Continental origin, which Brazilians name
“Portuguese from Portugal”
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The
Immigration Corner
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BORDERS:
A Column on Immigration Law
"Checking the Status of Your Case"
Many clients who come for consultations
do not have legal issues at all; they simply
need information about the status of their case.
Here is what I usually tell them:
Step 1: Check Online. Go to
www.cis.gov
and click on “case status and processing”
on the right of your screen. Next, select “case
status” and enter your case number (from
the left corner of your Receipt Notice). Usually
the website will confirm what you already know
– that your case is pending – but
once in a while you will learn something new
so it is always good to start here.
Step 2: Make Sure Your Case
is Backlogged. Go back to “case status
and processing” and select “processing
dates”. Scroll down to whichever CIS office
is handling your case, and check its normal
processing time for that kind of case. Sometimes
people think their case is backlogged, but it
is actually pending within the normal processing
time. In particular, some family cases can take
well over a year so your case may simply be
in a normal processing delay.
If you have tried everything
and you know that your case is delayed, then
you are left with few options. Your CIS Receipt
Notice will tell you to call their 1-800 number
to check your case status; however, this does
not usually yield useful information. What you
should really do is try to make an appointment
to speak with an Information Officer at the
Charlotte CIS office. To do this, go to the
CIS website and click on “InfoPass”.
From there, click through and try to schedule
an appointment. Most people cannot get through
on the first try; you will probably have to
try for a week or two before getting an appointment.
But I suggest that you keep trying because my
clients have reported getting through after
some effort.
At your InfoPass appointment,
the Information Officer may be able to solve
the delay in your case. Often, cases have simply
been delayed because people have moved; even
if you have notified CIS of your new address
delays can ensue. An Information Officer can
usually clear up this kind of problem right
away.
However, there are times when
your case is delayed and the Immigration Officer
does not know why. In these cases, you will
be left with limited options. One is to hire
an AILA Attorney to conduct a “Liaison
Inquiry”, a kind of backchannel inquiry.
Another is to contact a local elected representative
and ask for an investigation into the reasons
for the delay. In rare cases, immigration files
do fall into a black hole, and your only option
of last resort is to sue CIS in federal court.
David Stewart is Immigration Services
Director at International House, a Charlotte-based
non-profit. He is a Massachusetts-certified
attorney, and a member of the American Immigration
Lawyers Association (AILA). This column is intended
to offer general information about immigration
law only. Readers who need advice about their
specific situations should consult an immigration
lawyer. |
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“An
Evening of Acoustic Guitar with Jake Greene”
On Friday, July 22, International House was transformed
into an inviting “coffeehouse” where guests
enjoyed complimentary coffee and the guitar playing
talents of Jake Greene. The audience loved Jake’s
mixture of Spanish flamenco and classical music along
with some Blues, Folk and 50’s rock. I can’t
say that there were any ambassadors in the audience
(Jake says that he once played for the Ambassador
of New Zealand), but I know that there were many,
happy attendees!
LANGUAGE CONVERSATION
HOURS
ENGLISH
Tuesdays 7 - 8 pm
Fridays 12 - 1 pm
FRENCH
Tuesdays 12 - 1 pm
Wednesdays 7 - 8 pm
GERMAN
Tuesdays 7:30 - 8:30 pm
SPANISH
Wednesdays 12 - 1 pm
Thursdays 7 - 8 pm
FARSI
Wednesdays 6 - 7 pm |
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Development Manager Adele Daniels
Adele Daniels has been with IH since January
2003 when she started as a volunteer. She became
a staff member in February of 2005 when Sheila
Bennett moved from Development Manager to Cross-Cultural
Programs Manager.
Prior to joining IH, Adele worked for the cultural
Education Collaborative as a professional development
associate.
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Adele was born and raised in Charleston,
SC, but moved here from Los Angeles, CA with her
family. In LA she worked with the Los Angeles
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Adele attended Converse College
in Spartanburg, SC. She received her degree in
French and Theater. During that time she spent
her junior year in Paris attending the Sorbonne
and the Institut Catholique. Adele received her
master’s degree from the university of Illinois
in Community Arts Management.
Adele arrived at IH with a burning
desire to learn about different cultures. She
believes that learning about other languages,
other people, and other cultures broadens one’s
outlook and experiences.
In her spare time, Adele enjoys
traveling and getting together with friends and
family. She lives in Charlotte with her husband,
Doyle George, and two sons, Nicholas and Conner.
At IH, Adele lives her ideal of
working in an environment where people respect
each other.
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I.H.
Board of Directors 2005
Officers
Daniel Jaouiche (President)
Nicole Simmons Atzor (VP)
Betty Dickey (VP)
Rhonda T. Crawford (Treasurer)
Debbie Abels
Keith Baarson
Bill Belk
Lee S. Bierer
Stephen D. Conner
Richard Kasnick
Carolyn McGroarty
Richard Norman
Ray Partain
Hib Shelton
Felix von Uklanski
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International
House Staff
David Stewart
Executive Director (Interim)
Adele Daniels
Development Manager
Sandrine Hart
Operations Manager
Sheila Bennett
Cross-Cultural Programs Manager
Ludmila Van Dreel
Citizen Diplomacy Programs Director
Lara Printz
Citizen Diplomacy Programs Manager
Trish Golembe
Citizen Diplomacy Programs Assistant
Anne Lafferty Crotty
Immigration Attorney (Interim)
Susana Hisel
Client Services Coordinator
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International House
would also like to bid farewell to Alyssa Misner.
We thank her for her dedication and wish her luck. |
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