Transitions

Denise Cumbee Long
Executive Director

As many of you have heard, after four years of service as Executive Director of International House, I am resigning effective March 17, 2015, to accept a new role as Executive Director of the United Way of Henderson County.

Bruce and I have dreamed of living in the North Carolina mountains, and I am grateful for this opportunity to lead an exceptional organization based in Hendersonville. I leave, of course, with some sadness, as I will miss all of the amazing folks here at International House who transform the lives of so many people on a daily basis. What incredible commitment, professionalism and passion! I am confident that our talented staff team and our dedicated board of directors will continue to maintain our momentum in the days ahead.

This transition is occurring at a time of strength and stability for International House. Associate Director Rusty Reynolds will serve as Acting Executive Director after my departure in March and during the months when the board will be conducting a search for our new leader. Rusty has been chief of operations and finance at International House for over seven years and also is the primary staff liaison for our fall gala. She will do a great job in keeping the ship sailing smoothly in the days ahead.

Our Board of Directors has already created a transition committee dedicated to finding the best possible candidate for the new Executive Director. Please be assured that during my remaining time a International House, I am committed to working closely with the board, staff, and transition team to ensure that all bases are covered and that the transition time goes smoothly.

I leave International House with deep admiration and profound gratitude for the opportunity to serve this remarkable organization. I wish all members of the International House family every success in the coming years. May you continue to flourish as the place "Where Charlotte Welcomes the World!"

With gratitude,

Storytime at IH Saturday Feb 14th

International House is pleased to once again offer our popular ESL Storytime program held on the second Saturday of every month. It is a program that is free and open to the public-- no registration is required.

Storytime is designed for international families and will engage pre-K to 2nd grade children ages 3-7 and their parents. Parents are encouraged to stay with their children throughout the Storytime hour in order to improve family literacy. Each month we feature a new book. We read the book aloud and then do various literacy activities and crafts with the children and their parents. For every two marks of attendance, children will be able to choose a prize from the prize box as well!

Free and open to everyone! Please join us for our next session on February 14th, 11a-12p, Room 200.

February's Book

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International Community to Honor Carmen Hilton

Carmen Hilton(L) with Denise Cumbee Long

On February 14, 2015, at LAWA's Carnival Gala at the Hilton in uptown Charlotte, Carmen Hilton will be honored for her exemplary service to the Charlotte community.

Carmen is a dear friend of International House and has been active on our Gala Committee and in our Doorways Group for International Women for many years.

LAWA will recognize Carmen for her dedication to caring for people needing food and shelter, students needing mentoring, and for her passion promoting the arts and culture. Many lives have been impacted through her two decades of service as a volunteer at LAWA, International House, Assistance League of Charlotte, Mint Museum, and many other organizations. Carmen, a native of Barcelona, Spain, is known by many "amigos" in Charlotte and beyond for her charming personality, vitality, and singular energy.

Congratulations Carmen!

Join our International Bookclub

Our International Book Club is one of our most popular cultural activities and the 2015 selections are now available on our website. This year's selections include works from Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

The club explores works by international authors with international settings and themes. Our next book is An Officer and a Spy by Robert Harris.

This group is a great way to meet others with literary and international interests. Our book club meets on the third Monday of most months and is open to everyone. Details here.

IH Conversation Hours Featured in The Charlotte Observer

The Charlotte Observer ran a wonderful story about our extremely popular Conversation Hours recently. If you missed it, you can read it here!

International House celebrates language and culture through weekly conversation hours.

FREE and for all levels!

*No registration required

* Drop-ins welcome

Conversation hours are held at 1817 Central Avenue,

Room 202. Check out the calendar and join us today!

Our Vision and Mission

Welcome World International House's vision is a Charlotte that welcomes and embraces the world.

Our mission is to promote international understanding and help immigrants integrate fully into our community.

Charlotte Blogger Loves
Hosting International Visitors

Theresa Grace and her daughter welcome two recent international visitors to Charlotte.

Charlotte blogger Theresa Grace is a busy lady. With three children and a popular blog about integrating education into daily family life, she never has a dull moment. But that doesn't keep her and her family from being one of International House's most active Home Hosts and an outspoken advocate of hosting!

As she explains in her blog:

We've always had fantastic experiences hosting foreign visitors for International House.They play an important role in our country's diplomacy efforts by partnering with the State Department to connect Charlotte with countries all over the world. Our visitors spend their mornings amidst our chaos, their days in meetings with leaders in our community, and their evenings at our dinner table.

Theresa and her family have hosted so many of our international visitors that she can tell you exactly why she thinks everyone should consider being a host. In fact, she can give you FIVE excellent reasons: Companionship, Foreign Language Exposure, An Extra Hand, Cultural Exchange, and Service.

Read about all five of these wonderful benefits of hosting at Theresa's blog, A Scenic Route, complete with pictures of her guests and her family. We're pretty sure that it will inspire you, too!

And YOU can get involved, too!

Our next home host opportunity begins in March. We will welcome 17 High School Youth Ambassadors from Chile and Argentina to Charlotte through World Learning Youth Programs for three weeks starting March 21st and running through April 11th.

Their program will focus on youth empowerment, leadership and environmentalism. Although anyone can host, we especially encourage families with teenagers to home host during this time. Hosting teens are welcome to join their guests and participate in all meetings and workshops.

For more information on how you can get involved, please contact Johnelle Causwell at jcauswell@ihclt.org or call (704) 342-2248 ext. 121.

Make Plans to Attend
"Children's World of Play"
March 28th

A Children's World of Play is one of our most popular intercultural events of the year. This year's event will be held on Saturday, March 28th.

Everyone is invited celebrate Charlotte's diversity at ImaginOn in uptown Charlotte from noon-4pm. Families will enjoy performances, arts and crafts, and games from all over the world.

Best of all, it's free!

Sponsorship opportunities are available. If your business is interested in a great marketing opportunity at a family-friendly event, please contact Anne Harber, Director of Development, for more details: aharber@ihclt.org, 704-333-8099, ext 112.

Are you ready to have a world of fun? Then save the date, and we will see you there! More more information, click here.

Be Part of our Rising Readers Team!

This coming summer, International House will undertake its largest ever summer literacy initiative through our Rising Readers program (formerly YETP). As part of that effort we are currently hiring Literacy Tutors and Electives Facilitators for the summer.

CMS Superintendent Ann Clark joins IH Board Members Jennifer Roberts and Jennifer Pearsall in a visit last summer to one of International House's Rising Readers 2014 school sites.

Literacy Tutors are required to commit to a full six weeks of tutoring for 24 hours each week and will receive a stipend of $1,500 for the summer. For this position, only full time slots are available. Literacy Tutors create their own lesson plans for the summer.

Electives Facilitators may work part-time or full-time, and International House prepares and provides your lesson plans for you. Full-time Electives Facilitators will receive a stipend of $1,000 for the summer, and part time Electives Facilitators will receive a stipend of $500 for the summer.

Applicants must be at least 18 years of age. Literacy Tutors must be enrolled in an undergraduate or graduate program or have completed college within the past three years. Electives Facilitators must have a high school diploma or GED equivalent.

Interested in learning more or in applying to become a tutor for 2015? Please contact Megan Mavity, International House's Director of Education, at mmavity@ihclt.org or 704-333-8099 ext. 110. Email Monique at mhowell@ihclt.org to get an application.

For complete details, click here.

Incredible Odyssey Ends in Citizenship for IH Client

Mathew Mayom stands the outside U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Building after his naturalization ceremony.

When Mathew Mayom went to take his naturalization exam to qualify for U.S. citizenship, he wasn't nervous at all. After being forced to flee war-torn South Sudan, living in exile in Cairo, and then spending five years trying to reunite with his wife here in Charlotte, he was not going to let one test upset him.

"I was ready," Mathew explained with a smile. "This exam did not make me nervous because I have been in much worse situations!"

Mathew and his wife, Teresa, grew up in South Sudan knowing only war. The Second Sudanese Civil War ebbed and flowed across their homeland from 1983 until 2005. During that time, the turmoil and unrest became too much for their respective families, and they both ended up as refugees in Egypt. Although they were from the same part of Sudan, they did not meet until after they arrived in Cairo. While in Egypt, they got married and soon had their first child.

But theirs was not to be a simple "and they lived happily ever after" story... - Read More Here

ESL Classes Largest Ever!

January marked the beginning of our newest cycle of ESL and Citizenship classes - and the first time of having three separate levels of ESL: Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced.

Previously, because of capacity, we offered just two levels of ESL instruction. However, thanks to the hard work, creativity and dedication of Amanda Tesh, our AmeriCorps ACCESS ESL Education Coordinator, we have implemented an ESL Advanced curriculum.

International House saw an incredible level of interest in these classes, both from students who have just graduated Level 2 (Intermediate), and from students who are new to International House. Amanda and our education team have also been instrumental in creating a new rubric for our ESL teachers to follow that we hope will better assess our students' mastery not just of English, but of their ability to implement it as a tool to effectively navigate life in the Queen City.

Caroline Cate Joins International House as Marketing and Communications Director

Extend 'aloha' to Caroline Cate, our new part-time Director of Marketing and Communications. As a teenager she co-founded the Wendell Youth Council in eastern Wake County and the Students Against Drunk Driving Club at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh. These early experiences put her on a path to work in public relations. She has worked at Habitat for Humanity of Wake County, the Literacy Council of Union County, and South Piedmont Community College. Caroline earned a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communication from UNC-Chapel Hill and an M.S. in Technical Communication from N.C. State. She and her husband, Joel, live in Indian Trail.

Welcome New Board Members!

International House is pleased to welcome our newest Board Members!

Jennifer Pearsall is the executive director of English Language Learner Services for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools. In her current role, she and the ELL services team provide support to ESL programs in all CMS schools and the International Center which provides enrollment and screening for all students who speak a language other than English.

Evie Landrau is a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and was educated in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and New York City where Harlem was her home. Evie is the Associate Pastor at Caldwell Presbyterian Church in Charlotte, NC where she is dedicated to worship, congregational care, social justice and Latino/a ministries.

Arlene Cash is currently a Manager in the Department of Diversity & Inclusion at Carolinas HealthCare System. She served as an Organizational Development Consultant for eight years, prior to transitioning into her current role in November 2012. Her present role includes providing leadership in planning and development of Diversity & Inclusion centered education and opportunities for Carolinas HealthCare System's workforce.

Jonathan Utrup has been with Bank of America for over 11 years in multiple positions crossing Finance and Risk. He is currently Vice President of Operational Risk in the CFO organization. He is a Charter Member and current Chair of the International House Young Professional group.

Evie Landrau

Jennifer Pearsall

Arlene Cash

Jonathan Utrup