Elizabeth Silvaggio-Adams and Rocío Vallejo-Alegre have been working together for 11 years, sharing their friendship and their passion for the Spanish language. They started at SUNY Geneseo teaching Spanish. Together they developed a series of 3 books, Yo puedo; Spanish for beginning and intermediate level students. Yo puedo, or “I can” in English, seeks to share the magic that the Spanish-speaking world offers while giving students the tools to communicate with others with confidence. In 2018 they started a program called “Learning English and Spanish TOGETHER” with the idea of breaking the language barrier by teaching English to migrant farm workers in Livingston County, helping them build a sense of belonging to the community. At the same time, the program created the opportunity for SUNY Geneseo students to practice their Spanish, develop teaching skills, and learn about other cultures as future global citizens. In summer 2020, with the goal of offering a sustainable program, a safe space for the continuity of English lessons and connecting families with community services, they decided to create a non-profit organization for this win-win program. In January 2021, Cultures Learning TOGETHER, Inc., the new non-profit organization, received the 501(c)(3) approval, a big milestone for TOGETHER. When you purchase their books, you also are part of this effort of building equity and inclusivity in the community as the royalties of the books are donated to “Cultures Learning TOGETHER, Inc”.
Elizabeth Silvaggio-Adams and Rocío Vallejo-Alegre have been working together for 11 years, sharing their friendship and their passion for the Spanish language. They started at SUNY Geneseo teaching Spanish. Together they developed a series of 3 books, Yo puedo; Spanish for beginning and intermediate level students. Yo puedo, or “I can” in English, seeks to share the magic that the Spanish-speaking world offers while giving students the tools to communicate with others with confidence. In 2018 they started a program called “Learning English and Spanish TOGETHER” with the idea of breaking the language barrier by teaching English to migrant farm workers in Livingston County, helping them build a sense of belonging to the community. At the same time, the program created the opportunity for SUNY Geneseo students to practice their Spanish, develop teaching skills, and learn about other cultures as future global citizens. In summer 2020, with the goal of offering a sustainable program, a safe space for the continuity of English lessons and connecting families with community services, they decided to create a non-profit organization for this win-win program. In January 2021, Cultures Learning TOGETHER, Inc., the new non-profit organization, received the 501(c)(3) approval, a big milestone for TOGETHER. When you purchase their books, you also are part of this effort of building equity and inclusivity in the community as the royalties of the books are donated to “Cultures Learning TOGETHER, Inc”.
License: Attribution-NonCommercial CC BY-NC
