The new funds, from the United Way of Alamance County, will allow the literacy program to expand its ESL services offered to families.
Elon University’s “It Takes a Village” Project has been awarded a Community Investment Grant through the United Way of Alamance County to support and expand its ESL (English as a Second Language) courses for program families.
The “It Takes a Village” Project, housed in Elon’s Center for Access and Success, was built on the foundation of increasing literacy in underrepresented backgrounds, starting by providing free after-school tutoring for Title I Alamance-Burlington schools. Since its initial launch in 2008, the Village has expanded beyond its initial vision, serving more than 1,000 students each year with a variety of programming offered. Extending its impact beyond the classroom, parent workshops and weekly ESL classes are also available to support the families of Village students.
“Our whole motto is ‘it takes a village,’ and the center of that village is the child, but one of those big contact points is the parents, too,” said Sydney Gilbert ‘24, an AmeriCorps VISTA who works with the program and helped apply for the grant. “Making sure we have a good point of contact with parents and a good, safe relationship with them is absolutely important to make sure that the children get the success they need.”
The $7500 grant will allow the program to offer more ESL classes, one per day for nine weeks, that will also integrate career readiness skills in alignment with guidance from the National Association of Colleges and Employees’ “Career Readiness Competencies.” The classes are offered during ‘It Takes A Village’ programming times, allowing parents to attend when they visit with their child.
“If the parents feel comfortable attending tutoring with us, then it will make the children more likely to show up to tutoring, and it will give parents access to resources that they might not otherwise have, because we want to help education for everyone,” said Gilbert.
The “It Takes A Village” Project was one of 16 community organizations awarded funds through the 2026 Community Investment Grants. The grants are awarded to nonprofit agencies providing services that advance housing stability and financial security for individuals and families in Alamance County. These grant investments aim to support programs that address critical community needs, help residents achieve long-term stability, and align with UWAC’s mission to mobilize resources and partner with the community to improve lives.
More information on the It Takes A Village Project, including programming, can be found on their website.