WHAT'S NEW IN THE NEW YEAR? Hi Reader, As we ring in the New Year with plans for 2025, we wanted to share a roundup of things that are happening in the first part of the year! First, you’ve met Cruz Cabrera, our Interpretation & Linguistic Manager, who joined us in the middle of last year. In 2025, Cruz will be World Speaks’ fourth full-time employee! Cruz has done an incredible job so far at World Speaks, and we are so excited that she is joining us full-time. Spring Classes will open in...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
OUR COMMUNITY IS A BEAUTIFUL TAPESTRY Hi Reader, The Omaha community is a beautiful tapestry, made up of different cultures, people and traditions. We love learning about others traditions, so to start our celebrations, we asked our team to share their holiday traditions. From travel to cooking to playing games – we loved learning about each other, and we want to share that with you! “My family tradition is that on Christmas eve my husband and I spend the night at my parents’ and open gifts...
3 months ago • 4 min read
REFLECTING ON OUR WORK IN LANGUAGE ACCESS Hi Reader, Throughout the year, we’ve told you stories of how World Speaks impacts our community – what we do, who we work with, and what organizations are connecting with us to bring greater language access to our community. This month, we wanted to share with you how World Speaks impacts the staff & board of World Speaks. We asked the World Speaks staff and board members to share what they are most thankful for regarding language access and their...
4 months ago • 5 min read
A LOOK AT INTERPRETATION & TRANSLATION Hi Reader, Over the last month, the World Speaks team has spoken about Interpretation, Translation, and Language Justice in several arenas, including the NATI conference and the Language Justice Training with the Douglas County Health Department. You can read more about each of these conferences below! Interpretation and Translation services are part of our efforts to bring language justice and language access to our community. But how much do you know...
5 months ago • 5 min read
SEPTEMBER IS DEAF AWARENESS MONTH Hi Reader, Did you know that ASL is 3rd most used language in the United States - and the State of Nebraska officially recognized ASL as a language in 2020? To celebrate Deaf Awareness Month, we want to highlight some of the individuals working in the Deaf Community, who are making language access a reality for those who are deaf and hard of hearing. Ashley Altman First, meet Ashley Altman, the Youth and Family Advocacy Specialist at the Nebraska Commission...
6 months ago • 7 min read
SCHOOL IS BACK IN SESSION THIS FALL WITH OUR COMMUNITY LANGUAGE CLASSES Hi Reader, Do you have that “Back to School” feeling? Our Fall Community Language Classes give adults a chance to get back in the classroom! Registration for our Fall Classes open for our newsletter subscribers on Friday, August 30. Here's a preview of what we'll be offering this session: ASL (American Sign Language) 1A (for Beginners) Conversational Spanish 101 Conversational Spanish 102 ESL (English as a Second...
7 months ago • 4 min read
AN INCREDIBLE TEAM THAT KEEPS GROWING! Hi Reader, The World Speaks team is small, but we get things done! So far this summer, we've had the first Language Access Week, attended World Refugee Day, moved our offices, kicked off summer classes, AND welcomed a new team member! We’d like you to meet Cruz Cabrera, the newest member of the World Speaks team! Cruz is our Linguistic Coordinator! Cruz was born in California, but raised in central Nebraska in a Guatemalan family. Her desire to serve the...
8 months ago • 2 min read
AN INCREDIBLE LANGUAGE ACCESS WEEK Hi Reader Language Access Week, held June 10-14, was an incredible experience. Together, with our supporters, other organizations and our incredible sponsors, we: Presented in front of City Council and got June 10-14 proclaimed Language Access Week. (To watch the video of our Executive Director, Leah Whitney Chavez, speaking in front of the City Council, click on this link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zhw_sHKx1pU Got together with many of our friends &...
9 months ago • 4 min read
Language Access Week Is Next Week! Hi Reader, Language Access Week is almost here! All next week, we will celebrate and share the world of language access with our community. Do you want to help? Here’s how you can get involved! Donate: Help us reach our goal of raising $2,000 in matching funds! Thanks to our sponsors for their generous contribution to create the matching funds - to help us meet this goal, make a plan to donate between June 10 - 14! Share: All week long, we’ll be sharing...
9 months ago • 2 min read