The English Learning Center

Want to help Adult Education programs in Minnesota, including the English Learning Center? Adult Education as a whole receives a set amount of state funds each year, no matter the number of learners participating. This year, Adult Education programs statewide saw 16% growth in student hours – ultimately requiring the field to stretch the same amount of dollars to serve more learners.

SF2341 and HF2152 are important bills that would increase total annual state adult basic education aid in Minnesota. These bills would help to more fully fund Adult Education programs throughout Minnesota that provide a range of education and training services that help adult learners reach their goals.

Literacy Action Network has provided an email template you can use to contact your State Representative and State Senator about these bills. Take a few moments today to make a difference for Adult Education programs like the English Learning Center!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1FfTSbuOhyJqyd0Bshd8pG_Q7946L9L1JqqqImN-PnbU/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you for being a part of our year! continue your support for OSCS and the English Learning Center into 2025 with a one-time or recurring gift.

Give today: oscs-mn.org/donate

More than 1,000 community members participated in OSCS programs in 2024, including in permanent supportive housing, the Emergency Shelter, and the English Learning Center.

Through the teamwork of our staff, volunteers, and partners, combined with the generosity of community members like you, we've been able to continue to adapt and enrich our programs to help meet the needs of our participants and community.

As we reach the end of 2024, continue your support for OSCS into 2025 with a one-time or recurring gift. Your gift will affirm that every student, every guest, and every resident working with OSCS may feel supported in pursuing a brighter tomorrow.

Give today: oscs-mn.org/donate

Curious about what we do? Our first event for our new informational event series is coming up next week! We will be sharing on how Our Saviour's Community Services and our two programs - Our Saviour's Housing and the English Learning Center - operate today. Learn more and RSVP at oscs-mn.org/connections/.

Thank you for Giving to the Max for Our Saviour's Community Services! We're so grateful for every show of support for OSCS and our programs. We can't do our work without the support of our community alongside us.

To help activate all remaining matching dollars (around $1,800 at the moment), we are extending the matching window through Monday, December 2 (or sooner, if the funds are depleted!). Please continue to give generously at givemn.org/organization/Oscs/.

More than 104 people have contributed to this effort so far as direct donors or part of the community matching pool. We’re so grateful for this generosity, and hope that you will join alongside them to support our programs.

Fun news: OSCS won a $500 Golden Ticket for a Give to the Max gift made just before 7PM this evening!

Do you want to know our favorite part? The donation that won the Golden Ticket was the first installment of a new monthly donation to OSCS. What a gift! 💚

Want to join in the joy of giving with a one-time or recurring gift? There are a few more hours to Give to the Max for OSCS and the ELC tonight:

https://www.givemn.org/organization/Oscs

Around $3,800 in matching funds are still available for gifts made to OSCS tonight!

Hear from board member Tezra on how OSCS can make a difference not only for our participants, but also for our volunteers and supporters! Become a part of our community through giving this Give to the Max Day, or strengthen your connection.

With 7 more hours of Give to the Max Day to go, we have about $6,500 in matching funds remaining for gifts to OSCS. We need your help to activate these matching gifts from our community matching pool. Give today, and let your generosity go twice as far for our students, guests, and residents!

Learn more and give today at givemn.org/organization/Oscs/.

Give to the Max Day 2024 in West St. Paul – West St. Paul Reader Found on Google from weststpaulreader.com

We’re more than halfway to our Give to the Max Day goal! THANK YOU for supporting our programs that help immigrants, refugees, and people who’ve faced homelessness overcome barriers and reach their goals.

Up to $27,500 in gifts to OSCS will be matched today. Will yours be the next?

Every gift – no matter the size - makes a difference and brings us closer to our $60,000 goal.

Double your impact and give today: givemn.org/organization/Oscs/.

Give to the Max Day has arrived! Thanks to our Early Givers and matching donors, we’re 37% of the way to our $60,000 fundraising goal. That's incredible, and we will need your help to raise the rest today!

All in all, up to $27,500 in Give to the Max gifts to OSCS will be matched. Double the impact, double the good!

Your gift helps neighbors seeking fresh starts, brighter futures, and so much more. Support our programs by giving to the max today! givemn.org/organization/Oscs/

Special thanks to our current Board Members, former Board Members, OSCS advocates, and M Health Fairview for leading the way to generosity as matching donors this year.

Don't forget: GiveMN is awarding a $500 Golden Ticket every 15 minutes today, and a $1,000 Golden Ticket every hour. Every gift made on givemn.org is eligible to "win!"

Let's give big today!

We have $8,425 remaining in our Early Giving Community Match! There are about 7 more hours to make an early Give to the Max Day gift to Our Saviour's Community Services.

Don't miss your moment to unlock early giving matching dollars for the English Learning Center! Donate tonight at https://www.givemn.org/organization/Oscs, and your early gift will be doubled.

Thank you so much to everyone who has given so far!

Exciting things are happening at the Our Saviour's Housing Emergency Shelter!

If your connection to our organization is primarily with the English Learning Center, there are some great ways to grow your involvement with our other program area right now!

We have big news! Our Saviour’s Community Services was awarded a capital grant from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to renovate and expand our emergency shelter.

We’re working as quickly as we can to enhance the accessibility and safety of our space, and to add capacity to the adult shelter system in Hennepin County.

Construction is expected to begin in late 2024 or early 2025 and wrap up next summer. In early December, we will be temporarily relocating the shelter half a mile away to allow construction to begin.
Visit our blog to learn more about what’s happening, when, and how you can help: https://oscs-mn.org/nov24-construction-update/

Our greatest needs in the next few weeks are for:

*Volunteers to pack up the shelter for the temporary move and unpack at the temporary location (great for groups or individuals!)

*Volunteers to serve as “Welcome Hosts” at the temporary space

*In-kind donations of bathroom cleaning kits

*Sponsored meals and additional meal providers

We’re so excited to get started on this project, and to welcome everyone back to a larger, more accessible space next year. Thanks for your teamwork!

Looking to learn more about OSCS, but don't know where to start? Join OSCS on December 3rd for the first event of a new informational event series: OSCS Connections!

This new event series is designed for anyone who’s interested in connecting with Our Saviour’s Community Services and getting to know our organization better, from long-time supporters to newcomers.

Our first event will focus on who we are as an organization and what we do. OSCS staff and program leaders will share more about Our Saviour’s Housing and the English Learning Center, and how our programs operate today. Learn more and register at oscs-mn.org/connections/.

Thank you to our 11 (and counting) early Give to the Max Day donors! There’s still time to have your gift matched, too, and support our students, guests and residents with an early Give to the Max Day gift! With 6 days of early giving left, $12,505 in community matching dollars remain, ready to double gifts made to OSCS through next Wednesday.

Don't let this opportunity pass you by - support immigrants, refugees, and people experiencing homelessness in increasing their skills and improving their lives! If you give to OSCS at givemn.org/organization/oscs, you’ll know right away that your gift was matched.

Already made your early gift? Share this post to help boost your impact another way, and invite your friends and family to follow your lead with a gift to OSCS!

November 1 is a big day: Halloween candy goes on sale, and Give to the Max season officially begins. Early Giving for is officially underway! Better yet, a team of matching donors is ready to match up to $15,000 in “early gifts” to OSCS this year. What a gift to help us start this push strong, and to help us maximize our collective impact this giving season!

This year, we aim to raise $60,000 or more to support our programs that give adults experiencing homelessness and adults learning English the support and connections they seek to thrive.

Ready to make an Early Gift to OSCS today? Head to givemn.org/organization/oscs to give for good. Your gift will automatically be matched dollar-for-dollar, and will have the chance to win a $500 Early Giving Golden Ticket for OSCS!

If you have your calendar marked for November 21, please consider making your gift early this year to lead the way!

The English Learning Center team is expanding! We are currently hiring for the Lead Teacher and Program Assistant roles to help support our growing community of English language learners.

Learn more about our open roles at: https://oscs-mn.org/employment/.

149 ELC students participated in our special summer programming last month! Students had the opportunity to attend field trips to the Walker Sculpture Garden, the American Swedish Institute, the Minnesota History Center, and other locations that help build a sense of place in the Twin Cities. Classes leading up to each field trip focused on key vocabulary and knowledge to make the most of the experiences.

Thank you to the American Swedish Institute’s Community Fund for providing funding to support transportation and other costs related to these trips!

Be a part of guiding OSCS! We are currently accepting applications for board members for terms starting in June 2024. Our organization is on an exciting trajectory with big things to come in the next few years, and we are looking forward to welcoming board members who will help lead us during this exciting period for our organization.

Looking to engage in a different way? We also have open opportunities for community members to serve on one of our three board committees. This opportunity will allow community members to help make important decisions at OSCS, while maintaining a lower time commitment.

Learn more about both opportunities at https://oscs-mn.org/join-board/.

Early this morning, it all came together. We surpassed our $50,000 Give to the Max goal!

Whether you participated in this achievement as an early giver, a late-night supporter, an advocate, a matching donor, or somewhere in between -- thank you for it all.

If you didn't have an opportunity to give yet, we would still graciously welcome your support today! Let's keep building this wave of community care and generosity for OSCS:

https://www.givemn.org/organization/Our-Saviours-Community-Services