Learning Life Partners with DC International Student House
Learning Life is pleased to announce a new partnership with Washington DC’s International Student House (ISH) that will bring our mentors and mentees together with foreign visitors to share meals and cultures.
Learning Life’s international mentoring program connects kids ages 6 to 18 from lower-income families in Washington DC, San Salvador, El Salvador, and Dakar, Senegal with caring adult mentors. Our mentors, all in metro DC, help open the world to those mentees in San Salvador and Dakar through online conversations and messaging about their mentees’ lives, interests and goals, connecting these to relevant happenings and opportunities in the world. For instance, a mentor may connect a girl in San Salvador who likes singing to singers and music around the world through photos, videos and conversation. In turn, our mentors who mentor children in DC bring them to museums, embassies, libraries, cultural events, foreign restaurants and more in the metro DC area. With this new partnership, Learning Life’s mentors can now bring their DC mentees to ISH to connect with the world in a personal way.
Located in Washington DC’s Dupont Circle neighborhood, ISH each year welcomes graduate students, scholars and interns from countries around the world. In 2018, ISH had 194 residents who hailed from 48 nations. Through diverse programming and partnerships, ISH “promotes inter-cultural dialogue, encourages life-long connections, and fosters global citizenship,” as its website indicates. It is with such purpose that Learning Life mentors and mentees will have the opportunity to dine and discuss their lives and cultures with foreign students, interns and scholars on Sundays at 1pm over lunch, when many ISH residents eat communal meals at round tables.
“In keeping with ISH’s mission to promote inter-cultural dialogue, we are happy to welcome Learning Life mentors and mentees to give our residents a distinct perspective on Americans and American life. We think our residents will learn as much from the children of Washington DC as the children will learn from them,” said Jennifer Simpson, Resident Manager of the International Student House.
“This new partnership with ISH will give our DC kids an engaging opportunity not only to learn about foreign cultures through conversation with people from other countries, but to practice social skills vital to communication in our diverse and increasingly connected world,” said Learning Life’s Director, Paul Lachelier.