Intercambio News

After all that 2020 brought us, 2021 was a year of innovation at Intercambio. None of this would have been possible without you, our generous supporters! Click here to see our Gratitude Report for 2021.

In 2021, Intercambio’s board identified the need for an endowment fund as a step to ensure the financial future of Intercambio, and they established the Next 50 Fund. What is the Next 50 Fund? The Next 50 Fund is a permanent fund established at Vanguard. The endowment is invested, with dividends being reinvested, until such … Read more

When Roxana Cordova came to the United States from El Salvador, she was hesitant to even try speaking English for fear of being laughed at. That changed when she started classes with Intercambio. Her teacher, Carol Dwyer, always encouraged Roxana by saying “Just don’t be afraid to try!” From there, a beautiful friendship formed. Roxana … Read more

In her first term with Intercambio nine years ago, Iris Prieto Media met staff member Norma Fuentes Gallo, who helped set her on the path to getting involved. She was invited to work as the class coordinator, helping fellow students engage in their classes and the community. “I started saying ‘yes’ to everything,” Iris says. … Read more

As we work to bring English learners and community volunteers together in online language classes and gatherings, Intercambio’s local program is focused on three main elements in our mission: building skills, growing confidence, and life-changing connections. We translated our in-person teacher training to a brand new online experience, streamlining how we train local teachers and … Read more

Over Intercambio’s first two decades, we have constantly improved our model, shared with others, and learned from the best in the field. This year, we took all the knowledge gained and made significant waves around the U.S. through our curriculum, first-ever conference, with our partners, in national publications, and with the recognition of our new … Read more

Open conversations about the history of race, equity, and our current reality are necessary and healing, but are rarely accessible to English learners. Intercambio is tackling that challenge head-on with our new initiative, Conversations on Race and Equity (CORE). In the fall of 2020 Intercambio partnered with Common Good Collective (CGC) to develop an accessible … Read more

While 2020 was a year of upheaval, your continued support meant Intercambio could thrive – and come up with an entirely new way to build bridges across cultures. Born out of the 2020 shift to online classes and launched in July 2021, CC English connects students and volunteer teachers from all over the country The … Read more

This is a blog post from Intercambio’s Executive Director, Lee Shainis. There are exciting changes happening and I want you to hear them from me. I made a video talking more in-depth about this change and what we hope to achieve – you can view that above. The not-so-big news is after two decades, I am staying at Intercambio! The big news … Read more

50 local students have given interviews sharing their opinions about online classes, what they’ve learned from other cultures through Intercambio classes, their sense of belonging in the community, and other feedback that will shape the future of Intercambio’s programs. Three interns supported the charge. Keira is a recent CU Boulder graduate and former Intercambio volunteer. … Read more