As an immigrant having migrated to the United States, from what is considered one of the world, most in-porridge nation, the Republic of Liberia to be specific. Liberia a nations that strive to recover from the devastations of 14 years of civil wars. I can say that the African children educational program, ACE serve as a contour for the African communities of Worcester. For most African migrating to the United States from refugee camps and developing countries, is like being reborn. ACE have put in place programs that helps African families transition smoothly enabling African families understand the way of life of American society, yet by still upholding their African culture and values.
Words are inadequate to express sincerest gratitude to the team at ACE most especially Mr. Kaska Yawo for his tremendous effort in inspiring young Africans over the years to become productive residence of Worcester County and its surroundings. My hope is that ACE program, be extended to other states where not only Africans children but other immigrants communities can benefit from the program.
Last, but not least, I will like to extend thanks and appreciations to the leadership, of the state of Massachusetts, organizations, and individuals, for their support and commitment over the years to the growth productivity of ACE.
Humbly
Benedict Koitatee Sartee
The staff and programs at ACE are second to none. Everyone at ACE truly cares about the clients they serve and do all that they can to provide a meaningful educational experience and a safe and caring environment. The focus at ACE is truly on the clients and providing assistance in any way possible.
ACE provides a safe and nurturing home for new immigrants and refugees as they establish their roots in the US. The new ACE center is a safe haven and a wonderful source of resources for them.
I volunteered at ACE and I can describe it has both a fulfilling and rewarding experience. It was a two-ways traffic...I imparted the little life-hacks and lessons I have acquired to the youth class and I also learnt the art of drumming and skill-set necessary to teach kids.
Catering to exclusively the African and Caribbean community, I came in close contact with diversity at its peak. The demo-graph painted a colorful mosaic of kids from diverse backgrounds. One of the rare spaces/outlet/platforms and opportunity one can enjoy such. The newly acquired building with sprawling spaces and basketball court allow the kids to self-express and enjoy their youthfulness.
In all, my time at ACE was "lit". I hope to come back soon.
Volunteering with ACE was the most rewarding experience for me. If I hadn't joined the team, I wouldn't have known what it's like to give everything you've got. It helped me see the world from a completely different perspective. Interacting with every child I met in the program and learning about their wonderful diverse culture made my stay pleasurable. I encourage everyone with the determination to get engaged with the community, contribute in any manner, and perform meaningful work to come to ACE and give their time, money, and knowledge.
Volunteering at the African Education Community (ACE) has been an incredible experience for me. Thanks to this organization, I have had the opportunity to positively impact the lives of diverse individuals, which is something I am deeply passionate about. ACE is a welcoming and inclusive community that embraces all individuals, including myself and many others. Through its programs, ACE is transforming the lives of many Africans and giving them a chance for a brighter future.
Finding a fulfilling non-profit organization was my desire in March 2023 when I moved back to MA. I can say that I found that satisfaction at ACE. Since then, ACE has been the source of a lot of joy and contemplative thoughts regarding how to help the upcoming generation of leaders! This is a place to listen, teach, learn, and grow! My favorite session thus far, was our summer session with the high schoolers. The conversations were as authentic as can be.
ACE is one place, thus far, where I feel fulfilled! Come join, even if it is a day a week, etc.
African Community Education is working effectively to support African and Caribbean refugee and immigrant youth and their families to achieve stability and educational success in the USA, specifically in Worcester Massachusetts. I have been engaged for over 8 years with this organization as a client family (my African foster son), a volunteer, Board member and donor. The staff are culturally sensitive and diverse and develop strong positive programs and client relationships. In January 2023 we moved into our own building and we are conducting a successful capital campaign to refurbish the building. This is one organization that is worth supporting!
I love African Community Education! I have been a volunteer for over 5 years now. The students are amazing and always a joy to work with! Leadership and staff are very caring and inspirational! I can't say enough about this organization.
I started at ACE in September 2022 when I first moved in to Worcester from Canada. The people at ACE really helped me find my place and settle into Worcester. I first started volunteering at ACE through my school (MCPHS), but I continued going there well after I finished my required hours for school. I started off in the after school tutoring program, helping kids from all sorts of backgrounds excel in their schooling. It was a really humbling experience to be able to hear their stories. I then transferred to the Saturday program, which was mostly about having fun and doing activities. It was something I looked forward to every Saturday and I’m very happy my school referred me to ACE.
From what I understand, ACE’s goal is to help immigrants from African countries settle down into their new lives in the US. I’m not an immigrant, nor am I from Africa, but ACE helped me settle down in to my new life all the same. It truly is an honor to be a part of it.
Attached to this post is a video showing an example of what the students build in their STEM class in the Saturday program.
I’ve had a great experience interacting with the diverse services offered by these fantastic people!
As a retired school teacher, I am a regular tutor at ACE. ACE provides safe, structured learning and homework support, supervised activities, healthy snacks, and transportation for students after school and weekends. Most volunteers are local college students who offer time, personalized learning pace, and life lessons to these English language learners.
Many of the ACE students are challenged to "catch up" with basic skills, including: arithmetic, English language reading/writing/speaking, literature, western history, and art. The ACE program offers support in closing these gaps.
The needs of these students and immigrant community are complex. ACE staff and volunteers, through the support of generous donors, granting organizations, and local schools and colleges are making a difference!
Awesome program dedicated to the community and population served. ACE has inspired me share my experiences and knowledge in order to assist those who are in the process of assimilation while also learning valuable aspects about other culture. ACE's youth development is amazing as it gives support and provides a community for them to express to their their creativity, goals, and even emotions.
I have been a teacher, volunteer and volunteer mentor with ACE for five years. I first worked in the summer reading program, then volunteered with the after school program, and then became a mentor for a middle school refugee young women who is now about to graduate high school. This is a most unusual organization that provides tremendous support to refugee families settling in Central MA. Whatever a child or a family needs, whatever I need to help me help my mentee, this organization works hard to always say "yes." The "yes" of ACE translates into tremendous support for all members of their families who have come a long, long way in their journeys to the US.
I volunteer at ACE, the organization run very well, they provide free after school support to many local new immigration family and students, and provide coordinate between volunteer and students.
I have experienced ACE's power in many ways. As the volunteer tutor and mentor for ACE, I've known first-hand the myriad ways, large and small, ACE helps kids on a day to day basis – and the long-term opportunities ACE opens up by advocating for them and pointing the way to valuable resources. In turn, my relationship with kids I tutor and mentor has had a profound effect on my own vision and sense of my place in the world. Therence, my mentee, has in four years gone from speaking no English to being a Student Council Vice-President, an Honors Society member, and the recipient of eight college acceptances. Finally, as the director of the Assumption College Community Service-Learning Program, I've seen ACE serve as an ideal partner for many learning experiences for our own students.
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My story with ACE begins with my role as a Director of Community Service-Learning at a local college. Out of more than 80 community partners, ACE always stood out as one of the most compelling – serving African refugees and other immigrants close the huge gap between themselves and native speakers of English in our school system. That alone is enough to draw my support and admiration, but ACE also provides a home for these kids, a community which affirms their African roots even as it helps the adapt to a new culture. The program has evolved in a variety of directions from its base in after-school programming; there is the Saturday program, Summer Reading, festivals, and a wide range of other activities. Most importantly for me, there's the Mentoring Program; I was lucky enough to be paired with Therence, and have seen ACE help him move from speaking no English to being a member of the Honor Society and vice-president of the Student Council in less than four years. He has expressed many times how much ACE has helped him get to where he is now – and in the process, ACE has blessed me as well. Meanwhile, I also still send Assumption College students there – and they come away singing its praises. I highly recommend ACE for anyone wishing to support it either financially or as a volunteer.
There are too many good things about ACE to tell in one story. One is that it helps girls from other cultures to be less shy and try new things. Another is that there are so many things kids can't learn from a computer. The kids who have been here a year or so tend to try looking things up there, but of course, that doesn't always work. They don't realize when things are figures of speech for example.
Some students are super dedicated and want to learn as much as possible, while others want to just get through their homework super fast. Once they see how just reading words without understanding their meaning is not a good idea, they learn so much more.
The kids also get to try new things and spend time with their friends.
I first learned about African Community Education from my daughter when, as a college student, she volunteered with the afterschool program as her community service project. The staff and volunteers were so dedicated and committed to serving the African refugee youth in Worcester. The youth received a lot of tutoring support from ACE and also a sense of community and a way to celebrate their African heritage. Eventually, my husband and I became foster parents to a refugee youth from East Africa. He participated in ACE programs for two years. We are now regular donors to ACE. We feel we are making a financial investment in the future of our community. Thanks ACE for fulfilling your mission and vision!
I have known about the ACE program for many years now. I have heard about the amazing work that ACE is doing for immigrant families who come to the USA for a new life. As we all know, education is the key to that new life, and for many who come from war torn countries or countries with limited education standards, can find the education system difficult here. ACE's programs create a bridge to allow these students to succeed, giving the family a piece of mind and does whatever it takes to get them there.
Thank you to ACE’s employees, volunteers and other supporters for providing critical services and hope to refugees and immigrants from Africa. The children and youth served by ACE have experienced more trauma in their young lives than most of us will encounter in a lifetime. As a leader at another non-profit in our community, I have the unique privilege to learn firsthand about ACE’s work through collaboration that mutually promotes our organization’s missions.
I've worked as a teacher for STEM, Math, English, and as a basketball coach in ACE's Saturday program. I've also worked as a basketball coach and summer reading teacher for ACE's summer program. There are so many ways ACE helps students and their families. For students, ACE has a Saturday programs, after-school program, and summer program that provide year-round support for students to help integrate within the US school system, and eventually excel and go to college. These academic programs are also project-oriented and focused on making learning fun! Our Saturday program has gone on many field trips to different colleges in Worcester (Clark, QCC, WPI, Assumption), the Boston Museum of Science, a scavenger hunt of Boston historical landmarks, Mt. Wachusett, and others.
ACE also provides support for student families, including family education and outreach. ACE's events like the fall gala and spring festival promote a sense of community with students, families, staff, and ACE leadership.
The enthusiasm of the staff, including program coordinators, teachers, volunteers, board members, grant writers and others is top-notch. Everyone at ACE is really dedicated to the mission of helping ACE students succeed!
ACE does so much with so little. The work ACE does to help African refugees and immigrants not only provides vital assistance to its clients, but also helps to make Worcester a better place to live for all of its residents. It is impossible not to be impressed by the success stories, and grateful for the work ACE does to provide support to this community.
ACE is a taste of home! It is a place where students are able to freely express themselves and embrace where they come from. I have greatly enjoyed working with ACE for the past year and cherish every moment I have had with the students and staff. I am glad that there is a space like ACE in the Worcester community which helps make the transition from another continent easier. It is much needed and appreciated!
As a Human Resources executive, I’m always interested in supporting local organizations who are developing worcester’s Future workforce. ACE is doing that very successfully.
Being the dance facilitator in the afterschool room for the past several years, I have seen the wonders of what ACE does for our students. ACE is a place where students come to be themselves, feel safe, become more confident in themselves as a person and with their education.. and definitly a place where they can dance their hearts out. I have students over the years go from speaking only a few words of English, to now going into AP English in high school. I have seen students sit in the corner during dance afraid to try new dance moves.. to now coming into class with a dance they choreographed themselves and wanting to teach the others. ACE is a place where each student grows and becomes more and more themselves, with endless support and a friend at every seat.
I am thrilled to be a new Board Member for ACE; an outstanding people-centered organization with community outreach and education at the heart of all of the services that it provides. It is not just a "good thing" to have this Organization ever-expanding in Worcester, but rather it is a necessity -as the first and only of its kind serving African refugee and immigrant youth and their families. ACE's Executive Director, Kaska Yawo, the original thought leader behind ACE, is the best kind of leader; he is committed to serving others, and action-oriented. Selfless leaders are hard to come by. Where would so many youth from the next generation be without ACE? How would their outlooks, experiences, and pathways look different without the support of ACE? I am honored to sit on the Board of Directors of ACE, where everyone connected has the intention of making a difference in the lives of individuals and families, and the livelihood of our shared communities.
ACE is an amazing organization that works tirelessly to meet an important need in the Worcester community. The ACE team is dedicated to helping African immigrant and refugee youth and their families transition to their new community and give them the opportunity to succeed. Former ACE students serve as mentors to younger students and as key staff in running programs. I strongly encourage everyone to get involved by donating your time or resources to this exceptional organization!!
I have worked with ACE for the last few years as a tutor. ACE was founded to serve the families and children who were forced to flee their African countries, often 1st to refugee camps in other African countries. Here, they face multiple challenges, from having to learn English to manuvering a complicated government and medical system, to trying to keep their children fed. We have an after school program for homework help and activities, a Saturday program for more English and science help, and a Family Education Program which is geared to parents, and children too young to attend our other programs. This program includes parent-child reading and crafting. After that the parents have ESOL class and Citizenship class. Staff take care of the little ones with crafts, gym, reading, speaking English.
ACE is a small non-profit that struggles daily to raise money in àn environment of shrinking grants and small donations. It is critical to this community for the education and outreach we provide. The people we serve are strong, determined, and often traumatized by what they faced at home. Despite these challenges, they persevere. In a word, they are extraordinary!
Please consider African Community Education. It is incredibly worthy and we are determined to continue to help and support this exceptional community that is truly a gift to this country for what they bring out far outweighs our service.
I have attended a handful of ACE events and am always impressed by the dedication of the staff and volunteers.
ACE is tremendous! It's like I can travel the continent of Africa all in one place - in Worcester! The children and families are so skilled, talented, and brilliant. Did you know some parents can speak as many as (or more than) 8 languages!? It makes our American English-only policy seem so dumb (it is). I would love to see Worcester public schools learn from ACE families, such as offer Swahili courses as a "foreign" language and offer African dance classes in school, and have parent empowerment in education classes in many languages. ACE should lead the way!
I have first hand experience with ACE. As a nonprofit ACE priorities the needs and challanges of African refugee children and increasingly entire families through outreach and programs for adults and small children. I find iACE to be a leader in how best to integrate these amazing refugees while still maintaining and respecting their cultures. THE
ACE'S concentration on help children with their studies through tutoring is invaluable in helping them to succeed and flourish here. I am grateful to have discovered this nonprofit and to help to service it's mission .
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I have volunteered at ACE since the winter. It is such a wonderful experience and I have learned so much. The children are wonderful and so adaptable. The staff is generous and always giving. I was so lucky to find this non-profit because it has help me so much, as much as i hopen i help the children. The many cultures that are part of Africa are fascinating and the many stories the children have are both heartwarming and heart-wrenching. I strongly recommend anybody to volunteer at ACE as it is so important that we integrate and welcome all the refugees in America that we get from very difficult and troubled countries. It has been so valuable for me and so rewarding.
ACE is an amazing organization that stays true to it's mission and works hard to maximize it's limited resources. As a former volunteer, I was immediately welcomed as part of the team and given meaningful work. I highly encourage others to get involved by volunteering directly with students, assisting in the office or donating. Your time and resources will be put to good use!
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An organization that truly cares and it shows in how they interact with students and is evidenced by the impact ACE has on the students' lives.
My volunteer experience with ACE far exceeded my expectations. The organization is extremely organized and filled with staff and other volunteers that are crazy passionate about ACE's mission and the African community in Worcester. The kids that participate in ACE's programs are very special; I have never been around a group of kids that are more inspiring, hilarious, fun, and resilient. I will definitely be back at ACE to volunteer again!
I first got involved in ACE over a year ago and I have absolutely adored going there every week volunteering. I enjoy the presence the students who attend to ACE weekly and have formed many tight bonds with some of the students I work with. These kids give me a new outlook on life and make me realize not to take anything for granted. These wonderful students love school and never want the school day to end. They love learning new things which brings tears to my eyes. The staff that also are apart of ACE are so active and caring for each and every student. All the staff look out for the kids like they are their own. It's amazing how ACE gives me such a positive outlook on life and I will continue volunteering there for a very long time.
They really created a great sense of community for these kids who not only came from different schools but different parts of the world. I only speak English but I never found the language barrier to ever be a problem as there are many well-trained and dedicated staff members who are there to help any students who might have difficulties in explaining how they need help. It really was inspiring to meet all these kids, I can't wait to go back and volunteer again.
ACE is home. Of course program could use some improvement with more grant funding but it's still great. As a small organization with limited resources, they're accomplishing more than their fair of community needs. Gracias, ACE.
With very small resources, ACE is making big changes in the communities that large organizations are finding it hard to make.
Being part of ACE program had been one the great things in my life.I was a student and I volunteered as a teaching assistant.Now I am a high school graduated and now I am a member of Commonwealth Corps and serving at ACE. ACE is like a second home to me and I love being around the students and the staffs as well. I pray that may the program last forever with the strength of God. No one can give back what ACE had do for the them in past beside the Lord.
I love ACE! I volunteered for 2 years in the Saturday Program as a Math Teaching Assistant and as an Express Yourself Teaching Assistant. It is terrific to see ACE children grow, graduate, and return to volunteer and work at ACE and create the future for their peers.
ACE is THE place to make a difference. GET INVOLVED! JOIN THE TEAM! Harambee!
I have volunteered with ACE over the past year. I have seen the positive educational impact that ACE makes on the Worcester community!
ACE is dedicated to helping African students and refugees in the Worcester community achieve personal and educational goals while empowering them to become independent. Everyone in the organization is sweet and dedicated. It's just a place that is extremely inclusive and makes everyone that is apart of the organization feel cared for.
ACE has such a vibrant and exciting presence in the Worcester community! Their mission is truly unique and serves a great purpose. Even better is their commitment to keeping true to their mission and making sure their volunteers, staff, and board represent the group they aim to serve by ensuring participation of African immigrants and refugees in their operations.
ACE does amazing work in the Worcester community and their reach is far beyond what you would expect. 94% of ACE students are classified as 'low income' and 84% are English Language Learners. The perseverance of these students is truly remarkable and ACE staff and volunteers encourage and empower them at every turn!
Working as a volunteer, intern and later staff member at ACE, I was fortunate to become part of the African Community Education (ACE) family. At ACE all volunteers, staff, community members and families work together as a tight-knit team to help with the specific needs and dreams of each African refugee youth served at the organization. In my time at the program, it was truly inspiring to witness how ACE students were able to excel academically and socially through their participation in ACE's educational and mentor programs. If I could describe how I feel about ACE in three words I would have to say it is an innovative, change-making and integral non-profit organization in the Worcester community.
I worked at ACE from 2006 to 2010 as a volunteer, a mentor, education coordinator and a teacher. ACE is a wonderful program that is fill with many young ideas willing to put into action. The kids are very respectful, honest and are always full of 360 degree kinetic energy. They have so much power, will, love, care and respect. It was an honored to have served them having been a refugee myself.
I have starting with the African Community Education Program (ACE) in the Summer of this year. It was initially suppose to be a summer internship but with time I discovered that I did not want my involvement with the organization to stop just then. I became attached to the children and the program. Its amazing what they do for the children, the sheer dedication involved in this organization is remarkable! I plan continuing to show my support to ACE in the following year.
The work that ACE (African Community Education program) does for Worcester is meaningful. It supports the youth with their schooling in a way that the schools could not keep up with. They provide a place where the students can go to get help with their homework and also support them them emotionally. It gives them a place where they can meet others coming from similar backgrounds. They can learn English with others of their own age in a comfortable surrounding. I enjoy visiting ACE and watching the youth and their teachers interacting.
The African Community Education Program (ACE) is a great resource for the Worcester, Massachusetts. I would like to nominate them for their fantastic work in keeping the cultural alive in the African community.
This is a great local organization doing meaningful work for the Worcester are community. I encourage you to get involved with them.
The African Community has been helping me with English and my homework too. At the first time I get here at ACE, I didn’t speak English. A few days later, I heard that there is a program that helps a refugee kids do they work, help them learn English and make they dream come true. I stared coming every Saturday and I actually made a lot of friends I never had before. ACE has been helping me with my homework since 7th grader and now I am in 11 grades and I am so happy. I want to help kids that don’t speak English and help them explain words they don’t understand.
Thank you, I couldn’t done all the staff with out ACE
ACE is a good program for students in grade 5-12, who have emigrated to the U.S. from various countries in Africa. Many are refugees and come from tough situations and for many this is their first encounter with the English language. With after-school and Saturday sessions, ACE helps the students both academically and socially during their adjustment to a new language and culture. ACE also runs a summer reading program that I was able to help with as a TA. Good things are happening at ACE!!! Ed W.
Ace is good place to be at ..they help so much kids that is new to u.s. which that dont how read or write .. like when i star A.CE i didnt know how read or write and i star coming to after school for help the ..like they help how read and write so .. ACE IS GOOD place ACE LIKE my house . ACE IS COOL ((:
Over the past few years, I have connected with ACE staff, students and volunteers through soccer. The ACE community contributes immensely our Cultural Exchange through Soccer organization with volunteers at big events, players for scrimmages and testimony & lobbying for more fields in Worcester. Outside of all that they contribute to our organization and our city at large, they are a beautiful, loving family that I am so grateful to be welcomed into.
My Experience with the African Community Education Program is really great program that help student to do there work like homework or study and what every they need help they have sport's program like if you like play sport's ACE help me a lot when i was in high school i use to come here to my homework after that just study or play soccer with the student. the ACE is a really wonderful program that help student Education and i love it.
I started volunteering with ACE in 2009 and I haven't been able to stop since. The people and the mission are what keep me here. I love all of the staff and students at ACE, it really is like a family. Many of the kids see ACE as a second home and I am so happy to be part of such a positive part of their lives. I really value the fact that ACE is not only here to help students academically, but also socially and psychologically--both equally as important. I have learned so much about myself as a person through my interactions with the kids at ACE. I recommend anyone looking for a meaningful volunteer experience where you can truly make an impact to come join the ACE family!
African Community Education is a wonderful program that reaches out to immigrant and refugee youth and their families in the Worcester area. The positive impact of the program is shown by the students' achievements and the enthusiasm of both the students and the staff.
The African Community Education Program has had such an incredible impact on my life, where can I even begin? I started volunteering with ACE my freshman year of college and literally could not stop until I moved to a different city. That is the effect that the organization's enthusiastic staff and incredibly dedicated, inspiring, and endearing students have on those they come into contact with. Even after relocating I still have a strong connection with ACE and feel it's impact every day. I can confidently say that had I not been a member of such a welcoming, supportive, and all around amazing community, I would not be where I am today. ACE helped me to become much more culturally competent, compassionate, and understanding. The organization, staff, and students also enabled me to become a better volunteer, leader, teacher, and role model to all students I may come into contact with in the future. I strongly and actively encourage people to volunteer with ACE or to get involved in whatever way possible because of the profound gifts that the program has given me. The staff is incredibly supportive, enthusiastic, and open, the students are unbelievably eager to learn, inspiring, and hard-working, and the program is a blast. The stories I have from volunteering with ACE are stories I will never forget and have had an impact that will last a lifetime. I can only hope that I have positively impacted students even a fraction of how much they have positively impacted me.