Grantee Profile: ESL Classes/Civics Program
Canaan Seventh-day Adventist Church

To support ESL (English as a Second Language) and civics classes

The Canaan Seventh-day Adventist Church has been providing consistent services to the Haitian and local Caribbean population for years.  In 2023, with the help of a grant from The Cape Cod Foundation, the organization launched ESL/Civics Classes to make the community stronger and better informed. 

 “When you are an immigrant of a foreign country, the most important thing is the language, communication skills.  That’s basically the reason why we started the program from day one, because we had so many people here that couldn’t really adapt due to the language barrier,” said Jean-Claude Butter, Community Service Coordinator.

To serve the broader community, the program is open to immigrants from any country, including non-church members. Instructions and materials for the two-hour classes, which are held twice per week, are free.  An instructor leads a conversation session prior to one of the classes. The curriculum focuses heavily on job readiness.  Participants learn every day and workforce vocabulary to navigate life more successfully and to secure gainful employment. A civics component focuses on their rights, the rights of others, and United States laws.  The classes also give participants connections to others and access to other resources, including the church food pantry and local health care.

The cost for instructors is $5,500 per semester.

The ESL/Civics program originally served 35 students. In 2026, it expanded to 185 students. To date, 150 students have graduated.  Since the program started, the organization has served more than 785 people. Overall, the program helped two thirds of the women who didn’t know English at all learn the language and find better jobs. 

Butter said, “…The best way to get people to really connect or to be part of the community is to have the communications skills.  It’s not only empowered them personally, but it’s strengthened the community and makes the local workforce a little bit stronger.”

https://canaanma.adventistchurch.org

“When you are an immigrant of a foreign country, the most important thing is the language, communication skills.” -Jean-Claude Butter, Community Service Coordinator