English Express Receives $20K Grant

Press release from English Express:

2022 Fortuna English Language Class [Photo Credit: English Express]

English Express has received a $20,000 grant from the Fortuna based Rose Perenin Foundation. The grant lets the local nonprofit continue its free in-person and online English language classes for residents of Humboldt County, as well as help connecting to health and social services.

Upon receiving news of the grant, founder and instructor Mary Ann Hytken said, “Thank you for believing in English Express!  We could not continue to offer free year-round classes and resources without the support of local grantmakers like the Rose Perenin Foundation.”

As one of the students recently shared, “We are so lucky to have English Express in our community!”

“We still need to raise more funds to support us through 2022 and beyond,” Hytken said. “The grant from the Rose Perenin Foundation gives us the confidence that we’ll be successful in attracting the support we need,” she said.

Ongoing programs include Towards Citizenship, launched in 2017, with Elizabeth Niemeyer that provides free help for those preparing for naturalization. To date, 25 students have become US citizens.

Last year, the grassroots group offered nearly 200 learning opportunities, including weekly classes, pop-up learning sessions, and Saturday sessions for beginners, along with fun ways to learn English phrases on social media.

At the height of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, English Express began offering online classes with Chromebooks available for regular attendees who needed them. The online programs continue as well as the resumption of in-person classes, including Saturday classes at the Gene Lucas Community Center in Fortuna.

In addition, English Express sets up fun programs for participants like a recent tour of the Humboldt Botanical Garden and a cruise on the Madaket.

English Express is a DreamMaker Program of The Ink People for the Arts, a local nonprofit organization that provides fiscal sponsorship to many community groups and projects.

English Express is funded by grants and individual contributions. Learn more about the program and ways you can help at https://englishexpressempowered.com/.