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Students enrolled in LING 1900 volunteer to work with one of our Community Partners. CU student volunteers, or “Buff Buddies,” meet with children and adults in the Boulder community and act as mentors for literacy and language learners. Follow the links below to learn more about our Community Partners as well as the expectations and rewards of being a Buff Buddy!

University Hill Elementary School��

University Hill (Uni Hill) is a dual immersion elementary school in which all learners are studying in Spanish and English across the curriculum. Buff Buddies who volunteer with the Uni Hill program serve as classroom assistants with teachers in grades 1-5. Our partner teachers teach a range of class types including: English language development (ELD) courses to newcomers from various countries - mostly in Latin America; bilingual component classes - taught in English and Spanish;��and, subject area classes (e.g., Math, Writing).��Speaking Spanish is not a requirement, but may be a perk!��

Boulder Public Library

The mission of the BoulderReads! program at the Boulder University Library is to help children discover the power and joy of reading. Buff Buddies meet with their elementary school “reading buddy” at designated sites in Boulder once a week. During these one-on-one tutorials CU Buff Buddies select and read a book with their Little Buddy. Over the semester, you also work with your Little Buddy to��create a book that you present together in a celebration at the end of the semester. Read Buff Buddy blogs about this program here and here.

International English Center (IEC) at ����������

The IEC provides high-quality English language education for international students who are taking advantage of this intensive English proram to improve their academic English. The IEC also offers English language courses to CU employees who work in various sectors on campus (e.g., facilitites, dining services, housekeeping). In a placement with the IEC, CU students will either work one-on-one with an international student or CU employee, or assist in one of the classes that the IEC offers to international students and employees.

The Family Learning Center (FLC) partners with local organizations who share their values of advancing racial equity. The afterschool program partners young learners with volunteers who cultivate a joy for reading, help with homework, and enjoy playtime, too. The students served through the FLC live in the apartment complex where the FLC is located and the majority speak Spanish at home.

The African Community Center of Denver (ACC) is a non-profit refugee resettlement agency whose mission is to help refugees and immigrants rebuild safe, sustainable lives in Colorado. Beginning in 2001 with only 3 staff members resettling 60 refugees, the ACC has grown into a team of more than 50 multilingual, compassionate employees who serve over 1,500 refugees, asylees, and other immigrants each year. Through this partnership, CU students tutor refugee-background adults in Colorado virtually through Zoom - either one-on-one or in small groups.��

Reading Partners is a national nonprofit that mobilizes communities to provide students with the proven, individualized reading support they need to read at grade level by fourth grade.��Reading Partners Colorado��partners with under-resourced schools in the Denver Metro area. Volunteer reading partners work one-on-one with students who struggle with reading. Volunteers provide hour-long tutoring sessions to students— following a structured, evidence-based curriculum developed with an expert team of curriculum advisors.