Illinois Migrant Council

The personal stories of the individuals and families that benefit from IMC services give us our reason for being here.

Please support our After School Program.  Alejandra and Carla are very serious about how they approach their homework. They get busy as soon as they arrive at the Technology Learning Center (TLC) for the after school program. Their friendliness towards other students is contagious. If they need any help with their homework, or computer research, they ask a tutor or staff member. They also help one another. Their sense of community service is awesome. After they learned to make jewelry and macramé, they donated their creations for sale to raise funds for the program. Both girls have a sense of humor that adds fun for staff and other students. Both are doing well in school.

Help a farmworker get to and from his/her classes at a local community college or vocational school. Fabiola enrolled in IMC’s National Farmworkers Jobs Program after many years picking, packing, sorting and cleaning vegetables and feeding dairy cows. It was difficult for her to leave a familiar job, but she knew she wanted a better life for her family. With IMC’s assistance (application, tuition, fees), Fabiola enrolled in classes at the ERS Services Basic Nursing Aide Program. Her goal was to become a Certified Nurses Assistant (C.N.A.).

Fabiola’s dedication and determination were demonstrated in many ways on the pathway to her career as a C.N.A. She studied English as a Second Language and obtained her GED. She drove 100 miles a day to attend her C.N.A. classes. IMC helped her go to and from her class with a "gas card."

As a single parent of two, she scheduled her own studies while helping them with their own school work. IMC staff provided regular counseling and encouragement and a range of services to help her family while she was in training. They made sure she could manage rent and food for her family, and referred her to partners in IMC’s supportive services network for health care, citizenship information, tutoring and other services. IMC also helped her obtain a uniform for her clinical training.

Fabiola successfully passed the State of Illinois C.N.A. competency test. IMC soon job placed Fabiola at a Peoria nursing home. Her exceptional hard work, compassion and warmth enabled her to overcome several difficult situations in the beginning (cultural diversity was controversial for some of the residents). Today, her employer expresses great appreciation for her competence and reliability. Fabiola was recently awarded the employee of the month title at her workplace by the residents of the nursing home.

Fabiola has said she is motivated by her children, wanting to show them by example that you can do anything if you put your mind and heart into it. This is further shown by her persistence in pursuing her dreams. Fabiola has now been sworn in as a U.S. citizen. She says that next she wants to become a licensed practical nurse. She is moving quickly along the career pathway she chose.