"Creating community through communication support..."
Olympia Language Network
A Language Database and Resource Tool for Social Justice Groups
The Olympia Language Network hopes to address language barriers that keep organizations and their members from working in collaboration, by:
- Discovering specific language needs and skills within local social justice organizations.
- Creating a database of volunteers to provide translation and interpretation services to social justice organizations in the Olympia area.
- Creating a community newsletter in Spanish about the various services and opportunities available to Spanish speakers in the area.
My goal is to create a sustainable volunteer language resource database for organizations needing translation/interpretation services. The purpose of the database is to ensure that no one is denied community aid or organizing opportunities due to language barriers.
 In addition to working with language labs/centers in the area, I am hopeful that organizations with bilingual members will join the volunteer database project. The goal of this project is sustainability; organizations will all have access to be able to do their own up-keep of the database.
A list of resources will be compiled with a short explanation (in English and Spanish) outlining what each organization does and its contact information. This information will be included in a community newsletter written in Spanish.
With this project, I hope to bridge the language gap between our brothers and sisters working for social justice. With so many organizations doing incredible work, it is difficult to keep track of what each is doing. My goal is to help people living in the Olympia area gain a better understanding of what resources and opportunities exist, while opening up a broader spectrum of collaboration, support, and awareness among community organizations.
I thank you for your time and consideration. Please feel free to contact me with any thoughts or questions about this project.
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