Celebrating Our Volunteers: Cindy Hirtle

Cindy Hirtle has been volunteering as an EAL tutor for twenty years! Thank you, Cindy, for your continued commitment to creating a welcoming community and for giving your time and energy.

We asked Cindy to tell us a bit about her experience:

“I first volunteered as an English tutor over twenty years ago in my husband’s family’s church and later through MISA. I found these experiences so rewarding that I later became an English as a second language instructor. Volunteer tutoring at ISANS has given me a way to help out in my community in some small way, while at the same time, having a chance to learn a little bit about  the world from the experiences of someone else. Tutoring has given me more insight into the challenges that Syrians have faced both in their native land and abroad. Although both of my students are fairly young adults, they don’t take anything for granted. They’ve worked extremely hard to make a new life in Canada, and they’re devoted to helping their family out any way that they can. They truly appreciate anything that is done for them, and in turn, they have so much to offer their new home. It’s really been a pleasure to witness their achievements and successes over the past few years.”

Thank you, Cindy, for all that you do!