ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Alexis Dorman, 16, created her nonprofit CAFYIR (Career, Aid for Young Immigrants and Refugees), to provide immigrant and refugees with educational opportunities to prepare them for their future careers.
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Dorman creates workshops using lesson plans her students learn in the classroom to show them how it is applied in real life.
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The lectures are taught by her peers in high school to help elementary school students. The lessons are taught in multiple languages to help non-English speakers such as Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese and Arabic.
She said the multiple translations help the immigrant and refugee students learn English.
“One student came to our very first workshop speaking no English and then she came to our most recent workshop and spoke fluent English," Dorman said.
For these achievements, Dorman was awarded Orange County Public Schools ADDitions Youth Volunteer of the Year.
"It was super amazing," she said. "I didn't expect anything to come from me hosting the workshops."
Dorman continues her workshops because of the coronavirus to ensure learning continues.
She said donations help to purchase supplies the students do not have access to such as microscopes, chemistry kits and iPads.
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