Community Engagement Spotlight: Immigrant Family Services Institute

By HT Xue ‘26

Milton Community Engagement Program (CEPP) Director Andrea Geyling-Moore’s favorite moment from her job this year was seeing underclassmen return from their sites on Community Engagement Day, their “faces lit up” with the joy of having done something for their community. The impact of giving younger students a taste of what community engagement looks like at Milton was apparent, as a staggering 342 students signed up at the annual volunteer signup fair for long-term volunteering commitments at Milton CEPP partner sites in the Boston area. Community Engagement Day, as well as the opportunities the school offers for weekly volunteering, is only possible because the CEPP was founded on the idea of engaging with the community, not just serving it; community engagement means building lasting relationships with those we serve, relationships Geyling-Moore has helped oversee and foster on behalf of Milton over the course of her 32 year tenure at the school. 

One such relationship is with the Immigrant Family Services Institute (IFSI), to where, today, Milton sends volunteers three times a week. IFSI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit based in Boston with the goal of helping recent immigrant families improve their lives. IFSI’s founder Dr. Geralde Gabeau and Geyling-Moore connected early in IFSI’s process of establishing an afterschool program, to which Milton sent volunteers who helped younger immigrant children with homework. When the COVID pandemic temporarily shut down the majority of CEPP partner sites, IFSI continued its programs via Zoom while a surge in new Milton volunteers (many of whom had their own sites shut down but still wanted to do community engagement) played a big role in keeping these programs afloat. Today, Milton volunteers play a “vital role” in IFSI’s organization, earning the “appreciation” of the children through their “support and presence”, according to IFSI representative Monica Benoit. 

For example, seniors Felicity Wong ‘25 and Eliana Soiffer ‘25 started the IFSI art program in 2023, in which Milton students taught children art. Soiffer finds it important to make art accessible to more people because immigrants like her grandparents, while facing challenges like finding a job or a home, also struggle with “finding meaning in [a] new place”. She helped start IFSI art because immigrant children “need places to find joy, to be creative, and what better way to do that than with art”. For Wong, who grew up an artist, art is a way to help children “gain confidence in flexing their creative muscles”. For both, IFSI art is one of the most joyful parts of their week. Meanwhile, Junior Finn Chen ‘26 volunteers at the IFSI music program; every Saturday, they enjoy teaching a student guitar. Though their student speaks only Spanish, forcing Chen to use their school-learned Spanish, Chen appreciates the “challenge” of breaking through the language barrier, and credits their student’s “ability to pick up material quickly”. Chen enjoys using what they learned in skills to engage with someone on a deeper level.

IFSI is merely one avenue through which Milton students build meaningful connections with their communities. As Milton continues to foster these meaningful relationships, the community can look forward to a brighter, more connected future.