Cleveland’s International Friends Network brings community to Cleveland
Photo courtesy of the IFN Facebook Page.
The International Friends Network of Cleveland (IFN) is an organization that seeks to provide needed services to “internationals” — people who currently live in the U.S. that are originally from another country.
IFN regularly hosts Conversation Corner events from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturdays, where internationals are invited to enjoy fellowship with organization members while practicing conversational English.
Senior math and TESOL major Nicolette Gordan has volunteered for IFN for the past 3 1/2 years and has become closely involved with the IFN community.
Gordan helps provide a low-risk environment for internationals to learn English during Conversation Corner events and coordinate Bible study events for IFN.
“I just love that in IFN you get to see all of the diversity and the creativity of God,” Gordan said. “Even though not everybody is in the same place spiritually, I can see God’s hand working and pursuing people even if they can’t see it.”
Lacynda Velazquez and her husband Dario Velazquez Rivera originally joined IFN three years ago for the sake of practicing English together.
“The whole idea of [IFN] is to help refugees and immigrants know that they’re not alone,” Velazquez said. “We have all kinds of languages and obviously people who don’t speak English very well, and we have different religions here. Here alone we have Christians and Muslims and Buddhists and we all just come together.”
Rivera expressed thanks to his fellow IFN members — they keep his physical limitations on account of his multiple sclerosis in mind when interacting with him.
Senior Spanish and TESOL major Annelie Johnson has been involved with IFN for the past year and a half after being introduced to the club by fellow Lee students.
“I would say it’s more like a family than anything else,” Johnson said. “[The participants] do as much for us as anything. I think we’re always learning from them.”
Johnson regularly invites students at Lee’s English Language Center to join at IFN events to connect with other internationals.
“I think this goes beyond the classroom because this is where we actually hang out and get to know each other,” Johnson said.
The organization met last month at Gordan’s home to celebrate fall together, where several internationals such as Esteban Via, originally from Cuba, enjoyed the festivities.
“This group is special for me,” Via said. “When this group [comes together], I feel love in the air because our love is big and special — and [because of] that our relationship is special too because it’s in the name of God.”
Meliha Unsal and her family, originally from Turkey, have joined IFN gatherings since they attended an event focused on multiculturalism three years ago.
“We like to learn about other cultures,” Unsal said. “I want to go to [IFN] to learn [about] other cultures and to learn English and meet other people from all around the world.”
Shawn Loudermilk was introduced to IFN several months ago through his church. His interest in the organization piqued after attending an international buffet event.
“It was in a gymnasium, and we walked in and there were all these tables set up,” Loudermilk said. “There were all these people around the tables, and they all had a dish from their country and they shared the food with us.”
After trying food from each table, Loudermilk and his wife attended a Conversation Corner event and have been a part of IFN ever since.
“We’ve gained so many new friends,” Loudermilk said. “We gained a family.”
Freshman foreign relations major Erin Leggett has been involved with IFN from its creation. Her mother, Jackie Leggett Stanley, founded the organization.
“We’ve got all different types of nationalities all together, sharing their stories and pouring out their hearts together,” Leggett said.
Leggett mentioned IFN is open to anyone interested in joining the group, as becoming a part of the IFN is as simple as showing up to group events.
IFN has a working relationship with Public Church according to Leggett, who stated that prospective members of IFN can visit Public to get a better understanding of the organization’s community.
For more information about the International Friends Network, visit their Facebook page.
