How Intercambio transformed from an idea to a real organization providing opportunities for hundreds of immigrant families and for the volunteers who teach them:

2000
October: Shawn Camden and Lee Shainis hatch the idea of Intercambio

2001
January: Becomes official under a fiscal sponsor
May: Receives funding from City of Boulder Office of Human Rights
June: Expands classes into Lafayette and Longmont
September: Receives NOVA award in education from the Community Foundation Serving Boulder County

2002
October: First intercultural fiesta draws a diverse crowd of 1,300 people!

2004
January: Separates from fiscal sponsor to become independent 501(c)(3)

2005
September: Opens doors to serve immigrants from all countries, not just Latin American countries

2006
March: Opens second office in Longmont

2007
March: Receives Champions of Diversity Award from YWCA
April: Buys an office condo in Boulder
May: Completes drafts of 6 interactive, life-skills based English books
June: Intercambio Denver affiliate begins
August: Receives Boulder County Business Report's IQ Award for innovative nonprofit
September: Receives Nonprofit Business Citizen of the Year Award

2009
March: Receives Leadership in Inclusiveness Award from the Mile High Red Cross
April: Publishes "What Every Immigrant Needs to Know" guidebook and launches www.livingintheus.org/ website

In 1999, Lee Shainis graduated from University of Michigan and drove across the country heading for Portland to find work in the nonprofit world. He stopped in Boulder to visit friends in early 2000 and crossed paths with Shawn Camden, a student at CU who had recently returned from Mexico with a passion for Latino culture. By October, the dream of Intercambio started to become a reality, and needless to say, Lee has yet to make it to Portland.

In the early stages of Intercambio's creation, Lee and Shawn discussed the segregation of their community and the possibility of creating an organization that would bring immigrants and non-immigrants together through volunteer-taught English classes. They both began teaching English to immigrant families in their homes with a focus on two-way learning and formed strong intercultural friendships. From these friends, they learned about the struggles of the hidden immigrant population and the depression that comes from feeling isolated in a new culture with a different language. They talked with friends to see if they would be interested in teaching as well, and they began doing research in the community to investigate the need for individualized, flexible, and friendly English classes. The need was indeed overwhelming, not only for these English classes, but also for ways in which these communities, ones that don't often have face-to-face interactions, could come together and build respect through language learning.

They turned this idea into reality by finding and being accepted by the Colorado Nonprofit Development Center (CNDC), a group in Denver that serves as an incubator for start-up nonprofits. Shawn began doing outreach for the program's first students by knocking on doors in neighborhoods with high concentrations of immigrants. Many families welcomed him into their homes and are still part of the program today; many of the families had never spoken with a friendly "gringo" before. Shawn was attending CU at the time and formed a partnership with the Service Learning Department. He helped recruit 40 upper-level Spanish students to be the first large group of volunteer teachers.

Early on, both creativity and community support were keys to success; the "office" was originally located both at Lee's house and at the local library. They used various copy machines at other organizations and accessed free computers. Lee began observing volunteer trainings from other organizations and developed a condensed 2-hour training specific to working with Latinos. They met with the Boulder Valley School District, who agreed to provide free classroom space in the evenings in exchange for English classes for para-educators and custodians.

The original CU student volunteers that Shawn had recruited had a great experience teaching English and so did their immigrant students. One of the first volunteers wrote a long article for the Daily Camera, attracting new people with incredible experience who volunteered to assist with teacher and program development and fundraising. Rivvy Neshama and Ann Wederspahn were two of these critical people who joined the effort in March 2001.

One of the toughest parts of this early process was getting the first monetary supporters. Intercambio needed funding in order to grow and become sustainable; through August 2001 nobody had received a dime in compensation for their work. The first source of significant funding came from the City of Boulder's Human Relations Commission. Intercambio brought 50 Latino immigrant students to City Council Chambers, and 15 of them had the courage, in a completely foreign environment, to speak publicly to the commissioners about why Intercambio was needed, how they wanted to become a part of the community and help their families, that their aspirations were to do more than cut onions and clean bathrooms. The commissioners granted Intercambio its full request, with hesitance only because the organization had no prior revenue. Following that, Intercambio began receiving grants from several foundations, then from individuals, local governments, and the annual (and incredibly fun) La Fiesta.

Boulder: 303-996-0275

Longmont: 303-776-7070

Denver Affiliate: 303-433-0190