GLN Space Update
It has been a hectic couple of weeks here at GLN, but with the hard work of our team, board, and wonderful network, we are coming out stronger than ever. Here is a letter sent by GLN founder and president, Andrew Brown, with the latest news on our end:
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Dear GLN Friends,
I have never been prouder and more inspired by our Network of Givers as the past two weeks. As you know, we faced a tremendous challenge recently when our property manager gave us less than ten days to move our office and the 45 language classes on-site, directly-affecting over 600 students, teachers, and volunteers out of our 1,000 individual-strong semester (our biggest semester in GLN history).
We are incredibly grateful to announce that after a very trying, yet exhilarating, two weeks, we have secured two new, exciting locations right next to the DuPont metro. Our main office will be at the site of a current partner, the Confucius Institute, on Embassy Row; and we will have another office at the DuPont We Work. Additionally, we persuaded the property management at our current location to honor our contract, allowing our classes to continue on-site through the end of November. For classes needing make-up sessions after December 1, we still need space, if you have any ideas or leads, and we will be in touch with classes on an individual basis. We also are looking for new sites and hosts for our upcoming spring classes and would love to hear from you.
It’s no wonder that the Chinese words for ‘crisis’ and ‘opportunity’ are related, and it’s no coincidence that the same Hebrew word for ‘experience’ also means a ‘test’; both sourced from the same root word ‘miracle’. When we face our biggest challenges, tests, and crises head-on, with a smile and a positive attitude, we’re bound to see miracles, opportunities, and gain life-changing experience. Over the past couple weeks at GLN, we turned our biggest recent challenge into an opportunity. We came together, and we saw nothing short of miracles. Two weeks ago I did not know how exactly we would solve this, but I was confident that we would solve it and come out even stronger and greater than ever, as an organization, as a community, and as individuals. I am confident that we passed this test and that GLN and our tight-knit community is stronger and more resilient than ever, giving us a lot to be thankful for.
On behalf of GLN, I wish to thank our partner and friend, Professor Gao, Executive Director of the Confucius Institute; as well as our new friends at We Work. We want to thank you and our entire network of amazing volunteers, teachers, partners, and students like you who showed enthusiastic and empathetic support, reaching out to us and many others in an effort to connect us to new opportunities. The entire staff was very moved and inspired to see so much kindness, helpfulness, and overall dedication to our shared mission of “using language as a tool to help fix our world.” Above all, I would like to personally thank Bailey Wiles, our fantastic Program Coordinator, and our dedicated team of interns and Leadership Fellows, especially Kyhl Stephen, Sofia Guglielmone, Jacki Schilles, Jess Anderson, Jessa Yount, Caitlyn Mignini, Sam Gaspar, and our Board of Directors, for their tireless efforts, positive attitude, and trust in GLN leadership to guide us in the dark and lead us to the light.
Looking forward to a bright future together with you, our amazing Network of Givers.
Andrew Brown
PS – Believe it or not, we managed to put together a grant application amidst the chaos. Please share on social media and ask your friends and family to join you in voting for GLN in the Local Impact competition by TechSoup.