Our Seniors
Seniors - ICAN Seniors Association
In 2017, Jane Cheng started the Ling Ji Chu Seniors’ Program in a bid to educate immigrant seniors and their family members in the English language as Second Language (ESL). The organization received the status of an NGO in January 2020 and this gave rise to its new identity - ICAN Seniors Association.
Today, we have over 126 volunteers serving more than 800 seniors in both Calgary and Edmonton areas. ICAN Seniors Association has continued educating seniors with English classes even during the pandemic in 2020-2021 and will continue to do so for years to come. If you are an immigrant senior (60+ years), you are welcome to join us as a member. Apart from English classes, we will also indulge you in technology classes, healthy diet cooking lessons and a ton of fun-filled activities that we organize round the clock.
What we did in 2020-2021
During the pandemic, we arranged ESL learning, workshops, physical and art studios, field trips and more. ICAN Seniors Association conducted over 312 online sessions with 1408 online participants, 824 WeChat members, and the numbers are growing exponentially.
In addition, ICAN Seniors Association arranged 200 bottles of sanitizers and 8,000 masks for 400 ICAN Seniors Association members within one week in early 2021. We made quite few similar trips throughout the year till March 2022. The NGO organized free tax clinics, 32 home visits, 12 days of giveaways and more.
What you get to do at ICAN Seniors Association
As a senior member at ICAN Seniors Association, you will get English Learning as Second Language (ESL) from our partners and volunteer members. We have expanded to other areas as well, including physical activities, financial literacy, mental health awareness and technology training that helps you catch up with modern technology and trends.
ICAN Seniors Association also arranges walking groups and Tai Chi for the members in a bid to stay fit and healthy and boost immunity. We have introduced free tax return preparation services to our seniors speaking Mandarin.
ICAN Seniors Association is a diverse community with members from various parts of the world that assemble to learn English and other classes in their senior ages because they couldn’t attain an education in their younger years for many reasons.
With our attempts in educating seniors, we are also easing the illiteracy rate in Canada while helping seniors educate themselves in a bid to create a literate society. This helps the seniors combat many challenges in daily life, be it with regards to English speaking, handling technology such as a smartphone, or even cooking a healthy meal for themselves.
You get all these benefits by becoming our senior member and allowing us to educate more people in an age bracket that is often neglected, especially when it comes to education. Through their learning with us, many seniors build confidence to change their role as volunteer leader who contributes back to the community with their passion, knowledge, skills and experiences.
Reach Out to Join the ICANSA Family
If you want to know more about our programs at ICAN Seniors Association for yourself or someone you know, reach out to us and we will resolve all your queries with befitting answers. If you are already a member of ICAN Seniors Association and have doubts about any of our activities, you can connect with us too.