Marlene and Ray help in the food pantry at the Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) in Madison. They have volunteered at the center for many years. Ray came to the United States from Mexico when he was 16 years old and later married Marlene. They raised a family of nine children. Ray became a citizen of the U.S. in the fall of 2017 with the help of CMC staff. (Contributed photo) |
MADISON — The Catholic Multicultural Center (CMC) in Madison has an extensive history working to welcome the stranger, actively serving immigrants from countries all over the world and all walks of life for the last three decades.
In 2017, CMC English as a Second Language classes served 163 students from 34 different countries who spoke 17 different languages.
Whether coming to the CMC seeking services, support, a sense of community, or to help out, each immigrant has their own story. Three immigrants at the CMC offered to share their stories.
Long journey to citizenship
Marlene and Ray have been volunteering at the CMC food pantry every week since 1995 and were actively involved with the CMC in different capacities even before that.
The CMC was recently blessed to experience a major milestone in the couple’s life: After being in the U.S. for 40 years, Ray became a U.S. citizen this past fall.