written by

Khawar Malik

first published

November 17, 2024

last updated

November 18, 2024

weekly newsletter

💌 subscribe here!

join forces with grassroots innovators through somos: support language, migration + social justice initiatives 🌱

language teachers! 👋🏾 

we're excited to share a new way for you to join forces with incredible grassroots organizations through your subscription to somos.

this initiative is simple: when you subscribe to somos, your first subscription payment (monthly or quarterly) will be directed to support one of four grassroots initiatives — you choose which!

read on to find out how it works + more about the amazing organisations your can support.

why is somos partnering with grassroots organizations? 🤝

supporting grassroots movements and innovative community-led work is central to our mission at somos.

this new initiative is a continuation of the approach we've always taken—partnering with organizations that share our values and goals.

from making conversation over borders a co-owner in somos, to our collaboration with open door policy to launch a refugee hiring scheme, our focus has always been on building something that benefits not just language teachers but our wider communities too.

don’t forget, 1% of all sales (ours and yours) are donated to our impact fund too, meaning every subscription payment you make, class you teach and product you sell will support grassroots initiatives.

how does it work? 🛠️

so how can you get involved and direct your support to one of these organizations?

here's how it works…

if you're a language teacher joining somos, you get to choose one of four amazing grassroots organizations to support with your first subscription fee.

you still get all the features and tools somos provides - 1:1 classes, group clubs, digital products, community hosting—and somos makes the donation.

there's nothing extra you need to pay, nothing you're missing out on—this is simply about growing your teaching business in solidarity with others who are doing incredible grassroots work.

meet the grassroots initiatives you'll be supporting 🌍

BuildPalestine 🌱

BuildPalestine is a Palestinian social enterprise dedicated to empowering Palestinian changemakers and accelerating social enterprises.

the organisation advocates for an alternative to traditional aid - one that directly empowers Palestinians to respond to the needs of their community in a more agile and resourceful way.

we’ll soon be doing an in-depth look into BuildPalestine’s work but in the meantime, here’s some useful ways for you to learn more and support their work directly.

Conversation Over Borders 💬

if you’ve been following somos for a while, you’ll know how much love we have for Conversation Over Borders and the work they do!

working with refugees & asylum seekers across the uk, Conversation Over Borders offer a range of services like english & befriending classes, mental wellbeing support, and digital inclusion initiatives.

beyond programme delivery, much of their work also amplifies refugee voices through storytelling and campaign work. 🌍

Conversation Over Borders are all about creating a lasting impact, fostering meaningful relationships and connecting displaced individuals with the broader community.

their approach counters the negative stereotypes often perpetuated about asylum seekers and refugees.

Linguistic Justice Foundation 🙌🏾

the Linguistic Justice Foundation is a new project that recently launched. the much needed organisation (founded by Irene Gotera, Veronica Costea & Gerald Roche 🙌🏾) envisions a world of linguistic justice as a reality for everyone 💚

“When LJF looks at the world today, we see two major obstacles between where we are now and our vision of abetter world. One is a lack of support and resources for people on the frontlines and leaders who want to implement linguistic justice in their work. A second obstacle is the systematic suppression of knowledge of language rights. Without that knowledge, we can’t respect and protect language rights. And without people, systems, and structures to protect language rights, we can’t create linguistic justice.” - Linguistic Justice Foundation

LJF’s main aims are to:

→ provide multilingual, popular education on language rights and linguistic justice, based on solid research

→ support the frontline and leadership of our social structure systems with capacity-building

Whose Knowledge? 🌍

Whose Knowledge? is a global campaign to centre the knowledge of marginalized communities (the majority of the world!) on the internet.

their work is all about who gets to contribute, whose stories get told, and whose voices are heard. the project envisages a radical re-imagining and re-design of the internet, so that together we build and defend an internet of, for and by all.

a great place to start if you’re looking to learn more about Whose Knowledge? and their work from a language and linguistic rights perspective is their State of the Internet’s Languages Report.

it asks the important question - that with over 7000 languages in the world (including spoken and signed languages), how many of these languages can we fully experience online?

how can you get involved? ✨

choose a partner, make your impact

to take part in this initiative, all you need to do is subscribe to somos via our dedicated landing page

once your 14-day free trial is over, we’ll charge you and then donate that first payment to the project of your choice.

building collective strength

this initiative isn't just about a one-time donation—it's about mutual aid, solidarity, and partnership.

and this is just the start—we’ll be exploring more ways to build, partner, and support grassroots movements.

we believe that through mutual support, teachers, learners, and communities have the potential to grow together in a sustainable, equitable way.

ready to be part of the movement? 🚀

when you join somos, you’re doing more than building your teaching business.

you're joining forces with powerful grassroots organizations, creating impact while helping your own career flourish.

let’s keep building a community where language teachers, social changemakers, and grassroots innovators grow together.

you might also like…