Jeff Kaiser was born and raised in Chicago. A businessman most of his life, Jeff 
found his true passion in life after trying his hand as a volunteer teacher for young people in East Garfield Park.
Jeff’s been volunteering with our Refugee & Immigrant Community Services (RICS) team for almost 5 years, supporting individuals as they take the journey toward becoming American citizens.
1) What does a typical volunteer session look like?
We do a lot of conversational lessons, you know a large part of the citizenship test in a conversation in English with someone – and that can go pretty much anywhere. We do that, I help people learn about the Constitution and a whole mess of other civics-related concepts here in the US.
But more importantly, our classes are about building relationships. We like to connect with eachother, make this work more than just a process. It’s a community here.
2) Why did you choose to serve RICS citizenship program?
I realized at 58 I that I wanted to shift my life and dedicate myself to service. I loved teaching, and I loved helping young people. But then, after November 2016, well it changed me. I saw people’s rights being trampled. I saw immigrants and refugees in particular being targeted. So from then on, I knew I needed to something more for vulnerable people.
I checked out a few places in the north suburbs, and they were okay. But then I found this thing at Heartland Alliance, and I met Hai Minh and the citizenship classes that Heartland Alliance had – and I just knew this was going to be what I needed to do. It was the right thing to do.
3) How has volunteering with this program changed your perspective?
You know, there was so much I had to learn. I mean, I had no idea just how much was involved with getting your citizenship. I help people pass the citizenship test, the last parts of the whole citizenship process – and it is not easy. Do you think you could answer 100 different questions about United States history, civics, and government? Do you know all 27 amendments? Because when I started, I didn’t.
This work also really showed me just how lucky I was, how much privilege I’ve had in my own life. So many of us don’t know the answers to over 100 questions related to US civics, but the people who become new citizens sure do. And that taught me just how resilient the students in our classes are – you know, these newest Americans are strong. They have a passion to build something great for themselves and their families.
And perhaps the best part for me is learning new culture. I serve a lot of people who come from primarily Arabic-speaking countries. This month we’re celebrating Ramadan, and so I just love getting to know these people and their beliefs and their lives. It’s an honor.
4) Anything else you want people to know?
You know, it’s an overwhelming world – but you’ve got to grab a shovel sometimes. You have to do the work. And thanks to this work at Heartland Alliance, I’ve met so many incredible people. There isn’t a staff member or participant that I don’t just absolutely love. This is a great community, and I’m proud to be here.
