By Zara Samdani, Co-Managing Editor
In the heart of Norristown, Centro de Cultura, Arte, Trabajo, y Educación (CCATE) has become a lifeline for local Latin American families, offering after-school care, language classes and a sense of belonging for kids. Founded in 2009, the organization now serves hundreds of people in the community.
Sisters junior Louisa Sandorff and senior Sabrina Sandorff are part of this community, both of whom starting as students at CCATE and returning as volunteers last year, teaching classes and mentoring younger children.
Sabrina Sandorff’s journey began when she was in middle school and joined the center to take music classes. Having played the ukulele since sixth grade, Sabrina Sandorff quickly realized she wanted to share her passion with others.
“I knew how to play the ukulele and guitar, and when I started volunteering, I thought, ‘I want to teach these kids what I know,’” she said. “Now, I teach ukulele to middle school students every week, guiding them through chords and helping them play their favorite songs.”
Louisa Sandorff, who has always been interested in language and storytelling, took on a different role at CCATE. She teaches Babel, a class inspired by the Biblical story of the Tower of Babel, and focuses on communication and language.
“The director knew I was interested in journalism and writing, so I proposed to him this Babel class last year,” Louisa Sandorff said. “I now have kids from 8 to 12 years old who I give prompts to. They write and sometimes put a little picture along with their writing. Then, I publish it to CCATE’s magazine, Rearte.”
The Sandorffs share a strong connection to their Hispanic roots, which has allowed them to bridge cultural and language gaps in the classroom. They often address the classes in Spanish, ensuring all students feel included, regardless of their language proficiency.
“There’s actually a big (Hispanic) community out in Norristown. There isn’t such a big community around here but definitely going over there and seeing how many people there are that come from similar roots as us is really cool to see because we didn’t have that much of that community growing up,” Louisa Sandorff said.
For both sisters, the most rewarding part of their volunteer work is building relationships with the children. In the future, they plan to continue their work with CCATE, even after they graduate high school.
“Sometimes it can be a little chaotic, but the kids are really good at working. I definitely think that being in an organization like this honestly just makes you a better person,” Louisa Sandorff said. “Not just that, but it also makes you feel better about yourself, so I would say that in college or beyond, I would like to be part of an amazing organization like this.”
Zara Samdani can be reached at [email protected].
