Are you bilingual? You can help

Do you speak a foreign language?

Have you thought about volunteering to help others in need?

If you answered yes to those questions, your skills are needed by suburban civic groups trying to provide critical social services to the growing number of non-English speaking residents moving to our communities.

And, we think this is a unique opportunity for at least a couple of groups in particular - students and former immigrants - to get involved and make a difference.

Spanish is the language of greatest need, but organizations struggling to find ways to communicate in an area growing more diverse by the day say people fluent in Polish, Korean, Japanese, Hindi and Russian are also in demand.

"Our population has become so diverse; we need to be able to help everyone," Annette Sommer, program director for the Volunteer Center of Northwest Suburban Chicago, told the Daily Herald's Larissa Chinwah.

Sommer's Arlington Heights-based group pairs volunteers with more than 140 service agencies in 53 northern Cook County and northern DuPage County suburbs. The ailing economy, Sommer said, has put many people in need of food and shelter - not all of them speak English.

Other groups help people new to this country develop skills so they can improve their lives and contribute to society. Teaching English as a Second Language is one example, but volunteers are needed to help deliver instructions and provide one-on-one help to those learning job skills and looking for work.

There's even a need to communicate with non-English speaking families caring for a sick child or relative, such as the Make A Wish Foundation of Illinois, which lists bilingual volunteers as its No. 1 need throughout the state.

The numbers tell the story: Roughly 14 percent of the more than 650 wishes the group granted last year involved families who identified themselves as Hispanic. However, just 6 percent of the group's 1,300 volunteers are bilingual in English and Spanish.

The American Red Cross of Greater Chicago said about 30 percent of the people it serves in the Chicago area are Hispanic, but the number of Spanish-speaking volunteers is well below a third of its 3,000 volunteers.

Anyone with foreign language skills can volunteer.

To those who complain that immigrants need to learn English, here's your chance to help make that happen.

Students have a real-life opportunity to use and polish foreign language skills outside the classroom.

For former immigrants, you have the chance to use a familiar language to provide a reassuring and knowledgeable voice.

The common thread to each is taking the time to help someone in need.