WDBJ7 Roanoke News and Weather NRV Lynchburg Danville | Washington and Lee students offer free translation service
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Some Washington and Lee students are taking their language skills outside of the classroom. The student group English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) offers a free translation service to members of the community.
"I'm just so happy that we're able to offer this service, even if we are just college students doing the best we can," says Rebecca Beeson.
By calling the hotline, anyone who needs help has access to dozens of languages.
More often than not, the calls are for scheduled appointments. Volunteers can help translate forms, for example. Sometimes, however, the volunteers are needed immediately.
"The person that's in charge of the hotline will have a phone with him or her and try to do the interpretation in the moment," explains Judith Soria.
The students keep a list of people in the community who speak different languages. Through them, the hotline can interpret more than 50 languages.
Lieutenant Bucky Miller with the Lexington Police Department says officers have a list of other translators they usually use, but now that he knows about the hotline it can come in handy. While it would be difficult to use the students for criminal cases, Miller says he could use the hotline for small emergencies, like if someone breaks down on the side of the road and can't speak English.
"If they need gas or money, or medical attention, we could find that out, and we could take care of it, and it could be finished that night," explains Miller.
The hotline has been available for a few years now, but the community is just now beginning to take notice.
"There's so many people in this area who could probably use this service, not only in law enforcement, but just regular citizens who have a hard time communicating," says Miller.
Members of ESOL can even help people speak with doctors. This year, the group will also help out with local school systems.
The group has helped more than 300 people so far, but members want that number to grow.
If you need help with a translation, you can call the hotline at 540-460-6606.
