Literacy - Spanning the U.S: Stanislaus Co CA, Joplin MO,, Atlus OK

Literacy:  Spanning the U.S.

Monday Q&A: Karen Williams, Stanislaus Literacy Center executive director

Modesto Bee: 3.16.2014 by Deke Farrow

“I like to read – it’s my favorite thing to do.

”That was the thought that led Karen Williams to apply for a job posting she saw: executive director of the Stanislaus Literacy Center.

Never mind that she had “no concept” of what working for the literacy center would entail. She had a degree in communications/journalism, decided to give it a shot and got the job.

Williams became the first executive director of the center, which had been created just the year before. “Fortunately for me, the agency was very small – only two part-time staff members, and a small budget. It was a great place to learn to be an administrator.”

That was 1996. Williams, her husband, Dave, and their three children, who ranged in age from 8 to 13, had just moved from Illinois to Turlock. “This was my first job here,” Williams said last week. “I’d been home raising kids. But now all were in school and it was time to work again. … I was raised in this job – as it (the literacy center) grew, I grew.”

Since 1996, the program has grown from a $68,000 budget and two part-time employees to more than $850,000 and 15 full-time and 40 part-time employees. It also has hundreds of volunteer tutors, without whom the center could not fulfill its mission: to teach adults and their families basic education skills. READ MORE !

Neighborhood Adult Literacy Action Book Collection

Four StatesHomepage: 3.19.2014 by Brad Douglas

JOPLIN, MO.--- An area Boy Scout is collecting books for a good cause. Zach Sayler is working on an Eagle project by hosting a book drive for the Neighborhood AdultLiteracy Action, or NALA. Many of the adults that are learning to read want to read to their kids at night, however the center doesn't have enough books.

"This is the opportunity to learn our language and be a citizen of the United States, be equal as everyone else. Learn that basic skill everyone needs," said Zach Salyer, Collecting Books.

To donate, you can drop off your books until March 31st at NALA, located at 2nd and Main in Joplin. They also have a box set up inside the Carthage Wal-Mart.  VIDEO

The Journey to Succeed

Altus Times: 3.15.2014

“In the late 1980s, I finally admitted that I needed help to improve my reading and writing, so I contacted the Great Plains Literacy Council for that help,” said Alice Swakhamer when she addressed the GPLC Board of Directors and staff recently. “Even to this day, I am very appreciative to this organization for its value to me with my career and personal journey, but also for its value to other adults in Jackson County and Harmon County.”

The GPLC Board of Directors, staff, and volunteer tutors have worked together since 1985 to help adult learners, age 18 and older, reach their goals through literacy by offering one-to-one sessions or with small group classes on a weekly basis at no charge. For example, students might want to read a newspaper, read a repair manual, write a letter, read food or medicine labels, pass the driver license exam, read to their children, learn computer skills, take the citizenship test, or enroll in a GED program. Learners in adult literacy programs can be served in many ways. Mrs. Swakhamer’s testimony reinforced the necessity and importance of adult literacy education. READ MORE !