Literacy – Spanning North America :: Buffalo NY :: Red Deer AB :: Peoria IL

Literacy: Spanning North America     

@LiteracyBuffalo

Adult Illiteracy As A Workforce Barrier: 3 in 10 Buffalo Adults Are "Functionally Illiterate"

WKBW: 10.22.2018 by Josh Bazan

When it comes to adult literacy in Buffalo, the city finds itself a little bit behind the rest of the country. Around 30 percent of adults qualify as "functionally illiterate" in Buffalo, which is 10 percent higher than the national average, according to Literacy New York Buffalo Niagara.

"If they're coming in at a third grade reading level, it will often take them many years of preparation to get to the point where they can sit to take the TASC exam, which is how they get their high school equivalency diploma in New York State," Amy Mazur, operations director for Literacy New York Buffalo Niagara, explained.

The organization works to help adults in Western New York improve their reading and writing skills. It sees first hand just how detrimental this problem is for people looking to get into the workforce.

"One of the main goals that we see out of individuals is being able to get a job or get a better job in the future or in some cases even enter into a training program to get a better job," Mazur said.

An adult qualifies as "functionally illiterate" by being able to read and write at a fifth grade level or worse. A lack of those very basic skills can make it difficult for people to even apply for jobs, let alone performing expected tasks at work.  WATCH 02:21

@rdpl

Red Deer Public Library’s Adult Literacy Program Receives Prestigious Literacy Award

Award celebrates outstanding achievement, innovative practice and excellence in literacy

Red Deer Express: 10.22.2018

Alla Mysko-Henke, manager of Red Deer Public Library’s Adult Literacy Program, recently accepted Canada’s Premiers Council of the Federation Literacy Award.

The Lifelong Learning Council of Red Deer nominated The Adult Literacy Program for the award which celebrates outstanding achievement, innovative practice and excellence in literacy,

Housed at the Dawe Branch, the program has been serving Red Deer’s diverse community for more than 30 years and presently has 360 learners and 215 tutors.  READ MORE >>

Southside

Community Center

Church Turned Community Center Works To Grow Leaders In South Peoria

Journal Star: 10.21.2018 by Kelsey Watznauer

A South Peoria church is being turned into a community center to bring resources to people living in the 61605 ZIP code and “transform the community one relationship at a time.”

In the former South Side Church of the Nazarene, 1618 S. Laramie St., the Southside Community Center opened in May and hit the ground running, offering Dinner Church twice a week.

“The food desert that we’re swimming in for two ZIP codes over here — how do we make an impact?” Irene Lewis-Wimbley, director of the center, asked.

On Tuesdays, Dinner Church brings local residents to the community center for a home-cooked meal and Bible story discussion. On Thursday nights, volunteers set up Dinner Church in the middle of the Harrison Homes in South Peoria.

“As we started to look at the community, there’s no outlets for food on this side, and the only place you can really go is Family Dollar or Dollar General, where you can pay too much for milk, eggs and cheese,” Lewis-Wimbley said.

Given the “significant poverty” of the area, the Southside Community Center team started working before the building renovations were finished. Soon the learning center and computer lab will be available and stocked with literacy coaches to grow adult literacy and help adults earn GED diplomas.  READ MORE >>