Volunteers Needed For Library's Reading &
Conversation Programs
CBC: 8.21.2020 by Aly Lancione
The London Public Library is looking for
about 160 volunteers to help with a pair of online learning programs.
The Reading Enjoyment and Development (READ)
program and the one-one-one English
Conversation Program went
virtual after the pandemic hit in March, and now the library needs mentors to
help run them again this fall.
Linda Imrie, a retired teacher, is a
volunteer for both programs.
She continued to work with a child that
struggles with reading and an adult newcomer during the online transition --
communicating with them over the phone, through emails and by video chat.
Kristen Loblaw, the administrator of
volunteer services at the London Public Library, says they have received great
feedback from parents whose children participated in the READ program this past
spring. She says many of them are eager to participate again this year.
(Submitted: the London Public Library )
"I'm a strong supporter of literacy and
I believe if you offer that key to freedom, they can take it the rest of the
way. The programs offer so much opportunity for people," she said.
The READ program has been around for 45
years and runs throughout the school year, helping children in grades one
through seven practice their literacy skills with games, activities and crafts.
In the English Conversation Program, mentors
help their adult mentees achieve personal goals, like practicing for interviews
or learning about Canadian or London culture.
READ MORE ➤➤
Based
on 7 readability formulas:
Grade
Level: 12
Reading
Level: difficult to read.
Reader's
Age: 17-18 yrs. old
(Twelfth
graders)
Common Heart Helps Families Escape Poverty
Sarah
Kimbrough signed up to take Common Heart’s Getting Ahead
classes for the $425 in gift cards. But the Common Heart focus group quickly
became much more to Sarah and her family as they started their journey out of
poverty.
“During
the very first class, I thought, ‘I fit in here. They understand.’ It’s not
that I choose to be poor,” Sarah said. “It wasn’t just the contents of the
workbook that helped me. It was what we were getting from each other. Helping
others overcome their obstacles helps you overcome your own.”
At
the start of Getting Ahead last year, Sarah – a former paramedic and mother of
four – had to hotwire her car on and off each time she needed to travel. Their
cupboards always seemed to be running low and the bills were piling up. Her
husband was working but she couldn’t find any jobs that would allow her to care
for their children – three of whom have special needs.
Now,
more than a year later, Sarah has a part-time job that works with her schedule
to care for the children, thanks to networking and resource sharing at Getting
Ahead. READ MORE ➤➤
Based
on 7 readability formulas:
Grade
Level: 7
Reading
Level: fairly easy to read.
Reader's
Age: 11-13 yrs. old
(Sixth
and Seventh graders)
Kalamazoo Literacy Council Helps Parents Navigate
Digital Childhood & Screen Time Decisions
"It's the big motto here," says
Taylor Sayers, KLC's parent literacy navigator.
This year, the KLC launched an effort to
help parents and guardians to develop literacy and other skills needed to teach
and bond with their children. The six-week sessions were "structured
around childcare," with parents in one room learning and their children in
another room doing the same. Then there would be together time, "they come
together to practice something together, usually led by the parents,"
Sayers says.
"We focus on teaching parents things
that benefit them and benefit the child at the same time," Sayers says.
It was to launch last spring, and like all
face-to-face education around the globe, it ran face-first into a global
pandemic.
The parent-child literacy sessions had to go
online, which exposed a tangle of complications. In many of the households the
KLC serves, digital devices and internet service haven't been affordable. Not
all parents are familiar with the digital world. Then, because of COVID-19,
children had to turn to online learning from the public schools. READ
MORE ➤➤
Based on 7 readability formulas:
Grade Level: 10
Reading Level: fairly difficult to read.
Reader's Age: 14-15 yrs. old
(Ninth to Tenth graders)
Kim Jones hosts Studio 501c3, a show that
focuses on the nonprofit organizations in Montgomery County working to build
supportive communities every day.
Posts
