Literacy – Spanning the US :: Bangor ME :: Guilford Co NC :: Santa Clara CA

@LitVolBangor

Literacy program working to help voters

WLBZ2: 11.05.2016 by Shawna Newcomb

According to the Department of Education, 36 million American adults cannot read or write above a third-grade level, which might make it difficult to mark up a ballot on Election Day.

The Literacy Volunteers of Bangor worked to change that Saturday by hosting a “Tool Kit for Tutors” event.

Mary Lyon, the nonprofit's executive director, says the ballot box is an intimidating place if you don't read well.

“I mean, I have difficulty reading parts of those tough referendum questions and understanding them,” she said.

But there's a solution, Lyon says.

“Some people think that their votes don't matter, but we know that every vote matters and this is the one way you can exercise your voice when you may not feel like you have one,” Lyon said.

With the help of more than 400 volunteer tutors, dozens of Maine adults are overcoming their literacy challenges and in time for the big election.

As a resource center, the Literacy Volunteers program offers the easy-to-read Voter Guide which breaks down difficult political jargon. But the tutors, Lyon says, are the real heroes here.

“They really hold some of the key pieces that can really help spark the learning for adults who come through their doors,” she said.  WATCH VIDEO 📹

@readingconnect

Guilford County program helps improve adult literacy

MyFox8: 11.09.2016 by Katie Nordeen

Cecilya Sitatr has always loved reading. But she normally does it in Portuguese.

"I love reading, but when I read a book in English it takes me a lot more time than when I read in Portuguese, so it`s not that pleasant," she said.

She's originally from Brazil and recently moved to the United States after marrying her husband.

"I learned English in Brazil, or so I thought," she said. "And when I started living here I realized that my accent was a huge problem. Americans couldn`t understand me."

A couple times a week, she works in a small group with a tudor [sic] through Reading Connections -- North Carolina's largest adult literacy program. It helps adults learn to read, write and speak better.  WATCH VIDEO 📹

Two Santa Clara City Library Associates Win Awards and Receive Grants for Read Santa Clara

Santa Clara Weekly: 11.09-15.2016  by Cynthia Cheng

One award ceremony took place during a pre-game at the Levi’s Stadium and the other occurred over 2,000 miles away from Santa Clara in Detroit, Michigan. Both awards ceremonies recognized outstanding women associated with the Santa Clara City Library and more specifically, Read Santa Clara, the library’s free adult literacy program.

Betsy Megas, former library trustee board member and current literacy volunteer for Read Santa Clara, was a finalist for the 49ers Community Quarterback Award. Nominated by the Santa Clara City Library Foundation and Friends, Megas was a guest at a Sept. 21 luncheon, also attended by former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Steve Bono. Here, Megas received a large trophy depicting a football player and the library foundation received $1,000, to be used to support Read Santa Clara. During an Oct. 2 pre-game at Levi’s Stadium, Megas and the other award winners were publicly recognized at the 50-yard line.

Also involved in Read Santa Clara is Ellin Klor, who has served as the family literacy librarian at the Santa Clara City Library for the last nine years. On Oct. 18, at the National Center for Families Learning Conference in Detroit, Michigan, Klor was recognized as the 2016 Toyota Family Literacy Teacher of the Year runner-up. She received a plaque and a $5,000 grant for Read Santa Clara. Klor was nominated by Shanti Bhaskaran, the library’s literary program supervisor.  READ MORE @

National Literacy & Library Events :: December 2016

National Literacy & Library Events :: December 2016

SCLLN

Literacy & Library Events & Conferences

- Local, California and National -

visit

the Southern California Library Literacy Network

for more information

Dec. 05  International Volunteer Day

Dec. 05+ Hour of Code  #HourOfCode

Dec. 05+ Parent and Family Engagement Conference San Juan Puerto Rico

Dec. 07+ Zero to Three Institute New Orleans LA

Dec. 12+ TIES Conference Minneapolis MN #ties16

Dec. 10  Autism Sensory Friendly Films MOANA 10a

Dec. 13  Autism Sensory Friendly Films FANTASTIC BEASTS-WHERE TO FIND THEM 7p

Dec. 27  Autism Sensory Friendly Films ROGUE ONE 7p

State Library Associations :: Conferences

African American Book Events

Book Fairs by State Library of Congress

Children’s Book Council Kid Lit Events

College Children’s & Young Adult Literature Conferences Festivals

Everfest Book Festival Calendar

ILA :: Literacy Calendar Worldwide

Storytelling Events

US Book Festivals

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Birmingham AL :: Lansing MI :: Kenosha WI

@literacy_update

A Conversation with “Mr. Fred,” 86-Year-Old Learning to Read

WBHM: 11.01.2016 by Dan Carsen

Fred Oliver of Birmingham is 86 and a world traveler. He served in the Korean War, spent time in Japan, and has held more jobs than he can count. He loves to visit far-off places, but as we reported yesterday, his latest odyssey is close to home, at the Literacy Council of Central Alabama: he’s learning to read and write. Mr. Fred says he’s enjoyed the whole long adventure of his life, but the conversation starts on a sad note – losing a companion who’d helped him when life demanded reading and writing.

FALLEN BEHIND, BUT CATCHING UP

“All my kids are real educated — I’m the only guy that’s behind the times.”

EMBARRASSED TO SEEK HELP WITH READING?

“No. No! I’m not embarrassed. I’m a man. I ain’t no wimp out here … I’m trying to pull myself up … If you’re dumb and you want to stay dumb, ain’t nothing I can tell ya. There’s help out here. You’re not living in the 1800s. So get out and help yourself. If you don’t help yourself, you’re lost.”  LISTEN🔊

Capital Area

Literacy

Neighbors in Action: Capital Area Literacy Coalition

WKAR: 11.02.2016 by Katie Cook

For Neighbors in Action, we talk with John Leask of the Capital Area Literacy Coalition, also known as The Reading People.  LISTEN🔊

@KenoshaLiteracy 

Literacy Council addresses diversity through education

Kenosha News: 11.01.2016 by Ron Stevens, Guest Columnist 

As we enter the final days of America’s presidential election campaign, it would be easy to give up. So much negativity; so much pessimism about who we are and where we are going.

Sometimes I, like so many other Americans, feel like I need to take a shower after getting my nightly fix of presidential politics. How are we ever going to bring America back together?

When I begin to feel overwhelmed by cynicism and all of the problems that we as a country face, I need only look to the Kenosha Literacy Council to regenerate my sense of optimism. This organization, which helps immigrants assimilate into our country and city, is based on the premise that people are inherently good. For more than 50 years, the Kenosha Literacy Council has been helping people from more than 40 countries throughout the world speak English, gain American citizenship and find their place in Kenosha’s job market and community.

The Kenosha Literacy Council’s role has never been more vital. Many of the serious problems our country faces are the result of a lack of understanding of different cultures. Terrorism, bigotry and racism are byproducts of those differences that people fear. The Kenosha Literacy Council addresses those differences through education. It is helping to nurture America forward to a better place for our children and grandchildren by helping us to get to know each other.  READ MORE @

Health literacy Can Be a Matter of Life or Death

Health literacy can be a matter of life or death

The Conversation: 11.18.2016 by Keegan Shepard

The basic ability to read is essential in looking after one’s health, especially when managing a chronic illness that requires various treatments and medications. It is estimated that patients with low health literacy cost anywhere from US $106 billion to $238 billion each year in the US alone, which equates to roughly 10% of the healthcare budget. In the UK, it’s estimated that the financial cost of low health literacy is 3% to 5% of the yearly NHS budget.

Health literacy is defined as the degree to which a person has the capacity to obtain, process and comprehend health information in order to make decisions about their own health. Around 75% of health information is written at a high school to undergraduate reading level.

This presents serious problems – take the US for example, where the average reading ability of adults is between grade 8 and 9, with around a quarter of adults reading at a grade 5 level and below. In England, the current research shows that approximately 43% to 61% of English working age adults regularly experience problems understanding health information.

As a result, most healthcare information is written at a level more advanced than the reader’s ability. Imagine the anxiety caused by not understanding what your doctor has said, or by being puzzled by your prescription, all with the knowledge that your health is at stake. Or if you’re a parent and making the health decisions for your child, that you could end up making a mistake that puts them at risk. READ MORE @

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Gloucester Co NJ ::Pleasantville NJ :: Birmingham AL

Literacy

New Jersey

Literacy NJ helps adult learners become U.S. Citizens

NJ.com: 10.27.2016 by Community Bulletin

Maricela Mojica immigrated to the United States from Mexico 16 years ago with dreams of finding greater opportunities here and a better life.

She became a U.S. citizen this summer in hopes of securing a brighter future for her family. She is eager to vote in her first U.S. election on Nov. 8.

"I feel part of this great country," Maricela said. "I am excited to vote in our next elections."

Maricela is one of more than 5,100 adults receiving services through Literacy New Jersey, which provides adult literacy programs and U.S. citizenship classes with the help of volunteer tutors. In the last year, more than 150 Literacy New Jersey students became citizens.

"For so many of our students, improving their literacy skills is just the beginning. It opens doors for them," said Literacy New Jersey CEO Elizabeth Gloeggler. "They are able to navigate their daily lives more easily. They may get greater opportunities at work or a promotion. They may feel more comfortable at doctors' appointments and in speaking with their children's teachers. Some, like Maricela, become U.S. citizens and vote."

A Hammonton resident and mother of two, Maricela, 42, has attended English conversation groups at Literacy New Jersey in Gloucester County for the last year, meeting for five hours a week with instructors and other students to work on her pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar.  READ MORE @

@Literacy609

Literacy Volunteers work to improve lives beyond words

Shore News Today: 10.28.2016

Literacy Volunteers Association Cape-Atlantic Inc. provides volunteer-based literacy education for adults aimed at helping them become more successful employees, parents, consumers and citizens.

It strives to create a culture where 100 percent literacy is the norm.

Group classes are held at the LVA office in Pleasantville and at libraries, schools, churches and municipal buildings.

Tutor training is held four times per year at different locations and times to accommodate as many volunteers as possible. On average 40 tutors are trained and 250 students are served each year, according to the organization.

In the fiscal year ending June 30, students received 7,726 hours of free education valued at $348,000. Twenty seven students got jobs this year, and 122 students kept their jobs (all data is tracked in the LACES Department of Labor database).  READ MORE @

@literacy_update

Fighting Adult Illiteracy, One Reader at a Time

WBHM: 11.01.2016 by Dan Carsen

Imagine not being able to read an email from your family. Or a job application. Or medication labels. How about a simple road sign? Adult illiteracy is a complex, stubborn problem. Based on conservative estimates, in the five-county area around Birmingham alone, there are more than 90,000 adults who have trouble reading and writing. And there are almost as many reasons as there are people.

“When I was little, my family didn’t have time for me,” says Janie Morgan, 61, of Bessemer. “So I had to try to learn as much as I could on my own. And then when I went to school there were so many kids there that they really couldn’t just help just one person.”

Essie Johnson, 59, of Birmingham adds, “My mom … she was a good mom. [But] my dad and her broke up, and she became an alcoholic. I had to take care of her and my brothers. I didn’t go to school a lot because I had to help them. I missed out.”

Fred Oliver, 86, also of Birmingham, thinks back to the late 1930s: “I was doing good in school, but when the old man died, I had to get out and work.”

Oliver, who goes by “Mr. Fred,” started working all kinds of jobs in Birmingham when he was a child. He never really learned to read, and that lasted most of his life. When the decorated Korean War veteran’s wife died two years ago, he lost someone who’d helped him with any reading and writing that came up. Now he jokes that he’s tired of relying on his children.

“My kids take care of all my business, all my stuff, but I’m getting ready to kick ‘em all out!”

But as we talk, he gets more serious.

“I’m still learning,” he says. “You’re never too old to learn. And you’re never too old to learn how to read better. And do better in your life.”

Mr. Fred and about 150 other learners are doing that through The Literacy Council of Central Alabama. The 25-year-old Birmingham-based nonprofit is a United Way agency funded by donations from foundations, corporations and individuals. As volunteers work one-on-one with learners, In-House Programs Director Adrienne Marshall describes her motivations.  LISTEN @

Volunteers Provide America $184 Billion Dollars in Value

How do you provide America $184 billion dollars in value?

Volunteering and Civic Life in America

Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS): November 2016

National, State, City, and Demographic Information

This site is home to the most comprehensive look at volunteering and civic life in the 50 states and 51 cities across the country. Data includes volunteer rates and rankings, civic engagement trends, and analysis.

Overall, the volunteer rate remained steady as 62.6 million Americans volunteered 7.8 billion hours last year. Based on the Independent Sector's estimate of the average value of a volunteer hour ($23.56 in 2015), the estimated value of this volunteer service is nearly $184 billion.  READ MORE @

Top 10 States

1    Utah

2    Minnesota

3    Wisconsin

4    South Dakota

5    Idaho

6    Nebraska

7    Kansas

8    Vermont

9    Alaska

10  Iowa

Literacy – Spanning the US :: Santa Fe NM :: Columbia SC :: Dallas TX

Literacy Volunteers

Santa Fe

Our view: Step up for reading

Santa Fe New Mexican: 10.24.2016

In reading and literacy, as with so many things, Santa Fe is a tale of two cities.

It’s a town where a local newspaper still thrives and where independent bookstores prosper — words matter here. Yet, U.S. census figures indicate some 34 percent of the population is illiterate with 31 percent of the people having only a basic understanding of English. That’s 20,000 or so of our neighbors who need help reading, writing and speaking English. Many citizens of Santa Fe can’t, don’t and won’t read, missing the opportunities for joy, promotion at work and entertainment that reading can provide.

That’s why Literacy Volunteers of Santa Fe does what it does, provide free tutoring to adults who want to become better readers or who desire to learn English. Now in its third decade of providing such essential services, the nonprofit is sponsoring its annual Santa Fe Reads on Sunday.

═════════►

A literate, educated population is key to improving the economy and building citizens who are informed about the issues of the day (surely, this election season has shown how necessary an educated populace is). That’s where Literacy Volunteers contributes.

Since 1985, more than 4,287 trained tutors have provided some 464,969 hours of instruction. That has assisted more than 12,629 adult students obtain essential skills. All told, this effort represents volunteer contributions close to $10 million.  READ MORE @

@LiteracyCola

Free Program Teaches Adults How to Read and Write

WLTX: 10.26.2016 by Lana Harris

Some people may not be able to imagine living their entire lives without knowing how to read, write or do arithmetic, but that is the reality for many people in the midlands. Turning Pages, a nonprofit adult literacy organization, is trying to change that.

"Things that we take for granted, adults with learning challenges face all the time," said Chris Matthews, the director for Turning Pages.

Matthews says it is more than just not being able to read a book. The inability to read makes it difficult to navigate a grocery store, follow street names, or read labels on food and medicine.

"Those words are too difficult for them," Matthews says, "It's like they're living on an island of misunderstanding."

"It's hard," said 39-year-old James Pratt, "You have to be around somebody who knows how to read."

Pratt says he was passed through his high school classes without ever knowing how to read.

Matthews says a person is never too old to learn how to read or write. Their eldest student is 86-year-old Eartha Halmon.  VIDEO

@LIFTDallas 

Dallas needs to step up efforts to reduce illiteracy

Dallas News: 10.28.2016 Editorial

Education is the best way out of poverty. But if you can't speak English, the paths to a prosperous future are very limited.

In Dallas, demographics and the lack of basic English-language skills work against too many of our neighbors. Literacy Instruction for Texas projects that by 2030, about 1 million of Dallas County's projected 3.5 million residents will not be literate in English. ---That's nearly a third of the projected population. 

Even now in Dallas, more than 35 percent of adults in households that make less than $12,000 annually did not complete high school; half of them read below a basic level.

Experts project that much of the illiteracy rate, which is expected to grow faster than the population rate, is driven by immigration. Dallas must fully recognize this brewing crisis and find new ways to help people obtain the language skills that would make them — and the city — more prosperous.  We must strategically invest in expanding the quality of and access to language skills.

"It is going to take an intense intervention to turn this ship around," said Lisa Hembry, president of Literacy Instruction for Texas, which runs adult literacy programs in North Texas.

If you think this doesn't affect you, think again. A city with a growing number of people who lack basic English skills is a city in crisis. Illiteracy discourages business relocations, puts pressure on the tax base, contributes to the crime rate, escalates health care costs and keeps our fellow residents from reaching their full potential. An adult who is unable to read or write in English is likely to stay poor and mire the next generation in a hard-to-break cycle of poverty, too.

A 1 percent rise in literacy scores more than doubles labor productivity, experts say.  READ MORE @