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Perseverance Pays Off:
Sonia Celebrates Becoming a U.S. Citizen
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This Independence Day, we celebrated more than fireworks!
Sonia came to the United States from El Salvador with one dream always on the horizon: becoming a citizen. Getting there meant factory jobs, 12-hour overnight shifts, and raising two kids as a single mother. Her journey in the U.S. started 32 years ago, and after her son was able to petition for her permanent residency, Sonia turned her attention to the next step: strengthening her English skills and preparing for the citizenship exam. She enrolled in classes at Literacy Together, then spent years studying with a tutor, working through mock interviews, and reviewing vocabulary every single day.
On the day of her interview, Sonia answered six civics questions in a row without a single mistake. The officer stopped the test. She had passed.
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| Literacy Leaders Take Flight + New Youth Literacy Program Partnerships
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T wenty-eight young adults are working with developing readers and multilingual learners this summer 📚. Partnering with Christine Avery Learning Center, Youth Transformed for Life, and the YMCA, these Literacy Leaders work with K-6 students all summer long to support their reading, writing, and communication skills.Yesenia has worked with Literacy Together for more than a year as a Literacy Leader intern.
"The power of literacy means having the ability to communicate," she shared. "To learn from others and teach others. It's the key to interacting with the world, regardless of time, space, age, or race. It's expression."
Yesenia uses her passion for literacy and reading to support two third grade students this summer. "A huge win is that they aren't too shy or scared to try reading out loud now!" she shared.
We are so grateful for partners that come alongside this work! 🙌 We are thrilled to announce a grant from WNC Bridge Foundation. They've awarded our Youth Literacy Program $50,000 that will go directly toward strengthening this program, developing multi-sensory curriculum to best support struggling students, and engaging young adults in a robust internship program with leadership development.
We are also grateful to The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation for their support toward stipends for our paid high school interns! 💙
Together, we help more than 150 K-12 students in our community who need extra literacy and language support. This year, we launched a new partnership at Pisgah View Apartments. Volunteer tutors and high school interns are matched with young scholars to focus on reading, writing, and communication skills. One intern started working with a brother and sister in second and sixth grade. At first there was hesitation; it's hard to take on more academic work when you're already struggling. So the tutor focused on building rapport first. Some days, the siblings read aloud to each other. Other days, it was homework help. Over time, they started joining their tutor early, letting their personalities come out more. The intern was able to develop individualized lessons around their interests, and the siblings continue to grow as readers and writers.
Thank you to WNC Bridge Foundation, The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation, Pisgah View Apartments, and every volunteer tutor and young adult intern. Together, we are transforming lives!
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Our Youth Literacy Program is growing, and we are so excited for the opportunity to support more students and families in our community! Made possible by an Isaac Coleman Grant through Buncombe County, we are creating a new, full-time position. Our current Youth Literacy Director will shift into that role, which means we're now hiring a Youth Literacy Director to help take our program to the next level!
The Youth Literacy Director provides strategic vision, operational leadership, and instructional oversight for our community-based programs that deliver evidence-based tutoring to K-8 grade students in Buncombe County.
We are actively hiring for this role, but not for long! Applications close on August 5th, so please share with your network!
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Say Hello to our New Outreach & Communications Coordinator!
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Linda Jilk will join Literacy Together as the Outreach and Communications Coordinator in September 2026, and we can't wait for you to meet her!
For the past 30 years, she has shared the power of literacy with adults and youth in a variety of settings, including schools, community colleges, jails, and nonprofit organizations (Literacy NRV in Christiansburg, VA). She believes literacy education is a powerful catalyst for positive change.
“Working for a nonprofit literacy organization is like working for the electric company—we give power,” she said. “When adults and youth gain literacy skills, they gain new power: the power to change their lives, their families, and the community we all share. It's an honor to be part of a movement where neighbors help neighbors make dreams come true.”
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Dolly Parton's Imagination Library Grows & Grows!
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Every month, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library connects families through the simple joy of sharing a book. Literacy Together is one of the many organizations around the world that facilitates this opportunity, and this partnership (made possible by Buncombe Partnership for Children) allows us to serve the unique needs of our community. Together we're part of a global movement that is helping inspire a love of reading in children across five countries!
Today, 1 in 6 children under the age of five (in the United States) receives an Imagination Library book in the mail each month. One of those kids is James -- he was featured in our video in 2021. James is now 10 and has grown into an avid reader, especially of non-fiction books about history. His dad, Greg, is proud to say that James reads well above his grade level, and his favorite thing to learn about is presidential history. Over the years James has amassed a library of great books, and even though he’s outgrown picture books, he’s saved some of his favorites from Dolly.
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First Horizon Foundation Gives Back
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We are always happy to be in relationship with the people behind the support. It was a pleasure to catch up with the team from First Horizon Foundation when they visited our office to present Literacy Together with $5,000 toward programming. This grant helps expand our team's capacity to match 500 students a year with a tutor.
Summer is the time for end-of-year assessments, which measure progress and growth for students in our Adult Literacy and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs. Funding from First Horizon Foundation goes toward training volunteer tutors, who in turn work with an assigned student once a week for a full year. One student, Marcela (featured in our recent program video), has diligently worked with her tutor to strengthen her English language and communication skills. We are so excited to announce that her end-of-year assessment showed Marcela moved up a full level this year!
Congrats to Marcela and all of our students who are wrapping up a year of growth. And a HUGE thank you to First Horizon Foundation for your support!
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| Literacy Together + Lexington Glassworks = LOVE!
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We're excited to announce a creative partnership with Lexington Glassworks in Asheville! As part of their Giving Back Campaign, the glassblowing team chose to support Literacy Together with this season's speciality tumbler. A percentage of all tumblers sold will go to Literacy Together's individualized tutoring programs that support students across our Youth Literacy, Adult Literacy, and English as a Second Language (ESOL) programs.
The Literacy Together collection runs from August 7-September 25.
Literacy Together will be at Lexington Glassworks during the First Friday Art Walk on September 4th -- stop by to say hello and see the beautiful handiwork from Lexington Glassworks designers!
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Sweets for a Cause: Corner Kitchen & Chestnut
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If you're hungry for something sweet this summer, head over to Corner Kitchen and Chestnut Asheville for dessert! 🍰✨ As one of our 2026 corporate sponsors, they are donating a portion of all dessert sales to our programs that support literacy throughout Buncombe County! 📚❤️
A little something sweet can go a long way! 🍨🎉
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Thank you to System Logistics for their incredible donation of 40 laptops to Literacy Together! These will be available for students to use for online classes, job applications and research, and to support their children’s education. We are lucky to have you in our corner!
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| Upcoming Online Orientation Meetings
Tuesday, August 11 at 6 p.m. via Zoom
Thursday, August 13 at 10 a.m. via Zoom
Tuesday, September 15 at 6 p.m. via Zoom
Thursday, September 17 at 10 a.m. via Zoom
“English was my second language, so it took me a lot of time to warm up to people and speak English. It really means a lot to help other kids who are going through that same thing."
-Youth Literacy tutor
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| Your generosity provides literacy services to our neighbors of every age.
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