|
|
|
📚Fresh starts begin with literacy 🎉
| |
This fall, as our community navigates the one-year mark since Hurricane Helene, we're reminded that literacy is the bridge between struggle and confidence for every individual in our community when they face uncertainty 📚.
For many of our young students in Buncombe County, the excitement of returning to school carries some uncertainty. They may wonder: Is this the year I'll finally keep up? Is this the year that I'll understand what the teacher is saying? Is this the year that I'll read the same books as my friends?
When children gain confidence in reading, everything changes. Instead of feeling fear and anxiety, they walk into the classroom ready to discover just how much they can achieve. When you support Literacy Together, you're not just funding programs. You're packing hope 🌟 into a child's backpack 🎒, providing them with the tools needed to carry their dreams forward 🌈.
Are you ready to change a life? 💌 Donate today to help us make this the year of fresh starts 🌱 that our community deserves.
| |
September is National Literacy Month
| |
📢 Did you know?
📖 Over 43 million U.S. adults cannot read above a 3rd-grade level. Challenges include understanding school communications, managing a household budget, and effectively using digital tools or navigating websites.
➗ Nearly 63 million adults are unable to perform at a 4th-grade level of math.
✔️ There is a clear correlation between low literacy and poverty: 43 % of adults with low literacy skills live in poverty.
🌎 Among immigrants, only about half are proficient in English.
👩👧 Children whose parents have low literacy skills are 72% more likely to read at the lowest level compared to their peers.
📌 Sources: National Coalition for Literacy and ProLiteracy
🙌 What can you do?
💡 Advocate for more funding at the local, state, and federal levels.
🤝 Support or volunteer with adult education programs.
🏢 Encourage local businesses/employers to invest in workforce development and adult learning.
| |
✨ We’re proud to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month ✨
| |
📅 September 15–October 15 is Hispanic Heritage Month! 🎉
At Literacy Together, we celebrate our Hispanic community every day 💛.
We asked our Hispanic students, tutors, and staff: What is your favorite dish 🍲, tradition 🎊, or song 🎶 that celebrates your culture 🌎—and why?
We’ll be highlighting their answers on social media throughout the month ✨, but here’s what Ines, an ESOL student from Mexico, shared:
| |
"I remember with great nostalgia every Día de Muertos from my childhood. In Mexico, we celebrate it in November, and every year my family would set up an altar dedicated to our loved ones. I remember that making the altar was our family tradition because we all participated in decorating it. We would arrange the altar with beautiful tissue paper and crepe paper cut into shapes and figures. The paper was cut and decorated by my mom herself, and we would hang it like paper curtains and little paper balloons.
| |
My mom and grandmother also cooked a variety of traditional Mexican dishes and made Mexican sweets to place on the altar as an offering to our deceased relatives. The food, drinks, and sweets we put on the altar were always the favorites of our loved ones. We also placed water and candles on the altar to show them the way to our home.
| |
Every year, I eagerly awaited Día de Muertos because it was the day my family made traditional milk candies, coconut sweets, and jamoncillo (my favorites 🥰). Since we had very limited financial means, those were the only days when I could enjoy tasting those delicious treats.
| |
After setting up the altar, my whole family would gather, and we would walk together to the cemetery to bring flowers, light candles, and clean the graves of our loved ones.
Thank you so much for letting me share this small part of my family with you."
| |
| We love Mexico and Mexicans! 💗
| |
A Fond Farewell to Laura 💛✨
| |
After five incredible years, we’re saying goodbye to Laura Bernhein, our Outreach and Communications Director, as she moves on to pursue an exciting new opportunity in her career 🌟. Laura has been an invaluable member of our team, and although we’ll miss her 😢, we’ll do our best to be happy for her 😊. We’ll miss her warmth, humor, talent, and creativity 💛✨, AND we’re thrilled for her next chapter! 🎉
| |
"I'm excited AND I'll miss my loving, funny, amazing Literacy Together family. Thank you for five fantastic years!" ~ Laura 🥹
| |
We’re thrilled to share that Literacy Together has received a generous grant from Dogwood Health Trust! This support will help us continue pursuing our mission to transform lives and communities through the power of Literacy 🙏🏼 📚
Thanks to this grant, Literacy Together will be able to sustain and expand its four programs, which address literacy challenges in Buncombe County. Last year, more than 500 youth and adults received intensive tutoring to improve their language and literacy skills. With this new support, we aim to reach even more! 💪🏼
Dogwood Health Trust is a private foundation based in Asheville, North Carolina, with the sole purpose of dramatically improving the health and well-being of all people and communities of 18 counties and the Qualla Boundary in Western North Carolina. Dogwood Health Trust focuses on innovative and equitable ways to address the many factors that contribute to overall health and well-being. With a focus on housing, education, economic opportunity, and health and wellness, Dogwood Health Trust works to create a Western North Carolina where every generation can live, learn, earn, and thrive, with dignity and opportunity for all—no exceptions.
Thank you, Dogwood Health Trust, for investing in Literacy and the future of our community! 💙📚
| |
Baby Russell is only 4 months old, but he's already diving into stories, thanks to Dolly Parton's Imagination Library! 💗
| |
Please help us spread the word about our need for volunteers 🙏🏼
| |
|
Our orientation meetings are open to everyone who wants to learn about Literacy Together's impactful work and explore ways to support us. We provide information on literacy and the challenges we face in Buncombe County, as well as the initiatives Literacy Together is undertaking to address them. We also provide details on how to get involved as a volunteer, including remote and in-person tutoring and non-tutoring roles.
This is what a participant said after one of this month's orientation meetings:
| |
Learning that reading skills aren't taught after the third grade was surprising. Bridging that gap for some students would be so amazing.
| |
| Upcoming Online Orientation Meetings
Tuesday, October 14th, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Thursday, October 16th, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
| |
| Show your love for Literacy Together to the world!
| |
| Your generosity provides literacy services to our neighbors of every age.
| |
|
|
|
|
