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National Adult Education and Family Literacy (AEFL) Week is September 18–24, 2022
AEFL Week brings attention to the nearly 800 million adults worldwide who cannot read, write, or perform simple math calculations. This is a time when individuals, organizations, and countries throughout the world renew their efforts to promote literacy and demonstrate their commitment to providing education for all.
Literacy Together has been working for the past 36 years to provide volunteer tutors to adults who lack the basic literacy or English Language skills they need to get better jobs, help their children with homework, and participate fully in our community. This past program year we provided 17,148 instructional hours to 391 students to help them reach their educational goals.
In this newsletter you will read stories about our work in the community and the many ways you can become involved in our mission of transforming lives and communities through the power of literacy!
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"I always wanted to be the inspiration I wanted as a kid, and I feel like I have done that with this internship." (Summer camp intern)
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Your gift keeps us growing!
The impact of Literacy Together is growing in so many ways. Your support makes it possible. Here are a few examples:
Literacy Together volunteer tutors provided 17,148 instructional hours in 2021-22 compared to 11,517 the previous year, serving 391 students compared to 295.
The Youth Literacy summer program doubled in size and will be extended to school-year tutoring.
The English for Speakers of Other Languages program served 257 students, more than ever, and eight students became new citizens.
Multiple Adult Literacy students now have a tutoring “team.” That team consists of an HSE/GED tutor, a Basic Skills tutor, the program director, and the most important team member: the student.
Over 4,900 books are mailed monthly to children under five through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library®
Your Gift of Literacy inspires students, tutors, staff, and board to continue transforming lives through the power of literacy.
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What do Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia have in common with the countries of Turkey, Oman, and Wales?
They are all home to Literacy Together volunteers teaching adult English learners in WNC! There are pros and cons to both online and in-person teaching, of course, but certainly one of the advantages of online teaching is that it can be done from almost anywhere. We routinely receive inquiries now from prospective volunteers who aren't local, and we welcome them!
In fact, 12% of our currently active tutors are from outside of Asheville. (In NC, we have tutors in Charlotte, Raleigh, Chapel Hill, Tryon, Boone, and Rosman.) Many of our students relish the convenience that online learning offers, especially those for whom childcare and transportation would otherwise present obstacles to accessing education.
There are now about 65 prospective students on our ESOL waiting list, and the majority of them are hoping for a tutor who can teach them online. So please help us spread the word - far and wide - that we can accept volunteer tutors from just about anywhere, as long as they have a reliable internet connection!
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Read some of the comments from the Youth Literacy summer interns!
The Youth Literacy Program wrapped up an 8-week summer program, Igniting Superhero Readers, in August. Twenty-six interns, young adults in the Asheville community, supported 75 elementary students with 1:1 literacy instruction. Here is their feedback.
“I feel that not only did I gain an amazing bond with these little kiddos, but I also gained a new sense of patience and gentleness for them. The two boys I worked with were in the foster care system. Honestly, it broke my heart because the world would see them as a troubled youth, but in reality, they are going through things that most can’t imagine. They taught me to listen attentively; they also taught me that even though I have a job to do, some things are more important– like having a conversation with someone who cares.”
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After working hard for three years with his wonderful tutor, Tim, Bob completed the 12-book Wilson Reading System. He came into the program in 2019 struggling with his reading and writing (read his story here), and he graduated this summer with an understanding of advanced concepts in the English language. That is a huge and rare accomplishment. But even more important, Bob now has the skills and experience to become an Adult Literacy tutor!
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| Tim, Rebecca Massey (AL Program Director), and Bob.
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Our students know better than anyone else what it takes to do this work and how important it is to have a partner on that journey. Congratulations to Bob and Tim! They have been an amazing team and an inspiration to us all.
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We received this sweet letter!
"My daughter is 7. Just the other day, we were listening to “9 to 5” on the radio, and I said, “Who is singing this, Hannah?” She can read now, so she said, “Dolly Parton, the lady who gave me all the books.” I said she gave you a book every month for five years. I said, “Let’s do the math and see how many books that was! We did the math and said what a huge gift she had given us. We kept our favorite ("Lissy’s Friends") but put the rest in little free libraries to spread the love. Thank you, Dolly!"
Tasha Murphy, DPIL parent
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The Imagination Library puts books into the hands and hearts of children worldwide. We're mailing a free book monthly to over 4,900 registered children in Buncombe County.
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Our community is getting stronger every day!
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Thanks to First Presbyterian Church and Casey Edwards for the beautiful recital, "Of The Universe: A Recital Benefiting Literacy Together." Thank you to those who came to enjoy the music and contributed to Literacy Together!
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Many potential volunteers learn about us from Volunteer Match, and the more awesome reviews we have on the site, the better! If you are a tutor and could take a few minutes to submit a review here, you'd be helping us recruit more volunteer tutors, and we'll be very grateful. Thanks in advance! Below is what Jody S., an ESOL tutor, said about working with us! Thank you! And thanks to Volunteer Match for sharing our Instagram story with Jody's testimonial and helping us to spread the word about our mission!
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| Upcoming Online Volunteer Orientations
Tuesday, October 4th, 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Thursday, October 6th, 10:00 am - 11:00 am
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| Your generosity provides literacy services to our neighbors of every age.
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