Four of our students became US citizens in February!
Some of Literacy Together's adult learners are eligible to apply for US citizenship, and one of the many ways their tutors can support them is by helping them prepare for the naturalization exam, which tests their English proficiency in listening, speaking, reading, and writing, as well as their knowledge of US history and civics.
Each year we have around thirty students studying for the exam, and in the course of a given year, about ten of them will be scheduled to take the test. This month alone we've had four students pass the test and become US citizens, bringing our 2020-21 total to seven so far! One of them is Carmen, who talks a little bit about her experience in the video below.
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4,200 children are now receiving Dolly Parton's Imagination Library books
The program mails a new, free, age-appropriate book to registered children each month until they turn five years old. Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library creates a home library of up to 60 books and instills a love of books and reading from an early age.
"Thank you guys for sending us a book a month. It’s been especially difficult with the pandemic to afford new books or get out to the library or bookstore to get books with a toddler. We appreciate our monthly book so much!"
Kristina O., DPIL parent
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Black History Month, staff picks
These are some of our favorite books. What are yours?
Stamped (Jason Reynolds and Ibram X. Kendi). Powerful intro to the history of racism in the US. Written for young adults, in an informal/conversational tone, not dry or dense. It’s a good starting point for adults who want to learn more about this topic as well. There is a LOT in there that we didn't learn in school!
The Warmth of Other Suns (Isabel Wilkerson). From 1915 to 1970, this exodus of almost six million people changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares this epic migration to the migrations of other peoples in history. She interviewed more than a thousand people, and gained access to new data and official records, to write this definitive and vividly dramatic account of how these American journeys unfolded, altering our cities, our country, and ourselves.
James Baldwin’s books. In the stories I love most by him, he is pushing through so many different kinds of pain, and looking at so many hidden angles of the human experience, that it amazes me how clearly he can see and describe things. I don't think I'll ever be able to see that deeply and clearly about that much of the world. So when he tells me what he sees, I believe him and I want to listen.
Lucille Clifton’s poems. I tried to write this description/explanation for a very long time -- why I love this person and the poems she put into the world -- and I realized I really can't explain it. It's like trying to explain why something makes me laugh, or why I jump at a loud noise, or why I think a certain color is beautiful. It has to do with some instinct or feeling that I can't put into words. When I read her poems, they give me a feeling I can't put into any other words but hers.
Henry's Freedom Box: A True Story from the Underground Railroad (Ellen Levine).
Henry Brown doesn't know how old he is. Nobody keeps records of slaves' birthdays. All the time he dreams about freedom, but that dream seems farther away than ever when he is torn from his family and put to work in a warehouse. Henry grows up and marries, but he is again devastated when his family is sold at the slave market. Then one day, as he lifts a crate at the warehouse, he knows exactly what he must do: He will mail himself to the North. After an arduous journey in the crate, Henry finally has a birthday -- his first day of freedom.
Hidden Figures: The True Story of Four Black Women and the Space Race (Margot Lee Shetterly, Laura Freeman). This book brings the incredibly inspiring true story of Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, Katherine Johnson, and Christine Darden (the latter a graduate of the Allen School in Asheville, the dormitory building of which now houses Literacy Together!), who helped NASA launch men into space!
The Other Wes Moore: One Name, Two Fates (Wes Moore). Two kids named Wes Moore were born blocks apart within a year of each other. Both grew up fatherless in similar Baltimore neighborhoods and had difficult childhoods; both hung out on street corners with their crews; both ran into trouble with the police. How, then, did one grow up to be a Rhodes Scholar, decorated veteran, White House Fellow, and business leader, while the other ended up a convicted murderer serving a life sentence? Wes Moore, the author of this fascinating book, sets out to answer this profound question.
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Literacy Together earned a 2021 Platinum Seal of Transparency!
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Meet our team!
Each month for the next seven months we'll be portraying a member of our amazing team. Today, Tonya Johnson.
I have been with Literacy Together since 2020.
Things I'd love to learn in my lifetime:
I'd like to learn belly dancing. I'd also like to be able to swim without the snorkel, and I'd love to be able to prepare a 30-minute meal in 30 minutes.
My favorite things to do are:
Traveling and spending time with my family, in particular with my little grandbaby.
My favorite quote:
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men.” (Frederick Douglass)
What I like best about Literacy Together:
What I really like about Literacy Together is that our overall mission is to invest in others. I always tell our tutors that they are doing so much more than tutoring, they are planting seeds of greatness, they are planting freedom and choices for that student, in their community and in their future.
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Our community is getting stronger every day!
27 NEW VOLUNTEER TUTORS have joined Literacy Together in January and February! Is someone you know ready to work with us? Please help us spread the word! People can sign up online to volunteer or they can send an email to laura@lit-together.org.
February is National Library Lover’s Month, and we want to thank our volunteers Linda, Cathy and Jane for making sure our little libraries are well stocked! If you have any children's books you'd like to donate, please contact Laura at laura@lit-together.org.
Thanks to our friends at The POP Project for helping us distribute Dolly Parton's Imagination Library's pamphlets to make sure those books get into the hands of those who need them the most!
Thanks to Greg Garrison of The Hop Ice Cream Café for having us as guests at Breakdancing and a Book during February and for fundraising for us!
Finally, we've put together this Amazon Wishlist. You can click on the link to buy an item (or more!) and it'll ship directly to us.
Thank you for your support!
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| Online Volunteer Orientations
Tuesday, March 2nd
5:00 pm - 6:00 pm
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DONATE
Your generosity provides literacy services to our neighbors of every age.
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