Youth Literacy Program Director Julie Taylor and Program Assistant Tiffany Grimme have recruited 26 summer interns. We anticipate serving 75-100 children this year.
An abundance of research supports the implementation of community-based summer bridge programs to decrease reading loss, especially for youth from low-resource households. A study published in Reading & Writing Quarterly (2018 34:3, 263-280) demonstrates that a well-designed, community-based summer program can improve literacy skill outcomes for elementary-aged students.
The Literacy Together summer camp intentionally emphasized recruiting youth of color for paid internships to serve as tutors. Recent research documents that students of color taught by those who share their identities and cultural backgrounds benefit academically and emotionally (source: Teach for America, June 2019).
In last summer's program, the bond between the interns and campers was almost instantaneous, and the results were encouraging. The campers received pre-and post-tests conducted by Title I Reading Specialists from Asheville City Schools, using the same tools used during the school year. Of the campers who completed both the pre-and post-tests, 41 out of 44 (93%) improved their test scores in at least one literacy area.
The summer camp experience is beneficial to the interns/tutors as well. They learn a new skill, gain the experience of a summer job, have an opportunity to “give back” to the community, and receive letters of recommendation. Once a week, they attend professional development sessions on interview skills, financial literacy, and how to describe the intern experience in college essays and resumes.
Watch our new video that features students and their tutor in the Youth Literacy program.
The Youth Literacy 2022 summer camp training started on Monday, June 13th!
We are training 26 student interns, including two returning from last year! Theirages range from 15 to 20. The interns are attending a week of training from June 13-17, and then they will work with the campers three times a week from June 21st to August 11th. Each intern will work with 1-2 campers in one-on-one sessions for about an hour. Welcome!
New Corporate Partners
We welcome Alisha Suer and Jess Peterson, realtors of Heartwood Realty as new corporate partners. They are donating a portion of sales to help transform lives and communities through the power of literacy. Thank you!
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a corporate partner, contact LuAnn at LuAnn@lit-together.org.
Thank you to Dollar General Literacy Foundation!
We thank the Dollar General Literacy Foundation for our 2022 Summer Reading and Adult Literacy grants! Funding will support our Summer Camp program participants and our Adult Literacy program participants.
These two little people love the books they receive from Dolly! Their grandma, an ESOL tutor, signed them up so they could get a free book every month. The reading sessions usually end with a big hug ;)
The Imagination Library puts books into the hands and hearts of children worldwide. We're now mailing a free book each month to over 4,800 registered children in Buncombe County.
167 people have attended our online volunteer orientation meetings in 2022 so far! Is someone you know ready to work with us? People cansign up online to volunteer or send an email tolaura@lit-together.org.
Thanks to our volunteers Linda, Kenny, and Cathy! They restock our little libraries with donated books. If you'd like to donate children's books, please contact Laura at laura@lit-together.org. Thanks!
We want to thank AVL Today for continuing to feature our online volunteer orientation meetings in its daily newsletters :)
THANK YOU to all who have donated items from our Amazon Wishlist!
Many potential volunteers find out 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 one of our ESOL tutors said about volunteering with us!
