Here is what some of the interns shared about what they learned from their experiences and the ways they saw their students grow:
"My student wanted to title a drawing she made Masterpiece and she made a really great attempt at spelling such a long hard word by herself."
"My student one time told me in the most adorable and goofy way “I can’t read!”, but towards the end when we got farther in his lesson book he was reading the lines of words very well and could also write words after I say them. Finishing the post assessment definitely made me proud because I’ve seen my student working hard and I could tell his skills improved."
"This internship contributed to my goals in the future because it has always been my dream to help POC children in the community. I always wanted to be the inspiration I wanted as a kid, and I feel I have done that with this internship."
In addition, the Igniting Superhero Readers internship will continue throughout the school year, thanks to a grant from the City of Asheville! The interns will support elementary-age students in the YTL and Avery Learning Center after-school programs.
"My work with children and families through the years has been in education. With an educational focus, literacy became my number one focus. Without literacy, success is impossible. I love the work Literacy Together does, especially with both children and adult literacy. All my experience with Literacy Together has been positive and I love the training that the volunteers get in literacy. I also am excited about the diversity that the organization is working to include through the teen volunteer piece. This is powerful for all involved. I see it as generational success."
"I was born in Mexico City and grew up in the Asheville/Hendersonville area. I am the mom of two kids (Myriam 17 and Diego 15) and was the chef at Highland Lake Inn (Season's Restaurant) for 13 years. I chose to explore a new path 5 years ago with nonprofit work for the Latino community. I worked as a bilingual court advocate at True Ridge until July 2022. I now work for El Centro of Henderson County as the assistant director and as a contractor between El Centro of Henderson County and Western Women's Business Center. I have never really left my passion for cooking so I spend some of my free time as a private chef with Mikasa AVL.
My hobbies are hiking, camping, traveling to new places, trying new restaurants, and salsa dancing. I'm excited to start this new journey with Literacy Together."
Gabby Mendez
Joselyne Gago is currently the branch manager for TD Bank in Weaverville. She has been in banking for over 40 years. She was raised in Haiti after her parents left Cuba in the early 1960s and spent most of her adult life in South Florida. She raised four children and will be a first-time grandmother in September.
"My attraction to all things around literacy and the ability to understand and communicate effectively comes from my personal experience as a child. The impact one teacher or person can have on a young person can be life-changing.
TD Bank supports Literacy Together and it is in line with my interest and the needs of this community."
Joselyne Gago
We received this sweet photo
Thanks for sharing it, Sara! We're so glad you're enjoying the books!
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.
205 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.
We had so much fun participating in the United Way of Asheville and Buncombe County United for Youth Block Party on August 18th. Thanks for the invite! Tiffany Grimme, our Youth Literacy Program Assistant, made some new little friends.
THANK YOU to all who have donated items from our Amazon Wishlist!
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 one of our Adult Literacy tutors said about volunteering with us!
