September News & Updates from Literacy Volunteers
September News & Updates from Literacy Volunteers
The Joy of Writing
On August 17 we had almost 50 people gather to recognize the hard work our students put into producing this year's edition of The Joy of Writing. You can view photos from the event here, on our Flickr page. Thank you to everyone who attended. Copies of the book are available in our office.
JAG School Supply Drive Donation
Spouses of the JAG Legal Center and School (LCS) Club held a collection drive for us last week. We now have lots of school supplies to offer our tutors and students while they're in the office. We appreciate their support and generous donations!
Fall Tutor Training
Help spread the word about our upcoming tutor training dates! Prospective tutors can call 434-977-3838 for more information or to register.
Saturday, September 23
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Tuesday, October 17 and Wednesday, October 18
5:30 - 8:30 PM
(must attend both evenings)
Saturday, November 11
9:30 AM - 4:30 PM
Shredding Event to Benefit LVCA
The community is invited to bring all their personal & confidential documents to the Bank of the James to have them shredded with proceeds benefiting LVCA.
Saturday, September 23
9:00 AM - 12:00 PM
225 Merchant Walk Avenue
International Literacy Day
Today, September 8, International Literacy Day is celebrated all across the world. Coordinated by UNESCO, International Literacy Day's main objective is to "remind the international community of the importance of literacy for individuals, communities, and societies, and the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies".
Ways you can take action on International Literacy Day:
  1. Volunteer - For two hours each week you can make a profound difference in the life of one of our students. We are always in need of more volunteers who are able to commit to one year of tutoring with a student.
  2. Donate - Tutoring services are free for each of our over 400 students. The cost for each learner - taking into account staff support, tutor training, learner materials, and facility costs - is $25 per hour per student. We are able to serve these students only through the contributions of our friends, family, and neighbors—in other words, you.
  3. Advocate - You can reach out to your representatives and senators to remind them about the importance of adult literacy and education. Budget cuts to adult education could drastically impact adult literacy, workforce development, and human services programs throughout the country and right here in our community.  
Image by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics and the United Nations Regional Information Centre for Western Europe 
Students from this summer's citizenship class were presented with certificates of completion by our Citizenship Coordinator, Paige.
Citizenship Efforts Continue
We have remained committed to continuing to offer citizenship instruction and assistance to our students, despite the fact that our grant supporting the program ended last September.
Currently, LVCA is the only organization offering free citizenship instruction to individuals who need help preparing for the test.
We wanted to keep all of our supporters updated on the success of these students and the continuation of our services:
  • Our tutors helped 80 students prepare for the citizenship exam in Fiscal Year 2017.
  • 37 people have taken one of our citizenship classes in the last year. Of those, 5 have taken their oath and 2 have applied (that we know of). 
  • 77 individuals, who came into our program under the previous USCIS grant, have now taken their oath.
Our next 12-week citizenship class will begin on September 20. This class is for those who are within two years of applying. The class will be held on Wednesday evenings from 6:00 - 8:00 PM at the Jefferson School City Center. Individuals can register by calling 434-977-3838 or by coming to our office.
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Charlottesville, VA | 22903 US
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