Dear Friend,

When Juli’s parents recently immigrated to America, they followed in their daughter’s footsteps by enrolling in Literacy Volunteers. Juli, a former student, found LVCA when she first arrived to Charlottesville from Colombia. She threw herself into her studies and soon she found herself moving from stocking in a department store to a growing medical career. There, she was able to put her background of chemical engineering to use.  “Learning English opened all the doors for me. I have recommended this place to a lot of my friends.”

After her parents got approved for a visa, Juli was elated to be living with them again. “I admire them so much,” she said. “They are in their 60s and they want to learn.” She proudly talked about her mother’s growth saying, “it’s so amazing how much [my mother] can understand now. She’s very dedicated.”

The day that we met, Juli accompanied her dad to his tutoring session. As she discussed watching her father study, she beamed, saying that she now sees “him with his notebook, writing words down, trying with his pronunciation.” She laughed as she recalled that he now corrects her own pronunciation.

Literacy Volunteers’ foundational beliefs are that education creates opportunity and that everyone deserves access to education. Every day we see that when people have the ability and the desire to access education, lives transform. 

Juli saw firsthand how improving English improved her job prospects. “Thanks to Literacy Volunteers, I am where I am,” she said. “Because without English, I couldn’t have gotten to where I am.” Her parents witnessed their daughter’s progress. They saw her hard work. They became Literacy Volunteers students because they, too, have hope that a future with better English will open opportunities for them.

“I feel so proud that they have the opportunity of accessing this type of education,” Juli said. “I’m just the proudest daughter in the world.” Seeing her father’s smile as she sat with him before his tutoring session, it’s fair to say that they are equally proud of her.

Hope is the belief that with hard work, future goals are attainable. We see this enacted every day in students like Juli and her parents. This holiday season give the gift of hope. To give in honor of someone, simply fill out the donation form, click that you would like to dedicate this donation to someone, and then let us know who you are honoring with your donation. We will do the rest, including sending them a holiday card (or email if donated after December 23). 

P.S. While donations are critical in helping keep our doors open, we always are recruiting folks to donate their time as a volunteer tutor. If you or someone you know is interested in becoming a volunteer tutor, consider signing up here for our next virtual volunteer information session on Thursday, January 8 at 12pm. Learn more about becoming a volunteer tutor here.