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Learning to Read
By Allen Glover
(Faulkner Co Adult Learner)
When you can't read you're in a closet and you're frustrated. When you start learning to read it makes you more aware. It's like going from a really bad job to a really good one. You find out what you've been missing all along.
Learning to read is like buying your first car. It is exciting and a little scary too. Being able to read makes me feel like I'm on my game. It gives me an advantage in life. It gives me power that I never felt like I had. For example, I can look at paperwork and know what is required. It is harder now for people to get over on me. I can read notes, letters, signs, and other types of information for myself. I am in more control of what goes on around me. Learning to read gives you a sense of security.
Learning to read is not just a life journey for me, it's also been a spiritual journey. I can read along in church now and not be afraid. Reading scripture with my own eyes is opening me up to new things and new opportunities. It makes you feel more equal with other people. I always felt like I was less than. Now, I don't feel like that anymore.
When I couldn't read, I felt dead because I was scared all the time when I did something new. It was like watching a horror movie where you know something is waiting out there and it's going to jump out at you! But now I know that I can be successful. I am an older individual. I felt like it was almost too late for me. Now, I read my first sentences. I read my first story to my child. It makes you very emotional to learn to read when you never felt like you would be able to. I've got tears in my eyes right now!
Having a good attitude and a good teacher goes a long way. When you are willing to work hard and you have someone to say kind words and have a good outlook, then you can learn anything in life. I am thankful that I have been coming to class for a year now and that I am on my way to achieving my goals.
- Allen Glover
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Calling All Tutors
Volunteer today! There are over 25 students waiting for a tutor. Please spread the word, it requires only a few hours a week and you can change someone's life by teaching them to READ.
Please Help! Sue and Sang from Korea both need an ESL tutor. They can meet at the Thompson Library on Rahling Circle on weekday mornings. The time and place is flexable but they have been waiting for tutors since the Spring.
They are not the only ones who are excited to get started but are forced to wait because we do not have the man power to accomadate everyone. If you are too busy but would still like to help, donate today at our website.
www.literacylittlerock.org
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New Hours for LACA
Starting November 1st, 2012 Literacy Action will be closed on Fridays. We are sorry for any inconvenience. Our new hours:
Monday thru Thursday -
9:00AM to 4:00PM
Friday - Closed |
With your help, Literacy Action can change lives...one word at a time.
In 2012, 130 Literacy Action tutors taught 235 students to read better - and improved their job prospects, ability to take care of their families, access to health information, and self-esteem.
Cristina immigrated to Arkansas from Brazil, where she enjoyed a successful business career. She struggled to learn English. After finding Literacy Action, she is considering returning to college to finish her Masters degree in Business Administration. In her words, "I can think about my career. I can have hope."
Can you help share the gift of hope and literacy?A donation of $125 provides training materials for one student for one year. A gift of any size is appreciated.
Your gift allows Literacy Action to recruit, train, and provide teaching materials to our volunteer tutors. Our students use their literacy skills to gain employment, teach their children the value of reading, and improve their health and well-being.
One of our volunteer tutors found that "the rewards...are making a difference in someone's life by improving fundamental literacy skills and self-esteem."
Please help make a difference by giving a gift today!
Donate here.
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Opening Doors to Literacy!
Save the date
Little Rock Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumnae Association asks you to save the date for Opening doors to Literacy. March 7, 2013 at the Little Rock Country Club they will have a luncheon and a book and author occasion to promote adult literacy.
Jennie Helderman will share her experiences writing As the Sycamore Grows, a compelling non-fictional story of domestic abuse.
Susan Haltom, a heralded landscape designer from Mississippi, will offer insights into Eudor Welty's garden in One Writer's Garden.
Little Rock author, Kevin Brockmeier will highlight his recent novel, The Illumination, which is laden with picture-perfect imagery.
LACA is centered on changing lives one word at a time. Proceeds from the luncheon will help address the adult literacy issues in our community.
For Ticket Information please contact:
Betty Bloore
For sponsorship information contact:
Grace Gephardt
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Goodbye Shana
After serving as LACA's Program Coordinator for slightly over a year, Shana Beal is leaving us. Shana has taken a full-time AmeriCorps position with the Red Cross. Shana will be doing what she loves most: recruitment and training of volunteers. We wish her all the best and know she'll be great at her new job. She will surely be missed in our office.
-LACA |
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Literacy Action Newsletter October 2012
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Greetings!
 | | Neil Jones |
By now most of us are completely saturated by political speeches, and the endless commentary on every detail of this election season. Over the last few months, we have been bombarded with an array of issues and problems facing our nation and communities. Absent from much of the discussion is the fact that 93 million adults in the United States lack basic literacy skills. Literacy is at the center of many of the issues that most of us care about. Consider employment, with 43% of the labor force functioning at basic or below basic reading levels, how can these workers acquire and maintain good paying jobs? In healthcare cost alone, low health literacy costs the nation up to $236 billion each year. ProLiteracy reports that low adult literacy cost our nation $225 billion or more each year in non-productivity in the workforce, crime and loss of tax revenue due to unemployment.
Even when the big issues look unsolvable, I am inspired when I see community volunteers working at the local level to bring about fundamental and lasting change. Volunteer literacy tutors are in this category, demonstrating how individuals can make a big difference in the lives of adults and families through basic literacy instruction. Adults with new literacy skills have opportunities for better paying jobs. They can read to their children, paving the way for higher levels of success in school. They can improve their health outlook by being able to read and interpret health information. Improving adult literacy benefits everyone; employers have access to employees with higher skills, children are better equipped to learn, and healthcare cost are lowered ... the benefits to our community are endless.
In this issue:
- Check out the Tutor Training Workshops
- Read and hear about The Clinton School of Public Service project to engage our community into action.
- Allen Glover tells his heartfelt story about learning to read.
- Alice Kunce writes about how difficult it is for non-readers to interpret health information
We have over 25 adult students waiting for literacy tutors. The need for literacy instruction has never been greater. Don't sit on the sidelines; there are many ways to help... Attend a free tutor training workshop, if you are already trained, consider taking another student or make a donation, we can use your gift to help recruit and train more tutors.
Neil
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Literacy Action Workshops
Share/Save these dates
Adult Basic Tutor Training - Little Rock
Saturday, December 1, 2012
9:00AM - 3:30PM
ESL Tutor Training Workshop - Little Rock
Saturday, January 12, 2013
9:00AM - 3:30PM
Click on the purple links above and sign up today!
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Clinton School Partners with Literacy Action
"Our joint project is to develop a communications road map to help LACA increase community awareness around adult literacy in Central Arkansas." The practicum project team includes Matt Caston, Jessica Boyd, Sean O'Keefe and Emily Wernsdorfer. This year they will continue to work towards their masters through the Clinton School and join the fight for improved adult literacy in Central Arkansas. Literacy Action is proud to have them with us. Slide show
Matt Caston (23) of Jackson, Mississippi received his B.A from Mississippi College.
 | | Matthew Caston |
"Coming from Mississippi, I've always felt adult literacy was important. We're last in education, first in poverty, and my experience working with different nonprofits in the state has shown me how closely they are related. But it's more than just economics and jobs. It's about giving people the means of personal improvement and the increased well-being and potential of our communities."
Jessica Boyd (22) of Little Rock received her B.A from the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville.
 | | Jessica Boyd |
"I was shocked to discover that so many people just get passed through the educational system for a variety of reasons. After our project orientation, I learned about a man who was encouraged to cheat his way through high school to make his grades in order to play sports. As a result he has below basic literacy skills as an adult. I think most Americans, including myself, have a stereotypical view of illiterate adults and this man did not fit that image. It's really interesting to learn that adult illiteracy has many different faces.
Sean O'Keefe (25) of Seattle, Washington received his B.A from the University of Chicago.
 | | Sean O'Keefe |
"I had no idea what an enormous social challenge adult illiteracy is before I started working with Literacy Action of Central Arkansas. I assumed that America's "official" literacy rate of 99% was the end of the story. In fact, almost 40% or American adults have either basic (5th grade level) or below-basic reading skills. One in seven Americans is functionally illiterate. What upsets me is that Americans almost never talk about adult illiteracy. When we do, our language often diminished and disparages the people we should be helping. The issue is absent in our discourse, our media, and our public debates about education policy. How can we ever address the social challenges we face if so many of our fellow citizens can't read?"
Emily Wernsdorfer (22) of York, Pennsylvania received her B.A from University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
 | | Emily Wernsdorfer |
"Our project is to research and assess the attitudes and perceptions of community leaders about adult illiteracy in Pulaski and Faulkner Counties. My biggest hope is to work out a plan for LACA to successfully communicate the issue of adult literacy to the community. Now that I've learned the facts, I understand how illiteracy affects several other issues in our community, such as healthcare, hunger, employment, and many other issues. I believe that addressing literacy is an important first step in tackling these other social problems and I hope that by the end of this project my team and I can spread that need to the community."
To hear more from our Clinton School team click on the link below to watch a short slide show.
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Flu Shots aren't Free if you can't Read!
By Alice Kunce
 | | Alice Kunce |
It's that time of year again: baseball season is over, football is underway, and basketball is right around the corner. What does this mean to Arkansans? Flu Season! The Arkansas Department of Health and the Centers for Disease Control recommend that everyone get a flu shot each year. According to the Arkansas Department of Health, "Each year in the United States, 25-50 million infections are reported, more than 200,000 people are hospitalized and 23,600 die due to seasonal flu." The Arkansas Department of Health holds mass flu clinics from October thru December in locations around the state. The following chart lets you know when and where the clinic closest to you will be held. However, in order to learn the information, you need to be able to read the chart. I showed this chart to each of my students; not a single one of them could read it. Only after I explicitly taught my students how to track down the first column to locations and track across for site-specific information was the chart of any use. This is what it means to be health literate.  Here is the flier that was used to advertise the flu clinic. For most of you, while perusing this flier, your eyes will automatically follow the asterisk to the information halfway down the flier that explains costs. For most of our students here at LACA, that asterisk doesn't mean anything to them. Most of them don't even notice it. Furthermore, the phrase "no charge" is not the same as "free." Nowhere on the flier does the word "free" appear. When teaching adults to read, it is important to remember to teach asterisks and footnotes directly. The footnote on this flier explains that the flu clinics are, in fact, FREE. 
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New Faces At Literacy Action
In the Office
Although we will miss Shana, Meghan Pittman is here to take her place at the front desk. Meghan joins Literacy Action after a move from Arkadelphia where she and her family have spent the last 3 years. Now home in Little Rock we are glad to welcome her to the team.
 | | Meghan Pittman |
Meghan has a bachelors degree in Economics from UALR. She spent ten years working for Arkansas Flag and Banner and another 2.5 as a stay at home mom. When asked she said, "I was ready to go back to work and as my son grows closer to three it's time for us both to get back into the real world."
Meghan is happily married with two beautiful children Evelyn (6) and Marshal (2.5) and is just getting settled into her new home in Little Rock. In her spare time she quilts, camps with her family, and writes fiction.
Fundraising
Melody Sugg will be leading our efforts to help sustain literacy action programs in the future. She is working with the board and executive director on future fundraising projects. A native of Little Rock, Melody graduated from Jacksonville High School and then earned her B.A. in Speech Communications at UALR.
 | | Melody Sugg |
She moved to San Antonio, TX, to work for City Year, a national youth service corps and AmeriCorps program. After four years in Texas, she went on to Graduate school at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, where she earned a Masters in Public Policy.
She fled the cold winters of the East Coast and returned home to the South. Since then she has helped found a local City Year program, served as Director of the American Diabetes Association and CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters of North Central Arkansas.
It is a time of change at LACA but we are both excited to gain new members and saddened as we lose trusted friends. Good luck to everyone! |
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