“Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.”
Let me ask you, do you care about the future of Marion County? It’s a pointed question I know. Of course you do. But what are you doing to truly impact that future? I’m asking you, today, to take a step forward and care about that future in a more effective and direct manner, by supporting the Marion County Literacy Council.
The Literacy Council is focused on providing our community’s adults with the resources they need to improve their literacy skills. It is estimated that 19% of the adults in Marion County are unable to read above a 5th grade level, leaving many feeling hopeless, jobless or in underpaid jobs, and dependent on social services to live. Perhaps most heartbreaking is the long-term effect their low literacy has on their children. Low literacy becomes intergenerational: the strongest indicator of a child’s success in school is their mother’s level of education. You can be the difference for these families.
If you think adult illiteracy and low education doesn’t affect you, think again. Low literate adults struggle to find employment, struggle to help their children with homework, struggle to understand a bus schedule, instructions on a bottle of medication, and nutritional information on a package of food. This is because literacy means not only the ability to read, but the ability to read well, to process information and solve problems. To give a brief example, this letter is nearly impossible for many of our students to read or most importantly understand. Their skills are limited to understanding short, simple texts, and one-step math problems.
The plight of low literacy stretches beyond individual families and impacts us all.
Literacy Council – What We Do!
Our students want a better life for themselves and their families. Coming to the Literacy Council is the way they will achieve that goal. We provide programming to over 400 students a year with one-on-one tutoring and small group classes. We offer adult programming throughout the county in the following areas:
WE NEED YOU!!!
As you can see, a community with high illiteracy rates is a community in need. If you want to impact Marion County, you have to impact it at the most basic level: Education. To allow us to help our students, we need several things to be in place: a strong tutor force, strong tutor training, accurate assessments, the right books and materials for the specific needs of individual students, safe and public work stations, and of course community support. Abuse rates, substance abuse issues, crime rates, government assistance dependency and workforce all are impacted when you tackle the issue of adult literacy. By donating to the Literacy Council you are not only changing the lives of our students, but you are changing Marion County. You are creating jobs, a better life, and a better community.
The Literacy Council needs you. Our students need you.
We are a small organization, with only two paid staff members, but we currently host more than 70 volunteer tutors and three work-study students sponsored by Rasmussen College. We are only sustained by your dollars, a few small fundraisers, and a small grant by United Way. Dollars continue to decrease but we have more students walking in our doors and costs such as materials, books, electric and insurance increase.
While this year has been a huge success for so many in our community, our organization has been challenged. Please help us continue our work and positively impact lives in Marion County.
As we celebrate this time of giving and rebirth in the coming weeks, we hope you will consider making the Literacy Council part of your end-of-year plans and your charity of choice for 2018. For one student, it generally cost around $400 a year to help them reach their goals. There are several ways you can make your impact:
There are so many wonderful organizations in our community, but in the end we help someone achieve the greatest of life’s gifts… self-sufficiency. A person, who previously could not get a job, because they didn’t understand the job application or didn’t have a diploma, now has the skills to apply and retain employment. They will be able to put food on their own table, provide for their families, and in turn strengthen our economy and Marion County. They will be able to make informed health decisions and most important to many, they will now have the power to increase their child’s success in the future, breaking the cycle of low literacy, low education and poverty.
Thank you for believing in our mission and for impacting our organization in such a huge way! As always, please come by our office for a visit and if you or anyone in your circle have a passion for helping someone improve their literacy – we would love to have you.
Tutors Wanted by Marion County Literacy Council
To Teach Adults Reading, Language Arts, Math, GED And English As Second Language
“With as little as two hours a week, you can positively impact an adult learner’s life,” says Summer Gill, Executive Director of the Marion County Literacy Council (MCLC).
“We are seeking more volunteer tutors to meet with an adult for a weekly 1 ½ hour session or two 1-hour sessions. Tutors are needed in Language Arts (reading, writing, and grammar), Math, GED preparation, and English for Speakers of Other Languages. Bilingual tutors are also a need as we encounter more Spanish speakers with lower English skills, and as we expand our GED program to our Spanish speakers.”
Adult students come to MCLC with varied goals, from improving job promotion prospects to functioning better in today’s complex environment. In the past 12 months, 125 tutors have worked with more than 400 motivated adults. Tutors meet with students at our downtown office (south of the main post office) or elsewhere based on need.
Tutor qualifications include:
So very thankful for another amazingly fun evening spent spelling words, bribing judges, and supporting the Literacy Council!!
Thank you to our presenting sponsor Schatt, Hesser, McGraw, PA.
1st Place: Collier, Jernigan & Goedert
2nd Place: Schatt, Hesser & McGraw
3rd Place: Blanchard, Merriam, Adel & Kirkland
Thank you to our Table Sponsors: Schatt, Hesser, McGraw; SellState Next Generation Realty; Collier, Jernigan & Goedert; Blanchard, Merriam, Adel & Kirkland; George Mangan Insurance; HDG Hotels, BB & T, Hamlet Construction Thank you to our decor, judges, and awards sponsors: Cory Pool, Verteks, and Lindsay, Crabb & Associates!!
Check out more photos on Facebook!
Thank you to our Table Sponsors and Event sponsors!
At the Literacy Council, we appreciate our students and their dedication to every study session. To show our love for their efforts and hard work, the “student spotlights” are installments on certain people who help us define what our programs truly mean. In this spotlight, Roosevelt Anderson emphasizes his optimism on life and the core skills that he has gained from his classes.
Roosevelt Anderson
Where there is resilient optimism, there is Roosevelt Anderson. A student at the Marion County Literacy Council, Roosevelt enrolled himself in classes to obtain his GED diploma. In the span of his hours spent studying core skills such as reading, math, and science, Roosevelt has found a deeper meaning that delves beyond the books. “Right now I’m on the winning end of life,” Roosevelt says, “because you can’t lose if you’re trying.” The student wholly embraces every subject but prefers mathematical equations that bring sense to his restructured life. Roosevelt has not been in a learning environment for over thirty years and, though the position was a difficult adjustment at first, he emphasizes the importance of studying outside of the sessions. Roosevelt appreciates the instruction of his tutors as “the push is what he needs.” In a matter of one year, Roosevelt has improved his reading and math skills by two grade levels, boosting his confidence for the GED examination. Alongside his determination to obtain a degree that he did not have the opportunity to finish at a younger age, Roosevelt works full-time, sets aside important hours for his family, and devotes weekly time at the Literacy Council. Though life dealt him unavoidable cards that once veered away from education, Roosevelt enters each session knowing that he is one step closer to greater opportunities.
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