National Volunteer Week is April 19 through 25! Thank you for all you do as volunteers — assessors, coordinators, tutors, staff, board members, and event helpers.
In June, we’ll host a new tutor training session. Refer a friend to volunteer with us.
We couldn’t do this without you!
Many thanks,
Jane
Welcome to the Literacy Council!
Another enthusiastic training class joined us at Woods Memorial Presbyterian Church on February 21. Many of these new tutors are already matched with students.
Lots of thoughtful, helpful hands make our training events a success. Thank you, staff, trainers, tutors, and volunteers, for contributing your time before, during, and after each session.
We couldn’t host in-person training without Woods Church and its kind and accommodating staff. The church donates its classroom space and staff support.
Our next training class will be scheduled for June. Refer a friend.
The Literacy Council has a Facebook Group for AACLC Tutors to share ideas, resources, and solutions.
The group is titled “AACLC Tutors.” Tutors are invited to search for it on Facebook and ask to join. The group is moderated by AACLC staff and volunteers. This is a private group, and there are ground rules about privacy and courtesy. For more information, look us up on Facebook.
The Literacy Council will continue its informational, public Facebook page at facebook.com/AACLC.
Unread: A Memoir of Learning (and Loving) to Read
Oliver James, who shared his dedication to learning to read as an adult on TikTok, has written a memoir. It was published in February and is available at AACPL. Mr. James writes about the shame, fear, and isolation he felt when he was a young man unable to read. He describes his many coping mechanisms and how gaining strength in reading opened whole new worlds to him. A list of books he enjoyed on his reading journey is included.
Spell Freedom
Septima Clark was a schoolteacher in segregated South Carolina when she teamed up with three other social justice activists to launch the Citizenship School Project. It began in 1956 with a secret classroom in the back of a grocery store on rural Johns Island, SC. Black adults who had been denied education and lacked basic literacy skills learned to read, write, prepare to vote, and more. Spell Freedom tells their determined story — available at AACPL.
Literacy Council NEDP program graduate and high school diploma recipient, Lovell Offer, was elected to the Literacy Council’s Board of Directors this month.
Lovell is deeply engaged in the community as a Community Outreach Support Navigator with the City of Annapolis Mayor’s Office and as a Peer Support Specialist with the Anne Arundel County Department of Health. In addition, Lovell runs an Annapolis nonprofit he founded, Small City Big Dreams (SCBD), a life-enrichment organization that provides vital resources to families living in low-income neighborhoods. Through his SCBD work, Lovell has collaborated with the Literacy Council on diaper drives and Thanksgiving and Christmas drives. In 2019, he launched a cleaning business and, through that enterprise, employs people in low-income communities.
Lovell is a recipient of the Bertina Nick Award — given by Leadership Anne Arundel (LAA) to those who demonstrate community leadership, a graduate of LAA’s Flagship Program and of its Neighborhood Leadership Academy.
Welcome, Lovell!
Did you know? The Literacy Council was founded in 1977, when six women in Glen Burnie realized there was a need for local adult literacy tutoring.
Today, the majority of our volunteers are women. The same is true of our students.
We applaud and celebrate everything women do at the Literacy Council and in our communities and beyond to make the world a better place for all!
Help is a call or text away.
For anyone facing difficulties, dialing 2-1-1 connects callers with trained health and human services personnel who provide guidance and help with a range of needs, from utility assistance to legal guidance to mental health help.
211 help is available in more than 100 languages. Please see 211md.org to know all that the service offers. Calls are confidential, and there is a texting option as well.
The Community Resources page on our website at icanread.org features an organized list of government and community resources available to residents of Anne Arundel County. It includes websites and phone numbers for government departments and services, library resources, education, employment, immigration, and food assistance.
The Community Resources page is available in Spanish.
En Español: Recursos comunitarios.
This resources page, published by the Anne Arundel County Food Bank and updated regularly, provides information on where to find free food and basic necessities throughout the county. Pantry locations, contact numbers, and hours are included. Visit the resources page to download a pantry map that lists food, baby, and senior pantries all over Anne Arundel County.
Free virtual ESL classes at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Call OIC’s partner, the Center of Help (Centro de Ayuda), at 410-295-3434 to enroll.
Saturday, March 28, 3 – 4:30 pm, in the library cafe
https://www.aacpl.net/event/copy-intercambio-de-idiomaslanguage-exchange-219731
Saturday, April 25, 3 – 4:30 pm, in the library cafe
https://www.aacpl.net/event/copy-intercambio-de-idiomaslanguage-exchange-219732
Saturday, May 23, 3 – 4:30 pm, in the library cafe
https://www.aacpl.net/event/copy-intercambio-de-idiomaslanguage-exchange-219733
Monday, April 13, 6 – 7 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-221011
Monday, May 11, 6 – 7 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/copy-language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-221012
February 18, 6 – 7:30 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-211110
Monday, March 18, 6 – 7:30 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-218723
Wednesday, April 15, 6 – 7:30 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-218724
Wednesday, May 20, 6 – 7:30 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-218725
Monday, March 30, 5 – 7 pm
Seeds 4 Success office
The group is most suited to Spanish speakers, and space is limited to 15 people. The evening features a welcoming atmosphere, enjoyable conversation, games, and light refreshments. Literacy Council tutors or students should email Wendy if they plan to attend.
In March, we join families, educators, schools, libraries, and bookstores in celebrating National Reading Month.
For the Literacy Council, work on reading and literacy is a daily, year-round mission.
Adult literacy affects all of us — approximately 59 million adults in the United States read at or below the lowest levels. Increasing an adult’s literacy skills by one level, from the lowest to the next highest, reduces their likelihood of living in poverty by 50%. (ProLiteracy)
The AACLC’s programs address adult literacy needs in Anne Arundel County, where the low literacy rate among adults is 15%, and the low numeracy rate is 20%. To see what literacy looks like in our communities, Maryland, and the surrounding areas, visit the National Center for Education Statistics’ US Skills Map.
ProLiteracy publishes an informative adult literacy fact sheet that highlights some of the costs of low literacy, including the challenges faced by immigrants.
Last year, our volunteers donated more than 18,000 hours in Anne Arundel County, providing adult education in communities where help is needed most.
Many thanks,
Jane
Help is a call or text away.
For anyone facing difficulties, dialing 2-1-1 connects callers with trained health and human services personnel who provide guidance and help with a range of needs, from utility assistance to legal guidance to mental health help.
211 help is available in more than 100 languages. Please see 211md.org to know all that the service offers. Calls are confidential, and there is a texting option as well.
The Community Resources page on our website at icanread.org features an organized list of government and community resources available to residents of Anne Arundel County. It includes websites and phone numbers for government departments and services, library resources, education, employment, immigration, and food assistance.
The Community Resources page is available in Spanish.
En Español: Recursos comunitarios.
This resources page, published by the Anne Arundel County Food Bank and updated regularly, provides information on where to find free food and basic necessities throughout the county. Pantry locations, contact numbers, and hours are included. Visit the resources page to download a pantry map that lists food, baby, and senior pantries all over Anne Arundel County.
Free virtual ESL classes at beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. Call OIC’s partner, the Center of Help (Centro de Ayuda), at 410-295-3434 to enroll.
Saturday, January 31, 3 – 4:30 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/hold-language-exchange-210591
Monday, February 16, 6 – 7 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-210585
Monday, March 9, 6 – 7 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-221007
February 18, 6 – 7:30 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-211110
Monday, March 18, 6 – 7:30 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/language-exchangeintercambio-de-idiomas-218723
Saturday, February 28, 3 – 4:30 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/intercambio-de-idiomas
Saturday, March 28, 3 – 4:30 pm
https://www.aacpl.net/event/copy-intercambio-de-idiomaslanguage-exchange-219731
