The Literacy Letter
Spring 2022 Edition
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A Note from the LVSC Office |
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Spring has sprung and with it comes a glimmer of normalcy. With the lifting of mask mandates and dropping Covid numbers, LVSC is pleased to report that for the first time in TWO years we are offering an in-person class. That's something to celebrate!
Some of our tutors and students have been working together in-person, and others have chosen to stay remote. Virtual tutoring has been very effective, plus it has many advantages: no need to worry about transportation, babysitters, travel time, or putting on shoes! For LVSC, developing virtual programming was a silver lining of the pandemic.
Throughout the pandemic we have offered a rich array of virtual services and today 120 tutors are serving 165 students. During our winter conversation group session, we offered 10 Zoom groups reaching 100 students. When the spring session starts in April, we will be adding two in-person groups in Manville & Bound Brook. Slowly but surely we’re coming back together.
In the spirit of getting together, we hope to see you at our Annual Meeting on June 1st. And if you are a golfer, please join us for the 6th Annual Golf Fore Literacy charity event on July 18th. Fundraising remains critical as we put the pandemic behind us. During the past two years, Covid-relief funding replaced the majority of income lost from our cancelled fundraising events. As emergency funding dissipates, we must strengthen our fundraising efforts so we can continue offering quality instruction through a network of well-trained, happy tutors, while also developing new programs.
On that note, a little teaser: we’ve been working on a new Cultural Literacy project. During a 6-week program we conducted guided discussions with a diverse group of students and tutors. Together we explored cultural differences and identified instances where misunderstandings occur. The final product of this project is a video of student and tutor reflections. We’re excited to it share shortly, so stay tuned…
Please enjoy this spring issue of The Literacy Letter, where you will read about our dedicated volunteers, faithful supporters, and brave students. We are grateful for all of you.
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Sara Gets a Special Delivery During the Snowstorm |
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Congratulations to LVSC student Sara and her lovely family on the arrival of their newest member. Baby Paulo Thomas was born during a January weekend snowstorm. When Sara and her husband realized they couldn’t get to the hospital, Bound Brook Police Sgt. Thomas Burgin came to the rescue and delivered Sara's healthy baby boy at home. Thanks to her work with LVSC, Sara was able to clearly communicate with the police in English, making this happy story even happier.
Before the pandemic, Sara attended conversation groups at the Bound Brook library, bringing her firstborn son in a stroller. During the pandemic, Sara has been working with an LVSC tutor virtually. And now she welcomes Baby #2.
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Sonia was a dedicated student who overcame great obstacles.
I came to LVSC because I felt helpless after losing my husband and I was struggling with my reading. I am so happy that I found someone who was able to help me. I used to ignore things, but now I tell myself I can read and I don't have as much anxiety. Learning to read is one of the greatest achievements in my life right now.
-Sonia R.
When Sonia passed away unexpectedly in December, Sonia's tutor shared this tribute:
I began working with Sonia in May 2021. Because of distance and Covid, we opted to “FaceTime” once a week and never actually met in person until recently. Reading over Sonia’s profile I learned that she struggled with literacy skills due to an undiagnosed learning disorder. She had previously worked with another volunteer tutor of whom she was very fond, so I knew I had big shoes to fill.
From the very beginning, it was apparent that Sonia was extremely bright and inquisitive. While she may have been challenged with decoding words, she was a master at comprehension. When we discussed the meaning of words and phrases, Sonia was not only able to define them, but she could give examples and analogies to support her understanding. Because she was such a hard worker, she was able to learn quickly. She was always willing to go the extra mile when learning a new skill. I used to tell her that she was my best student because she never complained about the lessons presented to her (unlike the teenagers I used to work with in my previous job as a high school teacher!).
Sonia was a very passionate and expressive person. She loved to share stories, opinions, and humorous anecdotes about friends and family. Although she was shy at first, when she read aloud, her voice had a lilting, ethereal, and soothing tone. I used to tell her she had the voice of an angel!
In early December 2021, we finally met in person at a local restaurant. We didn’t skip a beat. We talked, laughed, cajoled with each other, and shared our ups and downs. Because it was the winter holiday season, I gave her an angel ornament as a small token of affection. She later showed me a picture of where she hung it in her home. She said we were both angels to each other because we came into each other’s lives at the right moment.
Sadly, I never did see Sonia again. I will always remember her as a vibrant woman, who had a thirst for knowledge, for stories, for self-improvement, and for connections with people. I will miss her deeply.
-Julie S.
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According to her LVSC tutor, Connie studied very hard and was a great student.
Congratulations, Connie!
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We are thrilled to offer our first in-person group program in two years! Thank you to volunteer Armando Q. who is teaching a beginner ESL class, and thank you to our friends and hosts at the Manville library. It's off to a great start.
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Welcome to Our Newest Tutors |
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We are grateful to the 18 new volunteers who completed our Winter Tutor Training workshop. They are working with students who come from 11 different countries.
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Tutor Spotlights
Volunteers come to LVSC at different life stages, bringing a diversity of backgrounds, education, and life experiences. They are all amazing!
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Joanna is a recent college grad, and healthcare consultant, who became a tutor in the middle of the pandemic. Through one-to-one tutoring, Joanna's goal is to make immigrants like her parents feel more at home in the U.S. She's doing just that: last year Joanna's LVSC student became a new mom, so they worked on parenting vocabulary, reading children's stories, and even writing a letter to her student's future daughter. More recently, Joanna's student passed her Medical Assistant exam in English. We’re grateful to Joanna for volunteering in such a big way.
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Here she is making tortellini, but you may have seen Silvia running a conversation group in Somerville, tutoring one of five LVSC students, spelling in LVSC’s Community Spelling Bee, or before her retirement, teaching World Languages to high school students. Currently, Silvia is encouraging her LVSC student to read with her school-aged son. Most recently, Silvia reported “I was happy to be there to assist my student with a situation involving her son and another student in school, which required replying to the teacher concisely. My student was extremely upset and asked for my help in composing a message to the teacher. That helped clear up the situation.” Silvia is an experienced educator and valued member of the LVSC community since 2015.
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Thank you to our tutors who share so many wonderful student success stories. Here are a few:
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S. no longer needs to recite the Pledge of Allegiance from paper. She is so proud to recite the Pledge with hand over heart and big smile on her face! -Lois N.
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G. has a part-time job at a catering hall. When describing his job he referred to himself as a waitress. This led us to a lesson on different names for the same job. He now calls himself a waiter and runner. -Carolyn T.
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After learning vocabulary to describe emotions, we took turns asking each other about our different emotions and L’s conversation skills are clearly improving. Today we started learning about emergencies including new vocabulary and practicing how to make 911 calls. -Linda T.
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I accompanied J. to a leasing office to get an apartment. He did well with his English but needed me to help with specific language (e.g., security deposit, etc). This is the first time we did a life skills activity outside of the library. -Rick A.
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M. applied for a passport. -Robert S.
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My student has improved so much already, and I can tell that she works hard during the week to work on the lessons we went over. We are also working on reading driving words since she is trying to get her driver's license and is taking driving lessons. -Kaitlin C.
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A. completed her accounting course & received a certificate from Raritan Valley Community College. She has started a second course in Quickbooks. -Wendy P.
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S. has been enjoying her job at the nursery school. It's a great opportunity for her to practice English, use her teaching background and learn about caring for babies. We've been reviewing vocabulary for baby delivery, baby care and products needed for an infant. Her entire family is in Algeria except her husband. Bringing some comfort to her and sharing in this exciting time has been truly rewarding –Maria S.
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We read Dr. Seuss books together and then my student read them to her younger daughter. Her older daughter then read them to the younger one too. -Leslie H.
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Tho is LVSC’s Board treasurer and the founder and chair of LVSC’s Golf Fore Literacy event. Board member since 2016, Tho goes beyond participating. He throws his entire being into everything he does, bringing along family, friends, and colleagues. He is a role model, leader, and all around terrific human being. At the 2021 Golf Fore Literacy event, LVSC presented the Community Service Award to Tho in honor of his many contributions to adult literacy in Somerset County.
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Thank you to Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson for a recent grant. Health literacy is more important than ever, and this year’s grant provides continued support of our efforts to improve health literacy in Somerset County. Janssen has been a generous donor since 2008 – what an incredible community partner.
The Fred C. Rummel Foundation is another amazing longtime partner who is supporting our health literacy programs this year. Among other activities, grant funding enables LVSC to connect the LVSC community with local Covid resources and bring guest presenters to our conversation groups.
View a full list of our generous corporate and foundation supporters here.
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Do you like what you see in this newsletter? Please consider a gift to pave the way for future programming. Your donation will help LVSC recruit and train more tutors like Joanna and Silvia, so we can help more students like Sara and Sonia. Your donation is an investment in people's lives and in the future of our organization.
- Make a monthly sustaining donation or a one-time gift
- Consider a gift in honor of a tutor or student, or a special person
- Conduct a birthday Facebook fundraiser on LVSC's behalf
- Make a stock donation
Gifts of any amount make a big difference. Thank you.
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