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The Literacy Letter
Winter 2026
| | Message from the Executive Director | | |
Happy New Year to our LVSC friends.
This is a big one for LVSC, as we are turning 45! We've made it to this milestone because of you – hardworking students, dedicated volunteers, generous supporters, and caring partners. And of course, we owe gratitude to our humble beginnings, our founder Alma Liotta, and the many volunteers, leaders, staff members, and donors who have believed in the LVSC mission through the decades.
As you read on, you’ll see that we have been busy since the last newsletter. As always, we’ve been training new tutors and enrolling new students – that is ongoing and core to our mission. We enjoyed camaraderie with tutors and students at our first annual potluck and were honored with donations from community events with the Somerset Patriots and Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Somerset Hills. Our incredible Board of Trustees offered a matching gift challenge with a goal of raising $45,000 by year end. You not only met the challenge you exceeded it. In all, you and the LVSC Board donated $48,000! This record amount will help us recruit and train tutors and adapt programming so that we are prepared to serve the varied and changing needs of our students.
Also in the past few months we welcomed new board member Janice Cmielewski and I was honored to represent LVSC at the National United Way ALICE Summit. Plus, we had a great day on the links raising funds for LVSC at the 9th annual Golf Fore Literacy event.
As I write this edition of The Literacy Letter, the news is abuzz with an impending storm. Please stay safe and enjoy these latest LVSC updates; I hope they will warm your heart this winter weekend. Thank you for all you do for the LVSC community.
Wishing all a happy and healthy 2026,
Aimee
Aimee Lam, Executive Director
PS. Does this weather make you long for spring? Register for our Garden of Literacy Brunch & Silent Auction on March 22nd at the Olde Mill Inn in Basking Ridge. Tickets are on sale through our website. Hope to see you there!
| | Congratulations, Students | | LVSC's tutoring program is focused on helping students improve their English and reach personal goals. One big goal is becoming a U.S. citizen; 23 LVSC students became new citizens in 2025! LVSC provides on-demand tutoring to help students prepare for their Naturalization test and interview. The test has changed considerably in the past few months, so the LVSC team has been hard at work keeping up-to-date. A big thank you to LVSC's specially trained tutors who help students reach this life-changing goal. | | Congratulations, Martha and Gargi! | | Meet Recent Tutors of the Month | | We are grateful for our amazing network of 200 trained volunteer tutors. They are dedicated to not only teaching English, but also helping students acclimate to the local community and culture. Each month we like to highlight a tutor who has reported something special -- please meet our most recent Tutors of the Month. | | |
Kathy Memoli
August 2025
Kathy (right), a retired librarian, works with her students on real-life scenarios. She helped one student design and print promotional materials at Staples for a cleaning business. Kathy walked around downtown Somerville with another student who wanted to learn more about the area. Not only has Kathy tutored three different students, she also assesses new students when they sign up for LVSC’s services.
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Kathy Kolvites
September 2025
Kathy started her LVSC journey as a tutor for a woman from Guatemala and currently works with a learner from Peru. In addition, Kathy teaches a small group of beginner-level students. Kathy has been a dog trainer for almost 20 years and also takes time out to take care of her pet goats! As a former public school nurse, Kathy is an activist for both children and animals.
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Cathy Guberer
October 2025
After helping adult learners in California, Cathy (right) moved to New Jersey where she now tutors Paolo (left) from Peru. When Paolo indicated that she wanted to better communicate with her children’s teachers and coaches, Cathy first helped her craft emails. Then, they steadily progressed through conversational English and Paolo is now confident enough to volunteer at her children’s school. A relationship that started as tutor/student has blossomed into friend/friend.
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Paul Lacy
November 2025
Paul and student Ming kicked off their lessons by discussing how to speak with doctors, what urgent care is for and how to navigate NJ Transit. When Ming and his family recently moved, Paul helped him understand the process for hiring movers, updating household accounts and introducing himself and his family to new neighbors. When Paul explained to Ming that we “mow” the grass but don’t “mow” our hair, we are reminded that laughter is often a big part of the tutor/student relationship.
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Amy Jones
December 2025
As a literacy volunteer for over 35 years, Amy has helped numerous students learn about American culture and customs. She teaches small groups of beginner and advanced learners and will always remember how they supported each other during the scariest times of the pandemic. Amy asks her students to write answers to questions such as “What would your perfect day be,” gathers the answers and has the group guess whose answer is whose. Everyone laughs a lot, realizing how well they know each other. But they’re also surprised about new things they learn about each other! From time to time the group meets for an informal potluck, as pictured. Amy is in the center on the right-hand side.
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Stefanie Chenkin
January 2026
Stefanie (left) has been working with her student, Gissella (right), since fall 2024. Because Gissella is incredibly engaged and inquisitive, Stefanie is challenged to develop appropriate teaching tools and diligently prepares lessons for each of their weekly sessions. Stefanie has come to realize how confusing and contradictory English can be for someone learning it as a second language. Tutor and student continue to develop a caring bond as they learn more about each other each week.
| | We gratefully welcomed 42 new tutors who completed our summer and fall tutor training workshops. These kind and talented volunteers will teach everyday English skills to students from 50+ countries around the world. Our winter training workshop is in full swing, with 22 additional volunteers soon to be certified tutors. | | If you're looking to make a difference locally, attend one of our Information Sessions to learn more about becoming a tutor. If you're already a trained tutor, please spread the word! | | Welcome to our Newest Board Member | | LVSC's 14 board members are volunteers who share their diverse expertise to guide the LVSC mission and ensure LVSC's financial stability. They are kind, generous, and supportive. Meet our newest trustee. | | |
Janice Cmielewski
Director of Marketing and Public Relations, Somerset County Library System of New Jersey
| Janice is a creative communications strategist with more than 20 years of marketing expertise. Using her experience from the telecom and tech sectors, in her current role she is dedicated to amplifying the Somerset County Library System NJ (SCLSNJ)'s reach and ensuring the community is aware of its valuable resources. With a Master's in Design Management from Pratt Institute and a Bachelor's in Graphic design from The College of New Jersey, Janice combines her creative and strategic skills to advance both SCLSNJ's and LVSC's missions - a great new addition to the LVSC team. | | | Celebrating Our Volunteers and Students | | What a special evening we had with volunteers and students at our first Gratitude Potluck. We shared conversation, camaraderie, and delicious food from around the world. It was great to see many big smiles, so we hope to make this an annual event. | | Sharing the Power of Literacy -- Nationally | | |
LVSC was honored to co-present at the United Way National ALICE Summit. Together with Paul Grzella of the Greater Raritan Workforce Development Board and Joanne Hala of United Way of Northern NJ, we highlighted how free adult literacy programs fuel stronger, more resilient working‑class communities. We were proud to showcase the incredible outcomes made possible through partnerships.
During a presentation entitled "Empowering Families Through English Literacy" we featured the First Steps Basic English program which has reached 400 adults through 21 free basic English classes. Learners consistently report feeling more confident speaking and understanding English—skills that help them secure better employment, support their children’s learning, communicate effectively with healthcare providers, and navigate daily life with greater independence.
| | The First Steps Basic English program is funded by Somerset County and thrives thanks to strong partnerships with the Greater Raritan Workforce Development Board, Raritan Valley Community College Workforce Training Center, Hunterdon County Educational Services Commission, and local library branches. LVSC is proud to serve as the lead agency on this project. | | | The ALICE Summit brought together 700+ attendees from more than 40 states, all committed to supporting ALICE families—households that are Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. These families work hard yet often struggle to afford basic necessities. | | | Thank you to the Somerset Patriots for the warm welcome and ability to showcase our organization. At Library Night at the ballpark, sponsored by the Somerset County Library System of New Jersey, LVSC was honored to be named recipient of the game-used jersey auction and 50/50 raffle. | | Thank you to the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Somerset Hills (UUCSH) which donated their Community Plate collection to LVSC and invited us to share stories of the impactful work that LVSC and its volunteers do in our community. And a big thank you to the seven UUCSH members who are also LVSC tutors. | | We had the best time spending the day with the best people and the best weather ever! Thank you to our golfers, sponsors, donors, volunteers, and dinner guests for making our 9th annual Golf Fore Literacy event a big success. | | Thank You to Our Recent Grant Donors | |
- Billian Family Foundation
- County of Somerset
- George H. and Estelle M. Sands Foundation
- Mary Curtis Horowitz Foundation
- Munich Re America
- New Jersey Community Fund by Johnson & Johnson
- ProLiteracy 2025 National Book Fund Grant
- PSEG Foundation
- Somerset Regal Bank Foundation
- Song Family Foundation
- The Fred C. Rummel Foundation
| | Give the Gift of Literacy | | You can honor a student, volunteer, or someone special with a donation and you will be sharing the gift of literacy. | | One-time donations help us train new tutors, serve more students, support our volunteers, and grow our programs. | | Monthly donations support crucial behind-the-scenes expenses: staff, office space, internet, and phones. | Including LVSC in your will leaves a lasting legacy and helps ensure LVSC's future. Click below to send an email to our office for more information. | | | | |
