June/July | VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER | 2025 | | Volunteer Hours This School Year: 7300 | | |
| National Disability Independence Day, observed on July 26, marks the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), celebrating the progress toward equal rights and access for people with disabilities. Some ways to honor this milestone are supporting disability-led organizations, amplifying disabled voices, and advocating for greater inclusion in our communities. | |
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As we kick off a new term, we want to take a moment to thank you—our incredible volunteers—for the time, energy, and heart you bring to Literacy Source. Your commitment as classroom assistants and one-to-one tutors has made a profound impact: this year alone, you’ve collectively donated more than 7,000 hours of your time! That’s 7,000 hours of patient instruction, active listening, and encouragement. Because of you, hundreds of adult learners are gaining the literacy and language skills they need to navigate their lives with greater confidence and purpose. We are deeply grateful.
Summer Quarter begins next week, and nearly every class is full—with waitlists! That demand speaks volumes about the value of our programs and the need for adult education in our community. This quarter, our focus is on listening and speaking in community—skills at the very heart of connection, participation, and civic engagement. ESOL 1 learners are practicing how to talk about their families, while ESOL 4-5 students are preparing presentations about their neighborhoods and lived experiences. Academic English/GED learners will be reading The Watsons Go to Birmingham, using it as a springboard to strengthen their academic writing and critical thinking. Citizenship students are building the skills required for their naturalization interviews, and Ready to Work participants are learning to manage money and use spreadsheets—real-world skills with direct economic impact.
These are not just language lessons—they are opportunities. For our learners, improving English, reading, math, and digital skills means the ability to find a job, help a child with homework, advocate for themselves, or pass the citizenship test. They come to Literacy Source to transform their lives, and with your partnership, they are doing just that. Thank you for helping build a more inclusive and equitable community. We’re so glad you’re with us.
In community,
Liz Wurster
Communications Coordinator
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We were devastated to learn that President Trump, via a May Truth Social post, declared the Digital Equity Act “racist,” “illegal,” and “totally UNCONSTITUTIONAL.” In response, federal agencies paused the distribution of $2.75 billion in digital inclusion funding—halting programs across eleven states before they could launch. This bipartisan law, passed as part of the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, was never about politics—it was about closing the digital divide for communities like ours. As an organization that provides basic skills - including digital literacy training - to adults facing numerous barriers, we know firsthand that this decision will have real and painful consequences.
Seattle has been a national leader in digital inclusion, ranked #2 in the country for digital equity and named a 2024 National Digital Inclusion Trailblazer. Cuts to this funding will not only set back our organization but roll back years of progress citywide. As Darlene, our Basic Computer Skills instructor, shares: “Digital literacy and tools are needed to fully access resources and communicate in our society.” Students in her class have used borrowed hotspots to read housing emails, apply for jobs, navigate public transit, and prepare for college or entrepreneurship. “It is simply not an option to abstain from technology and still be a full member of the economy and society,” she says.
The widespread pushback to this harmful decision gives us hope that these hard-won gains can still be protected—but the work is far from over. We encourage you to contact your members of Congress and explore National Digital Inclusion Alliance's advocacy resources to support ongoing efforts. Digital equity is not a partisan issue, it’s an absolute necessity in today's world. Let’s make sure Seattle, and our students, don’t lose the momentum we’ve worked so hard to build.
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Student Privacy
We take our students' privacy very seriously, so please delete any information and photos from your phones when you are no longer working with them. Thank you!
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Tips for Teaching Basic Computer Skills
Digital Literacy includes a variety of skills. According to Teaching Skills That Matter, a framework for teaching adults, digital literacy includes “basic computer skills, network literacy, digital problem solving, information literacy, and media literacy” (Vanek). From joining class on Zoom to writing an essay on Google Docs, students at Literacy Source learn a lot of basic computer skills. These skills are transferable and important to our students’ daily lives.
Here are some tips for teaching basic computer skills. You may notice that there is a lot of overlap with teaching English!
Chunk it. There is an overwhelming amount of things happening on computers, especially for students who are not comfortable with them. Focus on one skill at a time.
In my hybrid Ready to Work Level 1-2 class...(you can read the full teaching tip here!)
Laura Kalmanson, ESOL Instructional Advisor
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As part of our commitment to offer ongoing teaching support to you we are pleased to invite you to these upcoming trainings focusing on honing tutoring/teaching skills. It is also a great opportunity to meet and learning from your fellow volunteers!
(1) Zoom Skills Trainings (online)
Thursday, July 10th from 6 - 7pm OR Friday, July 11th from 10 - 11am
Help our students with their digital skills! This training is not to teach you how to use Zoom, but reviews Zoom skills that students need in their classes and focuses on helping you learn how to teach and troubleshoot these skills with students. Please review these short training videos before the workshop, (you may have already reviewed the videos in the foundational training). You will have time to practice teaching the skills in the training. We offer this training at the beginning of every term so attending is optional for returning volunteers. Email Allie with any questions.
Please join the Google Classroom and RSVP, you will also see the link to the Zoom meeting.
(2) Matched Tutor Workshop (in person)
Thursday, July 31st, 5:30 - 8pm
As you work with your student, we know that you need to be flexible and thoughtful about meeting the individual needs of your student. In this training we are looking to create a space where you can share ideas, get support for challenges, resources to hone your teaching skills, ideas for activities for adapting class materials, help with scaffolding activities, and more.
The training objectives:
- Learn how to adapt activities from student classes to in person or online tutoring Answer/provide resources to your questions, challenges.
- Work with other tutors to grow and practice teaching basic skills in reading/writing/listening & speaking/digital literacy.
- Share success stories!
Pre-work activity and sign up info coming!
(2) Volunteer Roundtable Discussion: Teaching, Best Practices
Tuesday, August 12th, 5:30 - 6:30pm
Join the meeting with this Zoom link.
Pre-reading to follow!
Everyone is welcome to come and participate in the discussion.
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Congratulations and thank you to these volunteers who have achieved a year of service! We are so appreciative of all your hard work and dedication to Literacy Source.
- Divy Venkatesan – ESOL Class Assistant
- Maria Esperanza Romera – ESOL Tutor
- Nilam Saboo – Board Member
- Sarah Butler – Conversation Partner
| | To celebrate LGBTQ+ and Disability Pride Months, this edition's staff reads center authors, stories, or characters who identify as LGBTQ+ or disabled. | | |
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Georgetown Garden Walk
Sunday, July 13, 10am-4pm (Mutuus Studio, 6118 12th Ave S, FREE)
The 28th annual Georgetown Garden Walk will take place on July 13th, 2025 from 10am to 4pm. Find us in the courtyard of Mutuus Studio, 6118 12th Ave S. Grab a map of the open gardens and take a stroll through Seattle's oldest neighborhood. Follow us on Facebook or Instagram for updates and event reminders. Always the second Sunday of July. Always free. Proudly uncurated.
2025 Seafair Indian Days Powwow
Friday-Sunday, July 18-20 (Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center, FREE)
Come and celebrate with your family, reunite with old friends and make new ones! Enjoy fantastic food, music, and dance. COST: Open to the public and free. However, we greatly appreciate donations. Every donation, no matter the size, directly supports the programs offered at United Indians of All Tribes Foundation.
Bridging Movements: On Gender, Race and Collective Liberation
Thursday, July 31, 5pm (Town Hall: The Wyncote NW Forum 1119 8th Ave, FREE)
The Endowment for Equal Justice invites you to join us at Town Hall on July 31st to learn from special guests Leigh Thompson and QLaw Foundation about how to support transgender rights in our current climate. This event is part of the Endowment’s Race Equity Speaker Series which are free community events meant to educate folx and bring them together in a shared space to learn more about marginalized communities and the barriers they face to accessing justice and other resources. This specific event focuses on the intersection of race equity and transgender rights both nationally and locally, exploring the experiences of transgender communities and will include a speaker and moderated discussion with an Legal Foundation of Washington (LFW) grantee partner, QLaw Foundation. It will be catered by That Brown Girl Cooks. Come hear their stories/experiences as members of the transgender community and learn more about how to support transgender rights that are actively under attack from the current administration.
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Our next New Volunteer Orientation (via Zoom) will be on August 6 at either 1pm or 7pm.
Potential volunteers are invited to register online here.
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Summer Term: July 14 - Sept 4
Summer Term Class Schedule
2025 – 26 Term Calendar
Volunteer Blog
Do you have questions or comments about volunteering at Literacy Source?
Volunteer Question/Feedback Form
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| Miss any of our past volunteer newsletters? You can access archived newsletters at the bottom of the Volunteer Page of our webpage. | | | | |
