May | VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER | 2026

Jewish American Heritage Month is an opportunity to recognize the histories, contributions, and resilience of Jewish Americans, while standing against antisemitism and all forms of hate. At Literacy Source, this connects to our values of inclusion, lifelong learning, and equity: honoring the identities, stories, and experiences of our community.

As we reflect on our 40th anniversary celebration, we are feeling especially grateful for the incredible volunteers who help make this community so strong. Thank you to everyone who joined us, shared your time and talents, supported our mission, and helped make the day so meaningful. Together, we have raised $127,500 and counting toward our $150,000 goal.

Throughout the program, we heard story after story that reflected the heart of Literacy Source and the impact volunteers have on our learners and our community. From the joy of learning and sharing skills, to the reminder that a starting point does not determine an ending point, to a powerful reflection on what becomes possible when we are met with support instead of shame, we were reminded how meaningful it is to show up for one another with patience, encouragement, and care.

Our student panelists echoed this as well, describing this community as one built on support, kindness, and connection. To all of our volunteers, thank you for the time, compassion, and consistency you bring to this work. You are an essential part of what makes this community feel welcoming and empowering for so many learners.

Thank you for celebrating our fourth decade with us! We look forward to continuing the celebration in the months ahead and sharing more stories, memories, and moments that reflect the power of learning and all we have built together.

In community,

Sawyer Auer 

Credit: Shutterstock

Older Americans Month’s 2026 theme, “Champion Your Health,” invites us to think about what helps people stay healthy, independent, connected, and able to advocate for themselves as they age. Increasingly, those goals require digital skills: making appointments, reading health information, recognizing scams, joining online classes, communicating with family, and navigating the systems that shape daily life. That is why this theme connects naturally with the Digital Equity Act Month of Action, which calls attention to the continued need for digital inclusion programs at a time when federal support for this work is under threat.

In a recent Brookings TechTank podcast conversation about the book Wired Wisdom: How to Age Better Online, Eszter Hargittai challenges the stereotype that older adults are simply “bad with technology.” Her research points to a more nuanced reality: digital confidence and skill are shaped not only by age, but also by education, income, access, and support. She also notes that stereotypes about older adults and technology can become so pervasive that older adults may internalize them too. That point matters far beyond age: when people have been told, directly or indirectly, that a space is not “for them,” education can help rebuild confidence, belonging, and possibility.

At Literacy Source, these themes meet in the classroom: one quarter of our students are 60 or older, more than 40% have less than a high school degree, and digital skills are increasingly part of nearly every learning pathway. Our values of lifelong learning, equity, inclusion, and collaboration remind us that learning does not stop at a certain age, and that access alone is not enough. People also need patient instruction, practice, encouragement, and trusted relationships. The podcast highlights this too: online learning and online communities can expand people’s knowledge, interests, and sense of connection, but the first steps into a new digital space often matter most.

The risks are also real. Recent AARP reporting on FBI data found that adults 60 and older reported $7.7 billion in internet crime losses in 2025, with investment, cryptocurrency, tech support, and romance scams causing some of the greatest harm. But the lesson is not that older adults are incapable. It is that digital spaces are increasingly complex, and people of all ages need trusted, patient, human support to navigate them, which is exactly the kind of learning environment Literacy Source partners with our students to create. As volunteers, we can ask: How can I explain this step by step? How can I help this learner feel safer and more confident? How can I offer support in a way that builds independence, not embarrassment? 

Classroom Volunteer Expectations:

As a reminder, volunteers assigned to a select class are expected to attend all scheduled class sessions as part of their commitment. Consistent attendance is important to ensure continuity of support for both the instructor and students. Volunteers should be available to attend each class meeting, including classes that meet multiple times per week, in order to effectively assist the instructor in creating a positive, supportive instructional environment that encourages student engagement, participation, and interaction. While there have been occasions in the past where volunteers were able to attend only one day per week for certain two-day-per-week classes, these situations were considered exceptions. Moving forward, we will be returning to the standard expectation that volunteers attend all class sessions associated with their assigned class whenever possible (excluding planned/excused absences).

If you have any specific questions, please reach out to Sawyer Auer, Volunteer Program Manager at sawyera@literacysource.org  

From May 8 to June 8, National Digital Inclusion Alliance and several partners are leading a Digital Equity Act Month of Action, calling on community members to speak up for digital inclusion funding and remind policymakers that access to technology, internet, and patient digital skills support are essential. Literacy Source is a member of the Digital Equity Learning Network, and we see every day that digital equity is not abstract. For our students, learning to use email, Google Classroom, BookWidgets, Zoom, typing tools, and other basic computer skills can make the difference between being able to participate fully in class, apply for jobs, access services, communicate with teachers and family, and keep learning with confidence.

Our Beginning Computers Class is one example of why this work matters. The class supports learners with little or no computer experience, as well as students who want to strengthen transferable digital skills for their personal, work, and educational lives. Recently, one student came in early to practice her typing homework and needed help finding her place in the practice menu. Together, she and her instructor scrolled up and down to locate the right section, and then she used a two-finger scroll on her own. It was a small moment, but a powerful one: digital confidence is built step by step, with encouragement, practice, and support. 


During this Month of Action, we invite volunteers to advocate by contacting their representatives, sharing why digital inclusion matters, and and speaking up for continued investment in programs that make learning, connection, and opportunity more accessible for all.

Language Overload and How to help Your Learner Manage It

May is mental health awareness month. In connection to that, I would like to raise a topic of language overload by sharing my personal story, our students' examples and by giving some tips on how to mitigate language overload to create a safer and more balanced learning environment. 

My story

I was raised in the Soviet Union and spoke only Russian during my growing years. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, my parents were forced to leave Russia to seek income and safety. So, we moved to Mongolia. I did not experience any language or culture overload at that time. We lived in a city built by Russians. I attended a Russian high school. It turned out that due to Russian influence most Mongolians understood and spoke Russian. After high school I started learning English at a local college. My exposure to English was naturally dozed. There were simply not enough Peace Corps Volunteers or Christian missionaries to give me English overdose...



Elena Jounina Academic English and Conversation Circles Instructional Advisor

Read Elena's full teaching tip here.

We appreciate all the ways you support Literacy Source students, and our backpack/laptop bag drive is one more practical way to help. From now through June 12, we’re collecting clean, new or gently used backpacks and laptop bags at our office so students have what they need to carry books, supplies, and technology to classes.

Literacy Minnesota Featured Training:

How Adult Brains Learn Languages

May 29 11:00AM - 3:00 PM (PST) 

Learn what research has to say about how adult brains learn a new language, how trauma and stress impact learning, and how this influences the teaching practices that we use in the language classroom. Participants will leave the webinar with suggestions for ways teachers and tutors can apply brain-based teaching practices as we are helping adult ESL students develop their language skills. Register HERE.

Teaching Intermediate Alphabetics – Webinar

June 11th,  4:30 PM to 6:30 PM (PST)  

Teaching intermediate alphabetics (syllables, prefixes, suffixes, root words) is a great way to help students build their decoding and comprehension skills. Come learn a variety of fun and easy-to-use routines and activities for helping intermediate-level readers develop these important tools. Please note that you may be asked to participate in discussion groups during the webinar. Please plan to join us from a quiet setting where you can see the PowerPoint slides and use your audio. Register HERE. 

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.

• Donnie Grabowski (ESOL Tutor)
• Jodi Jamieson (Board of Directors) 

In celebration of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander heritage month, our staff recommendations feature stories that celebrate, are written by, or center the stories of Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islanders.

The Chinese Groove

Staff: Miles Beran

Tusk Love

Staff: Darlene Lytle

Building Tradition: Pan-Asian Seattle and Life in the Residential Hotels

Staff: Laura Kalmanson

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow

Staff: Cory Ihrig Goldhaber

108 Asian Cookies

Staff: Allie Azersky

Sharks in the Time of Saviors

Staff: Katherine VanHenley

Northwest Folklife Festival

Friday, May 22 - Monday, May 25 7:30pm (Seattle Center, Suggested Donation $20)

The annual Northwest Folklife Festival is a community-powered celebration of the arts, culture, and heritage that make up the brilliant cultural tapestry of the greater Pacific Northwest. Prior to 2020, over 6,000 artists and culture-bearers brought cultural expressions to audiences across 25 stages alongside 200 food and craft vendors and 500 volunteers annually. Since 1972, the Northwest Folklife Festival has gathered upwards of 250,000 participants at Seattle Center during Memorial Day weekend. The festival has been proudly powered by donations for over 50 years.

One Book, One Coast: Scott Kurashige discusses American Peril

Saturday, May 30, 2 - 3:30 p.m. (Level 1 Auditorium, Central Branch, Seattle Public Library, FREE)

Kurashige will discuss his new book, American Peril: The Violent History of Anti-Asian Racism. During the COVID-19 pandemic, racist demagoguery fomented a campaign of terror against Asian Americans. But these attacks were part of a much longer pattern that made anti-Asian racism integral to the outbreak of white supremacist, misogynist, and colonial violence across 175 years of U.S. history. Written in the radical spirit of Howard Zinn, "American Peril" represents the culmination of thirty-five years of study and activism by award-winning scholar Scott Kurashige.

From the lynching of Asian immigrants during the exclusion era to the U.S. military's slaughter of Asian civilians, the book connects domestic and global events that have been erased from the official record. Going beyond victimhood, it traces the rise of Asian American community protest and activism in response to the 1982 murder of Vincent Chin and other overlooked tragedies. While many have worked to legislate and prosecute hate crimes, Kurashige argues that hope lies in grassroots activism for multiracial solidarity.

Registration is required. Register here.

Honkfest West

Friday, 5/29, (Georgetown), Saturday, 5/30, (Columbia City), and Sunday (Pratt Park)

HONK! Festival West is an independent 501(c)(3) arts organization that produces an annual free, three-day, community-supported music festival in public spaces of the Seattle area. This immersive festival is driven by the energetic performances of street bands from around the world. HONK! is part of a global renaissance of street band culture, with Seattle’s festival occurring since 2008.

HONK! is a celebration of community, collaboration and creative expression and is dedicated to creating a community of inclusion. We work to break down systemic barriers to inclusion for those underrepresented within our community, and increase community access to our programming by producing the festival in neighborhoods of the Seattle area underserved by the arts. Our interactive celebrations are designed to be accessible, with representation from a wide range of ages and abilities; offering pick-up bands throughout the festival open for anyone who would like to pick up an instrument and play.

Find schedule and detail locations here.

Our next New Volunteer Orientation (via Zoom) will be on June 3 at either 1pm or 7pm. 

Potential volunteers are invited to register online here. 

Miss any of our past volunteer newsletters? You can access archived newsletters at the bottom of the Volunteer Page of our webpage.