March | VOLUNTEER NEWSLETTER | 2026

AmeriCorps Week (March 8–14) celebrates members across Washington who strengthen communities through service in education, food access, environmental stewardship, and more. At Literacy Source, our two AmeriCorps members support outreach, systems, and students year-round, helping make our high-quality instruction possible.

My name is Sawyer Auer, and I’m excited to be joining Literacy Source as the new Volunteer Program Manager! After already having the pleasure of meeting a few of the wonderful volunteers and students here at Literacy Source, I can say I’m absolutely thrilled to be part of such a caring and committed community. I look forward to meeting many more of you as I get my feet under me in the coming weeks. 

First, a bit more about me. I was born in Ballard and moved to Vashon Island when I was less than a year old. I spent my adolescence on Vashon before moving to Bellingham and later to Southern California, where I spent the past eight years. Most recently, I’ve been living in Los Angeles, where I was heavily involved in workforce development programs—partnering with individuals navigating barriers to employment and supporting them on their pathways to stability, security, and fulfillment through volunteer-led enrichment programs. 



I love to travel and volunteer, and I’m also a big animal lover! I have three rescue Chihuahua mixes—Hank, Regina, and Chunky. Recently, I’ve also been working with a local dog rescue organization on Vashon Island, helping socialize rescue dogs and prepare them to be fostered and adopted. 

I’m incredibly excited about this opportunity. Being part of the amazing work happening at Literacy Source truly feels like a dream come true. I look forward to meeting all of you in the coming days. If you have any questions or would like to chat, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

I can be reached via email at sawyera@literacysource.org or at 206- 408-6982.

Looking forward to working with you all!  

Sawyer Auer 

The Global Gender Gap Report is an annual measure of how close countries are to gender parity across four areas: economic opportunity, education, health, and political leadership. It offers a reminder that while progress has been made, inequality remains deeply woven into economies and institutions around the world. In 2025, the global gender gap stands at 69% closed, with full parity still estimated to be 123 years away. The largest gaps remain in economic opportunity and political empowerment, meaning women continue to have less access to jobs, pay, leadership roles, and representation in decision-making. The report also highlights a striking contradiction: women now surpass men in higher education, yet remain underrepresented in leadership and are more likely to take longer career breaks due to caregiving. For many of our students, these are not abstract trends but daily realities, layered with language barriers, underemployment, and disrupted educational pathways.

Gender inequity affects families and communities as a whole, and expanding opportunity strengthens outcomes for everyone. Within Literacy Source, these realities make women’s leadership especially meaningful. Our staff, volunteers, and students are majority female, and Literacy Source has always been female-led. That legacy reflects not only who has sustained this organization, but also a deep commitment to equity, inclusion, collaboration, and opportunity for adult learners.

Conversations about gender and opportunity can feel personal and complex, but they are essential to the kind of learning community we strive to be. Our mission and values call us to meet people with respect, honesty and a belief in every person’s capacity for growth. You all model this every day, engaging thoughtfully and supporting students with care. We are fortunate to have a community that approaches difficult conversations with empathy and a commitment to equity, creating space for understanding and connection.

Using Ted Talk Lessons

Most people’s learning begins to slow after 20 minutes doing the same activity. For this reason, I recommend tutors focus on several different things each hour. Even if a student wants to primarily focus on writing skills, taking a break, and then returning to writing will improve outcomes...

Conversation practice is great for establishing trust and feeling comfortable together, but it has limitations. I recommend using the videos from TedEd. These videos are typically about five minutes long. Most videos include both pre- and post- viewing questions to help with deeper learning...

You can read the full teaching tip here.

Britt McCombs, Instructional Advisor

Zoom for Online Instruction 

Thursday, April 2nd at 10-11:30am OR 6-7:30pm (online) 

Note: This training is not to teach you how to use Zoom! It reviews Zoom skills that students need in their classes and provides strategies and practice time to help you learn how to teach and troubleshoot these skills with students. We offer this training at the beginning of every term so attending is optional for returning volunteers. 

Please join this Google Classroom to sign up, find the Zoom link, and complete the pre-activity. 

Matched Tutors:

Experienced Tutor Workshop (in person) 

Saturday, April 25th at 10am - 12:30pm, at Literacy Source 

Experienced Tutor Training: Building and Adapting Routines  

Thank you for filling in the survey! Based on your feedback we will be focusing on how to access the class materials and slides from your student's class, identify and modify some of their existing class routines, and develop tailored routines for your tutoring sessions based on your student's personal learning objectives.  

Please join this Google Classroom to sign up and complete the pre-activities. 

All Volunteers: 

Save the Date!

Volunteer Roundtable Discussion (Online)  

Know Your Rights (KYR): May 11, 2026 at 5:30pm  

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.

• Daniel Maher (ESOL Tutor) 
• Emily Soule (ESOL Class Assistant) 
• Ian Bell (Math Lab Class Assistant) 
• Karen Cartier (Conversation Partner)  

Children of the Jacaranda Tree

Staff: Niusha Shodja

The Women

Staff: Liz Wurster

The Girls Who Grew Big

Staff: Miles Beran

Heartwood

Staff: Cory Ihrig Goldhaber

Rising Strong

Staff: Allie Azersky

Motherthing

Staff: Sarah McCormick

Speaking of Seattle: Immigrant Rights Are Human Rights

Thursday, March 19, 7:30pm (The Wyncote NW Forum 1119 8th Ave, $10-$35)

At a moment when national politics are testing the boundaries of constitutional protections and human dignity, local communities are asking a vital question: What can we do to protect one another?

Join Town Hall Seattle and The Stranger for the March 19 edition of the Speaking of Seattle civic conversation series, an evening focused on immigrant rights, community responsibility, and the everyday actions that help safeguard our neighbors.

This timely conversation will explore how federal immigration enforcement policies ripple through local communities — and how ordinary people can respond with care, courage, and solidarity. Together, we’ll examine what it means to treat immigrant rights as human rights, and how community members can act lawfully, safely, and effectively when confronted with fear-based tactics and unconstitutional overreach.

Seattle's French Fest: A Celebration of French-Speaking Cultures

Sunday, March 22, 11am-5pm (Seattle Center, FREE)

Seattle's French Fest: A Celebration of French-Speaking Cultures is March 22: 11am-5pm in the Armory Food & Event Hall. The festival is part of the Seattle Center Festál series. It is free and open to the public.

Seattle Center Festál is a year-round series of 25 free cultural festivals, produced in partnership with community organizations. In 2022, Festál celebrated 25 years of stories and traditions, ushering in a new era of hybrid programming. Learn more about Festál and subscribe to the newsletter for updates.

Symphonic Fantasia

Saturday, Apr 4, 4-6 pm (Meydenbauer Center, $0-$10)

Join us for Symphonic Fantasia, a vibrant celebration of orchestral color and power, crowned by Beethoven’s legendary Fifth Symphony!

The Redmond Tech Orchestra debuts our first concert of the year with an unforgettable night of sweeping melodies and bold orchestral color as we present Symphonic Fantasia.

Our next New Volunteer Orientation (via Zoom) will be on April 8 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.