Greetings!
With every dollar you give, every moment you spend, every action you take
—
Literacy Du
Page is sparking conversations and changing lives
.
To illustrate how your continued support will help us do even more good work in DuPage County, let me tell you how Silvia's life has changed.
Silvia knew that learning English could change her life.
Silvia emigrated from Mexico to the United States 15 years ago. After living here for some time, this wife and mother of three longed to change her life in two specific ways: she wanted to be a strong communicator and advocate for her children, and she wanted a promotion at work.
To achieve both goals, Silvia knew she needed to improve her English language skills. So, in 2017 she found her way to Literacy DuPage, and we paired her with a volunteer tutor named Marie.
With resilience and Marie's guidance, Sylvia reached her goals.
Silvia's job sometimes required her to work six days a week and 12-hour shifts. Despite this busy schedule, Silvia and Marie found time to meet weekly. Silvia progressed quickly through her lessons, moving from Level I to Level 6 in two years!
Reaching for the promotion at work called for extra dedication. Marie suggested Silvia come to tutoring not just once but
twice
a week to expedite her progress.
Silvia did, and she studied during every moment she could find - many times while waiting in the employee line for the factory to open. Soon, she was promoted from a laborer position to a managerial position.
"I've never had a more dedicated student," says Marie.
At work Sylvia now helps English challenged employees with understanding their paychecks and other documents. At home, she is able to help her teenagers make better life choices, as she now understands when they talk to each other in English. Silvia no longer needs a translator at school meetings or at the Doctor's office. She makes medical appointments and complete forms herself, rather than relying on someone to assist her.
