How Your Time Helps

Submitted by bww on Thu, 2008-03-06 21:36.

How Your Time Helps

The time you share has a lasting impact.

By volunteering with the Literacy Network of Greater Cincinnati, you can pass on the gift of literacy. Whether you choose to tutor an adult or a child, teaching someone to read empowers that individual to achieve his or her dreams.

Adults

According to the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy, an estimated 30 million adults have “below basic” skills. This means they have trouble following written driving directions, reading medicine instructions, and balancing a checkbook. Thus, millions of Americans are not reaching their full potential due to inadequate reading skills.

Many adult learners are embarrassed by their inability to interpret the written word. They may hide their lack of reading skills from employers, friends, or even close family members. These individuals associate school with negative memories of frustration and failure. As a tutor for an adult learner, your first task will be to convince your student that he or she can learn to read—all it takes is a fresh outlook and hard work.

Children

Many of the children we serve come from disadvantaged families and receive limited exposure to books before entering school. Some students have never even met a high school graduate. As a volunteer, you will possess the opportunity to teach more than just reading skills. Your presence will illustrate the correlation of education to future success and model a love for learning.

Because research indicates that 74 percent of children who are poor readers in the third grade will remain poor readers in the ninth grade, early intervention in the primary grades is crucial. As a tutor, you can be part of the solution.

Tutor Support

Our training will equip you with the skills you need to help develop competent and confident readers. Your unique life experience will enhance the training. Once you begin your tutoring, we will help ensure that your experience is meaningful—to your student and to you. We appreciate your commitment to your student's success. If you encounter obstacles outside of your control that are limiting the effectiveness of your tutoring, please contact us so we can brainstorm possible solutions together. The Literacy Network strives to retain good tutors, so we want to help you succeed.

The Literacy Network, a nonprofit organization requiring financial donations and fund-raising to support its programs, collects donor information and lists it on our website, in our annual report, and in our spring newsletter. For your security, we do not share or sell this data to other organizations. Please inform us if you do not wish to be listed, and you will remain anonymous.