Newsletters
Click to view the entire February 2012 Newsletter
February FEATURE:
Volunteers Changing Lives
Karen Wise, Literacy Volunteer
My current student, “John”, is my third with Literacy Volunteers of America - Putnam County. John contacted Literacy Volunteers because he wanted to learn to read. He was born in Guatemala, and never had the opportunity to go to school. He has been in the United States for 20 years, and has survived through hard work. He taught himself to speak English, but his diction and grammar make it difficult to understand him at times. He also mixes Spanish into his conversations, but I know enough Spanish to understand him most of the time. When we began working together, he had numerous missing teeth, which made it even more difficult. Since then, through the help of Literacy Volunteers of Putnam County, John has gotten dentures. The smile on his face when he first got them was priceless.
Although John’s main goal is to learn to read and build his English vocabulary, we also work on improving his ability to produce phonemes that are unknown in Spanish and the English words that use them. He recently commented that his friends have noticed that his English is improving. He has told me numerous times that learning to read is making him feel like a worth-while person. He looks forward to the day when he can read a book to his young daughter. His improved self worth has motivated him to stop drinking and smoking. He attends church, and is trying hard to improve his life in all regards.
When I work with such determined, hard-working people as John, it touches me in a way that cannot be expressed easily with words. I am much more aware of the blessings I have been afforded, and I have developed even greater empathy for people who aren't so lucky. I feel that if I can do some small part in helping another person have a better life, that's my responsibility and my reward. I consider it a privilege to be a volunteer with Literacy Volunteers of America - Putnam County.
Literacy Volunteers of Putnam County is a United Way Partner Agency and receives funding through the Community Impact Fund. The program works with individuals 16 years of age or older who request help with literacy services.
If you would be interested in becoming a literacy tutor, or would like more information on this program, please call Cindy Winters at (304) 757-1550.
Archive
