 |
| with assistance from South Piedmont Community College 4209 Old Charlotte Hwy., Monroe, NC 28110 Ph: 704-226-1425 |
A History of the Literacy Council of Union County
In the fall of 1995, Evelyn Owen, a member of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in Monroe, encouraged the Lutheran Church Women at St. Luke's to become involved with literacy efforts for Union County's illiterate or low literate adult population. With the help of other women in the congregation, Owen organized a Laubach training session that was held in January 1996. The training was open to the public, and about 10 tutors were trained.
Several others at St. Luke's had prior experience tutoring adults using the Laubach method. Bev Voelzow had tutored both American and foreign students and had served as a regional Supervising Tutor Trainer for Laubach. Linda Moyer had 11 years of experience as a community college instructor. In addition to teaching adult high school and GED-preparation, she taught Adult Basic Skills and English as a Second Language (ESL). Two other church members were trained Laubach tutors.
Thus a new organization, Union Literacy Volunteers (ULV), was formed. One of the founders, Vicki Fink, applied for and received a $500 grant through the Lutheran Church Women to order materials to get tutoring underway. The group held several more tutor-training sessions and branched out to include ESL instruction as well as basic skills. Owen, Voelzow, and Moyer ran ULV until October 1997 when the demand for services had surpassed the capabilities of three volunteers.
About the same time, Moyer became better acquainted with Nancy Noles, then the Enquirer Journal's Newspapers in Education Coordinator. At the same time Win Baker, a friend of Noles', had undertaken an assignment from Union West Rotary Club to learn about adult literacy needs in Union County. Upon learning that there was no literacy council in Union County, Baker initiated a collaboration with Noles and Moyer that resulted in three literacy summits held at the Chamber of Commerce in January and March of 1998.
Summit participants from business, industry, schools, civic organizations, etc., realized that there was a definite need for a literacy council and that a unified effort was essential to meet the needs that had been demonstrated countywide. A Board of Directors was formed and met for the first time on March 31, 1998. Win Baker was elected chairperson. UTEC (now South Piedmont Community College), a key participant in the summits, donated office space at its old Belk building site.
Since that time, the Literacy Council has received significant grants that not only helped us get up and running but also provided continuous support. Major grantors include Foundation for the Carolinas, United Way, IBM, UPS, Dollar General, and others. South Piedmont Community College (SPCC) has been a great partner in our literacy efforts as together we strive to put student needs first.
In March 2000 we added a part-time, bilingual Community Outreach Specialist to assist with interpretation. In June 2000 we moved with SPCC to the former UCB Operations Center. Here we have a 5-station computer lab, tutoring rooms, and offices. In November 2000 we hired a part-time assistant, and in October 2001 we hired a part-time data clerk.
We became a United Way agency in July 2001. This affiliation gives us support and visibility we would not otherwise have. Other funding comes from many sources including federal Workforce Investment Act grant funds; our annual Spelling Bee fundraiser; other corporate, government, and private donations; and memberships.
In fiscal year 2001-02, we served 143 students through our one-on-one tutoring program. With the invaluable assistance of a corps of dedicated volunteers, we realize the best still lies ahead as we continue our mission ěto help adults become functionally literate through programs delivered by volunteers and to raise community awareness of literacy needs.
The Literacy Council of Union County is a non-profit organization that teaches adults to read and/or speak English. Please contact our office for further information.
