Jeanette Morrow

In June 1998, Jeanette Morrow attended a nine-hour Laubach tutor training workshop conducted by the Literacy Council of Union County. Her primary motivation was that she has always liked to help people, and beyond that she felt that teaching someone to read or to speak English for the first time was something she could do. She also had been moved by the literacy needs she saw, especially among the immigrant population. Her belief is that if people came here trying to better themselves and make a better life for their families, she should help as best she could.

Morrow is certainly not new to giving of herself. Since 1988 she has been a volunteer with the Department of Social Services, helping out with the Christmas Bureau, and distributing surplus commodities when they are made available to people in need.

Since she began tutoring 15 months ago, Morrow has tutored eight students, all Hispanic. Currently she is tutoring one student at a work site through the Council's United Way Focus Area grant. However, that doesn't mean she has forgotten her other students. Clearly, they all hold a special place in her heart. "I've liked my students so much," she says. "All of them have been really great."

When asked why she thought others should tutor, Morrow spoke about the great need for tutors as well as the self-satisfaction a tutor receives from working one-on-one with a student. She believes the biggest requirement for being a tutor is patience. Beyond that she says it helps if you get a thrill from seeing someone learn and seeing the difference you can make in someone's life.