A Hero's Story: Meet Mariela! She works as a housekeeper and cares for her family but still made time to study English once a week with LVNRV to prepare for the U.S. Citizenship exam. She passed the test and achieved her long-time dream of becoming a U.S. Citizen! Congratulations Mariela!
Meet Sergio: A Literacy Hero!
Meet Sergio: A LITERACY HERO!
He works full-time and has 5 children but still makes time to study English with LVNRV. He has worked hard to improve his English for success at work and in the community. He can better understand the text messages from his supervisor and is able to help his children with homework.
Meet Diana and Lupe: Literacy Heroes!
Meet Diana (left) and Lupe (right)! They are Literacy Heroes!
These 2 women are very dedicated to improving their English skills in order to help their children succeed in school. They both attended Blacksburg's Fall 2019 Family READS (Reading and English to Achieve Dreams and Success) Program. They increased their focus on reading and teaching their children in English. They even made up "English homework" for their children! They sought out additional ways to increase their English skills and attended LVNRV's English classes and conversation group each week. Their children attended these classes with their moms and learned too! Recently, Lupe and Diana mustered the courage to deliver a speech in English in front of a group of 80 people to express gratitude for the English language learning opportunities!
Meet Mahogany: A Literacy Hero!
Mahogany is working very hard to achieve her dream of obtaining her GED. LIsten to Mahohany read what she has written about her goal!
Mahogany (right) is proud to show us all the homework she did to prepare for the GED Language Arts test.
Terrific Tutors!
What a great turnout for September’s tutor training! A special thanks to all the experienced tutors who shared, and a shout out to Vicki Brackett, who offered our tutors her expertise in dyslexia and the Barton materials, and Emma Patterson, who offered tutors the opportunity to benefit from the Power Path student assessment that provides instructional recommendations for different learning strengths and weaknesses. Our next tutor training -- for both new and experienced tutors -- will be Monday, November 18. To register, go to www.lvnrv.org or click here.
Our tutors provide instruction to adults in reading, writing, basic math, English for Speakers of Other Languages, basic computer skills, and preparation for exams such as the GED or U.S. Citizenship test. LVNRV volunteer tutors commit to tutoring 1-3 hours for a minimum of one year. Tutors takes place at public locations throughout the NRV at a place, time and day that is mutually convenient for both the tutor and learner.
SkillUp VT: A Partnership for Employee Growth
We are excited to announce our new initiative, SkillUp VT, thanks to an exciting partnership with Virginia Tech’s Student Affairs and Human Resources! SkillUp VT provides employees with basic skills and confidence to excel in their current roles, meet their career goals, and prosper in their personal lives. LVNRV is providing 2 courses -- English for Speakers of Other Languages and Basic Computers & Money Management -- on campus 2 hours/week for eligible employees of Student Affairs. Employees are paid for their time in class if the class meets during their regularly scheduled hours. Thank you, Virginia Tech, for your hard work and collaboration to make this employee adult basic education initiative possible! And thank you to the employees who are participating as learners in this pilot project! SkillUp VT is an outgrowth of our Skill UP NRV initiative.
Families Read and Achieve Together
Thanks to a partnership with Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library, which received 2 years of funding through an American Library Association/American Dream grant, and a grant to LVNRV from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation, Family READS (Reading and English to Achieve Dreams and Success) continues to help parents help their children succeed in school! The program was offered at Christiansburg Public Library in the summer and is being launched at Blacksburg Public Library and Jessie Peterman Memorial Library in the fall. 100% of parents who completed this program reported increasing skills to read with children and to help their children succeed in school. Additionally, 100% of participating parents requested continued opportunities for English language learning! For example, the Meadowbrook Family READS program has evolved into an ongoing weekly adult basic education class.
If you want to invest in children, support LVNRV's family literacy programs! To volunteer or to donate, please go to www.lvnrv.org. The single greatest indicator of a child's success in school is the educational level of the parent!
Learning Skills for Work
Skill Up NRV is our initiative to give NRV adults the skills they need for success at work. We partner with organizations serving low-income adults to perform outreach and provide needed adult basic education services. Adults receive one-on-one or small group instruction by volunteers who teach basic literacy, English, math, digital literacy, GED/college preparation skills, and soft skills to help learners get and keep a job. NRV adults can drop in to our learning center in Christiansburg Mondays and Wednesdays to receive instruction in resume creation, online job search, basic computer skills, and reading/writing/math/English for work or credential attainment. At Pulaski Public Library, a volunteer tutor provides digital literacy instruction on Monday afternoons. Joe of Floyd (not his real name) is an example of a SkillUp NRV success story. Joe could not complete his online time sheet or read notes from his supervisors; despite being a hard worker, he was at risk of losing his job when his supervisor referred him to us for tutoring. He now feels good about himself and his ability to more effectively communicate through reading, writing and computers at work! Skill Up NRV is generously funded by the Corning Incorporated Foundation, Community Foundation of the NRV, Virginia Literacy Foundation, Wells Fargo, United Way of the NRV, and our local governments.
Student Success Story: Freddie
Mission Accomplished
So inspired by Freddie Price’s hard work to achieve his goal! What an honor to see Freddie's certificate and celebrate his accomplishment of passing a challenging test needed to keep his job! After taking and not passing the procurement certification exam 4 times, Freddie made the courageous call to LVNRV to ask for reading help. He worked with tutor John Hess on vocabulary, understanding test questions, and test taking strategies. We are so excited for Freddie because he feels like he has more opportunity for increased responsibility and advancement now. He has shown that with determination and hard work he can accomplish anything! Way to go Freddie!
Student Success Story: Jordi
Driving Determination
CONGRATULATIONS to Jordi for passing his driving license exam! Jordi works full-time but makes time to study English in our adult basic education class at Meadowbrook Public Library. Jordi took the driving test 3 times (failing because his English was not fluent enough) and then had to take a driving education course. Jordi worked with our tutors to improve his English and he passed the course, earning a certificate of completion, and then passed the driving test and earned his license! "Jordi has worked very hard and rarely misses class," said his tutor Cassy Davis "We are very proud of him and excited for him to continue making progress and achieving goals."
Potter in the Park 2019 was a Magical Event!
Thank you so much to all who supported the Triwizard Tri-Mile Trail Race on August 31 (Hogwarts Move-In Day)! Approximately 250 wizards, muggles and magical creatures -- many of whom ran or walked in costume or wearing house ties -- journeyed through the wizarding world and forbidden forest of Bisset Park. Participants were sorted by Anna Dalton /Prof. McGonagall and received house ties and wands handcrafted by Montgomery County RSVP volunteers. A beautiful Potter-themed quilt, created and donated by Krystyna Sills, was raffled and a costume contest was held for youth, adults and pets. Competitors enjoyed SIRIUSly fun Potter festivities including Hogwarts classes (Care of Magical Creatures with Prof. Cynthia Wynne and Potions with Prof. Matti Hamed), Quidditch demos with the VT Quidditch Club, and Potter Trivia with Radford Public Library. Triwizard trophies and medals were donated by New River Engraving. The overall course victors were Andy Norton (male) and Kim Kitts (female). Age group award photos are posted here and all racers’ times are here. A total of $7,200 was raised to support local adult literacy programming! Check out photos of the Potter in the Park fun here! Thanks so much to our WAND-erful event sponsors, including:
Golden Galleon: Blacksburg New School & Oaknoll Farms
Silver Sickle: Albimino and Stenger; Fahri Vision and Glaucoma Specialists; LewisGale Montgomery Hospital; New River Medical Group; Robert Jennings; Runabout Sports (Blacksburg)
Bronze Knutt: Elizabeth Austin & Chris Bibeau; Myrl and Lorene Jones; Red Sun Farms; Target (Christiansburg)
John Hess is a Leading Light!
John Hess is a NRV Leading Light
Congratulations to long-time LVNRV volunteer John Hess, who was recognized in 2019 with a distinguished Leading Lights award and presented his $500 check to LVNRV!
John has helped more than 50 NRV adults change their lives, families and our community through literacy.
Because of John, NRV adults have achieved many life-changing goals, including obtaining, U.S. Citizenship, obtaining a driver’s license, increasing communication skills for work, entering job training, obtaining employment, accessing news, helping children with homework, reading to children, learning computer skills, improving skills to access health care, experiencing the joy of reading, and more!
On behalf of the many lives touched by John's dedicated volunteer work and leadership, we thank you!
