We’re counting down to the Literacy Run/Walk 5K on Sunday, May 6th, but there’s still plenty of time to sign on as a volunteer. We need course marshals — people to stand along the route and make sure the runners are safe. Course marshals make sure that race participants don’t come into contact with any possible traffic that might try to pass on cross streets, and their cheers and words of support are great for the morale of runners and walkers. If you’d like to be a course marshal or to volunteer in any capacity, please call Barb Wyman at 274-8526. If you’d like to run or walk, registrations will be accepted right up until the morning of the event.

Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County was honored at the Champions of Character Award Banquet, sponsored by the ACADEMY of CHARACTER EDUCATION at the Sage Colleges, on April 3, 2012.  Tom Hulihan, Director of Planning and Program Development, Troy Housing Authority presented the Community Organization Award to Barbara Wyman, Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County for the organization’s committment to helping people improve their reading, math, English language and writing skills. Each of our volunteers and staff should feel proud: they made this award happen.

Join us on April 16th at 6:00 p.m., when we launch a brand new theme for this year’s Student and Volunteer Dinner: Food, Friends, and Fashion. We have the assistance of students from Sara Schuman’s “Women Changing the World” class at Sage College, who are helping to plan the evening. We’ll be celebrating styles, so wear your favorite fashion, your traditional or national clothing, or come as you are. Some of the English Language Learners from the Sewing and English class will entertain us with a fashion show. Please bring a dish to share. We’ll be happy to see you, your family and friends at the Food, Friends, and Fashion Dinner. Please call 274-8526 to R.S.V.P.

Runners and walkers of all ages are welcome to our biggest fundraising event of the year: the Literacy Run/Walk! The Literacy Run/Walk makes it possible for us to continue our programs for adult learners and their families in Rensselaer County.

Please join us in thanking our sponsors: CAP COM Federal Credit Union, E. Stewart Jones, IBT Global, Fox 23 News, Stewart’s Shops, Jaeger & Flynn Associates, Cohoes Savings Foundation, Bryce Architectural Development and Real Estate Services, Aflac, architecture +, Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Local No. 7, The Record, and City of Troy.

Sunday, May 6
Sign-in and Runners’ Chips at the Atrium;
5K starts at Monument Square
Troy, N.Y.

8:00 Registration pre-registration fee $20; race day registration $25
9:00 a.m. Children’s Fun Run registration fee $6
9:30 a.m. Youth Mile
registration fee $10
10:00 a.m. 5K Run/Walk
11:15 a.m. Awards Ceremony

Early packet pickup and pre-registration at
the Atrium, Saturday, May 5, 2:30-3:30 p.m.

For complete information: www.lvorc.org

Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County
(518) 274-8526

Click to download and read our latest newsletter.

Troy, N.Y.: Literacy Volunteers congratulates Elshekh Saad and Mariama Massaquoi, two English Language Learners who have become naturalized U.S. citizens. Sworn in on January 20 and 27, respectively, Mr. Saad and Ms. Massaquoi took the Oath of Allegiance at the United States District Court in Albany. The hour-long ceremonies began with welcoming remarks from the judge and elected officials, and included patriotic songs performed a cappella by guest vocalists. Certificates of Citizenship were presented to almost 60 people on each occasion.

Mr. Saad, a native of Sudan, has been a student in the workplace literacy program at Blasch Precision Ceramics for four years. Ms. Massaquoi, who resided in Liberia prior to coming to America, participated in the English Literacy Civics program and is now learning to sew while improving her English skills each Saturday afternoon at the Sewing and English class in Rensselaer. All three programs are staffed and administered by Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County.

Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County recruits and trains volunteers to provide individual and small group tutoring. A professional staff supports volunteer tutors, tutor trainers, planners, and board members who make the programs run. LVORC is an affiliate of Literacy New York and accredited by ProLiteracy America.

For the 40+ years that Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County has been in existence, we have called our volunteers who work with students “TUTORS”. It is time for an update! Effective immediately, our tutors will now be called, know as, designated—- “Volunteer Adult Literacy Educators.” This title paints a truer picture of the role our volunteers play in helping students learn to read or speak English or improve those skills. I think it also sends a message to the volunteers as to how much we respect and appreciate the skills and expertise they bring to each session with their students.

On July 4, I couldn’t help but think about FREEDOM—how thankful I am for freedom! Many of the students served by Literacy Volunteers have fled countries where numerous freedoms were denied. We are free to read anything we want. We take it for-granted that we can read and that our children will be taught to read. This is not true in many other places. July is a good month to appreciate our freedom.

Literacy Volunteers of Rensselaer County has 5 volunteer Tutor Trainers who are EXCELLENT, experienced presenters, many with years of experience as a tutor. These trainers and LVORC staff met recently to evaluate 2010-11’s training sessions and plan for 2011-12. The next series of 3-hour training for our volunteer tutors will be offered at 6:00 pm at Faith Lutheran Church in Troy as follows: 9/12 = Orientation, 9/19 = Basic Literacy 1. 9/26=Basic Literacy 2, 10/3 = English Language Learners 1, 10/17 = English Language Learners 2 and 10/24 = Successful Tutoring. We’re also planning some very useful sessions with dynamic guest presenters for our current tutors that will include: Steps to Citizenship; Testing 101; Working with a small group of students; Teaching Writing; Incorporating Financial Literacy into Tutoring Sessions and more. Check out our web site www.lvorc.org for more information.

EVERYBODY WINS! (EW) That is the perfect name for our newest program! Volunteers from local businesses are matched with children at a close-by school. They read to their buddy once a week during the child’s lunch period. The business makes a donation to help support the program. A school coordinator notifies the volunteers if a child is absent, helps select appropriate books and makes sure everything runs smoothly. The business wins by helping the community and by showing their employees they care. The volunteers win as they feel satisfaction as their students learn and develop a love for books and reading. The school wins because the children become excited about learning. The children win— a caring adults shows them they are special by reading to them each week.

Currently, EW takes place at School 14 and Sacred Heart—with Carroll Hill to start in September—all in Troy. Volunteers from Pitney Bowes, the Lacrosse team at RPI and many community members are helping EVERYBODY WIN!