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Literacy Together (formerly Literacy Council of Buncombe County)
Cause Area
- Children & Youth
- Community
- Education & Literacy
- Immigrants & Refugees
Location
31 College St.Building B. Suite 221Asheville, NC 28801 United StatesWebsite:
https://lit-together.org/
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Organization Information
Mission Statement
Our mission is to transform lives and communities through the power of literacy. Our vision is a just and equitable community in which literacy is accessible and achievable for all.
Description
Literacy Together (formerly The Literacy Council of Buncombe County) was created in 1986 as a merger of two leading adult literacy organizations - Altrusa of Asheville and the Asheville-Buncombe Literacy Council. Since our beginning 35 years ago, we have continued to grow programming and expand our reach to meet the literacy and English language needs of people of all ages in Buncombe County.
Please take five minutes to watch our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWZNYZVkmO0. Thanks!
Reviews
Would you recommend Literacy Together (formerly Literacy Council of Buncombe County)?
14 reviews
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(2022-09-06 18:27:12.0)
I am so happy with my decision to volunteer as an ESOL tutor with Literacy Together. All the staff I have interacted with are wonderful. They provide great training, materials and support. I'm so enjoying working with my students and helping them improve their English skills. I also really appreciate getting to know a new aspect of my community, by interacting with people from different walks of life that I probably would never have had the opportunity to meet. It is very rewarding and I highly recommend volunteering with any of their great programs.
(2022-06-28 16:53:09.0)
Literacy Together is doing important work, and I'm proud to be a long-time volunteer. Teaching Adult Literacy has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life -- I'm making someone else's life better! The staff at Literacy Together is super helpful and dedicated, and their library is full of terrific materials for my student. I highly recommend volunteering to tutor.
(2022-06-16 07:56:11.0)
I've been working with Literacy Together for almost five years, and I can't speak highly enough of the quality of their training and the responsiveness and commitment of their staff (especially Erin, who heads up the ESOL program that I work with). They truly want their volunteers to be successful in making a difference in the lives of the populations we serve. The students I've had the opportunity to teach have been kind, committed, hard-working, and a true pleasure to work with. And whether it's providing supplemental educational materials, ideas for new games and activities, or advice on problem-solving, the Literacy Together staff has been behind me every step of the way. I can't recommend volunteering with them highly enough!
(2022-03-26 09:27:48.0)
I have been volunteering in the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) program for over a decade. It is the most rewarding work I have ever done. Literacy Together provides impeccable training and support. I always feel the staff is there for me, ready to help me. The materials we are given to work with are very accessible and easy to use. There is no stumbling around or feeling lost for the new tutor. I cannot say enough good things about Literacy Together.
(2022-02-02 16:17:00.0)
Literacy Together has been the perfect place to put my TEFL certificate to work. I currently tutor an ESOL student once per week for 2 hours each class. I love the opportunity for cultural exchange for both my student and me, and it's clear that the English lessons are making a real impact on my student's confidence in listening, speaking, reading, and writing. We also have a lot of fun. Plus, our supervisor for ESOL volunteers is an incredible support! She is always ready to help in any way, and she helps connect us to resources and to our fellow volunteers. 100% recommend Literacy Together - especially for those who want to teach English to speakers of other languages!
(2022-01-26 14:13:04.0)
Literacy Together is an excellent and productive grouping of professional staff and volunteer tutors. The few hours per week that I have spent over the lasts years making my students more respected and happier at home and more successful at work has been both fun and gratifying for me . They have greatly benefited by learning English and I have benefited as well from the conversations and smiles in the classes and enduring friendships I have made.
(2021-12-17 17:20:10.0)
This organization has it all together! I have been volunteering with them for over a year and the staff are so responsive to my needs as a volunteer, not just to those receiving services. It has been a very rewarding experience for me.
(2021-12-17 14:03:05.0)
Great organization. Very well organized and administered. Support for tutors is outstanding. I've been teaching ESOL since 2015. The curriculum is truly the easiest to use I've ever seen. If you've never taught anything, each lesson plan lays out what to do, right down to what to say during particular activities.
(2022-02-02 10:34:57.0)
This is a wonderful organization. You'll have the chance to choose between turoring children, american adults or foreign language speakers to learn to read and write and talk English. I've been doing two one hour sessions for over a year. It's great for people who love language and very rewarding from a personal standpoint. Help fight illiteracy and improve the world a small step at a time.
(2021-12-17 12:53:40.0)
This is the 4th literacy organization I have volunteered with in the US and they have the best training and ongoing support of tutors and students.
(2011-01-04 09:21:31.0)
Over the past decades I have participated in a number of volunteer organizations. The Literacy Council of Buncombe Co ranks at the top of my list. During the 9 years since retirement I have tutored both one-on-one and in small groups with the Council.
These have continued to be good experiences for me because 1.)the Council's staff is very highly qualified and each enjoys supporting their volunteer tutors (eg. solid training, advice on supplemental materials, helping with substitutes, or dealing with various human relationships), and because 2.)a volunteer tutor benefits greatly from an active teaching environment. It's always two-way learning, and maybe the teacher learns the most!
(2011-01-03 13:25:39.0)
I have been a volunteer tutor with the Literacy Council for over 2 years in the ESL program. I love languages and have learned more about English by teaching it than I ever did in school. Being a tutor gives me the opportunity to make a positive difference in someone's life and at the same time is extremely rewarding for me. I get to use my creativity to come up with effective ways to explain things and I always have the support and materials available at the Literacy Council to come up with good lesson plans. The Literacy Council also provides the means to measure students' progress, as if it weren't obvious just from having conversations with them. I wholeheartedly recommend volunteering with the Literacy Council.
(2011-01-03 13:24:18.0)
I have tutored six students, so far, and each experience has been rewarding, interesting, and most of all, fun.
It's exciting to help people from other parts of the world who are trying to improve their English and perhaps become citizens of the United States.
The Literacy Council provides a thorough orientation for tutors, and then, carefully matches them with students.
For each student, tutors receive a literacy assessment, background information, literacy goals, and the necessary resource materials and equipment to teach.
I highly recommend the Literacy Council of Buncombe County to anyone wishing a meaningful way to help others.
(2011-01-03 09:28:02.0)
March 2011 marks the beginning of my 4th year volunteering in the adult basic ed. program at the Literacy Council of Buncombe County. I began this adventure with some trepidation as I had no previous experience tutoring adults. (I had naively thought I might have to figure out how to do this by myself.) So I was very relieved to discover that the Council staff would train me and could provide needed materials. It would be hard to over-state how rewarding this experience has been for me (and hopefully for my student too). I really love seeing that light in a student's eyes which means "aha, I get it now."
I believe that literacy of all kinds -- reading, math and computer skills (and maybe other kinds) -- is just so critical in our world today.
I would recommend this volunteer activity without hesitation. I can't pay back those who taught me to read, but I can pay it forward.