December 2010 - Border’s Gift-Wrapping Fundraiser

Our fundraiser at Border’s bookstore in Waldorf on Dec 11, 21 and 22, 2010 was hugely successful.  We had more than 20 volunteers come out to help us wrap books and other items for Border’s customers.  We received almost $800 in donations and 30 people signed up to receive newsletters and learn more about the Literacy Council.  Thank you to Jack Faherty for organizing this event and to all the volunteers who gave their time and energy to this event. 

November 2010 - News

We just completed our Fall 2010 Volunteer tutor training workshop.  Ten new tutors have been trained to teach adult students in the Charles County area improve their math, reading, and ESL skills.  All tutors are in the process of being matched with waiting adult students.  Congratulations new tutors!  The next tutor training workshop will be held in spring 2011.  Dates will be set soon.  To learn more, visit our Events Page.

October 2010 - News

The Charles County Literacy Council participated in the United Way of Charles County’s Day of Caring Homeless Resource Day at Health Partners in Waldorf, MD on October 6, 2010.  Information booths and public services were set up inside and outside the building.  Some of the organizations involved were United Way of Charles County, LifeStyles of Southern MD, the Health Department, Catherine Foundation, Health Partners, Catholic Charities—Angels Watch Shelter, Charles County Public Libraries, Children’s Aid, the Sheriff’s Department and Community Services.  The Literacy Council was able to talk to many of our County’s homeless individuals to offer them free reading and math tutoring. Once these individuals are assessed to determine their level of math or reading, they will be matched with a tutor one-on-one to meet in public places weekly for tutoring sessions.  All students must be committed and responsible for showing up on time and calling ahead if they will not be able to make their tutoring appointments.

September 2010 – Tutor Erica Barry

Tutor Erica Barry presenting her reading student with his level one diploma.

May 2010 - News

The Charles County Literacy Council just completed its spring Volunteer tutor training workshop on April 20-22, 2010 co-chaired by President Sonja L. Scharles and Board Member Edna Troiano. We trained 11 new tutors who are in the process of being matched by Program Coordinator Marlene Cleaveland. Congratulations to all new tutors. Of the 11 people trained, one is a former 74 year old CCLC student who was tutored in 2008 and 2009. She is now trained to tutor students who need help improving their reading and math skills. Here are some of the comments we received from the tutor evaluations:

• “This has been a pleasure. The nine hours went by very quickly. Everything was well done.”
• “This workshop has been great. I enjoyed it and found it quite enlightening. I love the energies of everyone involved.”
• “The experience was wonderful.”
• “This is a great workshop. All the presenters were informed and insightful.”
• “Very Professional. Great training. I feel very prepared.”
• “I thought this workshop was very well organized, logical. The teams of instructors seem very cohesive, committed and highly motivated. They passed that on to me. I’m very excited to be a part of this program. I’m impressed that Charles County offers such a great service.”

To learn more about upcoming tutor training workshops, visit our Events page or email the office at charlescountyliteracy@comcast.net. All persons interested in becoming tutors must be 18 or older.

April 2010 - News

 Literacy Council receives $3,000 grant from the Dollar General Literacy Foundation

The CCLC was presented a $3,000 check at the Bryans Road Dollar General (Store #2696) on March 24, 2010. The check was presented by Jackson Routh, Corporate Initiatives Administrator in Goodlettsville, TN. The Bryan’s Road Dollar General is managed by Mr. Bill Black, and has been voted number one in the United States for the past 6 years for the most monies collected for literacy. This year, the store collected more than $27,000 in dollars and coins in literacy donations. The literacy donation box is prominently displayed at the check-out counters in all Dollar General stores. Since 1993, The Dollar General Literacy Foundation has awarded more than $40 million in grants to non-profit organizations helping more than 2.1 million individuals take their first steps toward literacy, obtaining their GED or improving their English proficiency. CCLC is honored to have been selected again this year to receive a grant, along with local schools. Please visit Mr. Black’s store and let him know how much we appreciate him and his employees.

Pictured in the photo from left to right are store employees, CCLC President Sonja Scharles (holding check, Jack Faherty, Vice President, Marlene Cleaveland, Program Coordinator, Bill Black, Store Manager).

February/March 2010

In February, we mailed out a letter by our President Sonja Scharles inviting individuals to send in monetary donations to help us recover costs associated with materials we purchase to train tutors and teach our students. These materials are expensive and must be replenished every few months. We now have almost 100 active volunteers tutoring and/or volunteering in some other capacity (board member, etc.) Donations can continue to be made to “The Charles County Literacy Council” and mailed to CCLC, 10250 La Plata Road, La Plata, MD. We appreciate all donations, no matter how small. You can become a Literacy Champion for $500.00 or more, Literacy Partner for $250.00-499.00, Literacy Supporter for $100.00-$249.00, $67.27 will sponsor materials for 1 tutor and one student for 6 months; and an Associate Member for one year for $25.00. For more information contact the CCLC at charlescountyliteracy@comcast.net.

We had a very successful early bird tutor session prior to the beginning of our March meeting. Several tutors came and participated in a round table discussion to talk about any tutoring problems they were having or to learn of ideas that work with other tutors. We plan to hold additional tutor exchange sessions every few months.

In December, we raised almost $400 in donations from the Borders gift-wrapping we held. We also met several people who indicated an interest in becoming a volunteer tutor and one person who is seeking help in reading. The Literacy Council also has partnered with the Armed Forces Recruiting Office in Waldorf. The military recruiters have busily been referring young men and women to our office for tutoring to help them primarily improve their math skills so they can pass the ASVAB (the military entrance exam.)