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.)

December 2009 - News

Our annual Borders gift-wrapping fundraiser is taking place Tuesday, December 8 (from 3:00 p.m.-8:00 p.m.) and Wednesday, December 16 (from 10:00 a.m.-8:00 p.m.) at the Borders Bookstore in Waldorf, MD. CCLC volunteers will wrap customers’ gifts/books for free during these periods (donations will be accepted.) These funds help cover costs for new tutor and student books. We have spent almost $3,000 on tutoring and student materials this year. Drop by to say hello or get your book shopping/gift-wrapping taken care of.

November 2009

The Charles County Literacy Council has just completed the Fall 2009 Volunteer Tutor Training workshop (October 27-29) chaired by Sonja Scharles, CCLC President. We graduated 19 tutors ranging in age from 24 to 75. All are excited and ready to tutor. Tutor-student matching is in progress. A million thanks to Sonja and all the presenters for a magnificent workshop. The presenters included Sonja Scharles, Art Payton, Jack Faherty, Michael Ellis Jeanette Madison, Deryl Danner, Sr., Mary Jones, Meg Overbey, Elizabeth Sinnes and Mary Vargo. Thanks also to Renard Johnson, Shirlene Savoy and Christy Washington who worked at the greeter table. We received an array of positive comments from the newly trained tutors on their evaluation forms and welcome them. Special appreciation and thanks to Darlene Adams, Board Treasurer for planning and overseeing dinner for the workshop. We also received $171.00 in donations during the workshop from new tutors. These funds will help offset costs associated with materials for future workshops. Thank you new tutors!

October 2009 - News

If you would like to become a volunteer tutor with the Charles County Literacy Council, please go to our Events Page to register for the next tutor workshop. Space is limited.

September 2009 - The Charles County Literacy Council has moved.

Charles County Literacy has moved its headquarters to 10250 La Plata Road (Route 488), La Plata, MD 20646. Our office is inside the United Way Building. The new phone number is 301-934-6488. There will still be a Waldorf location for pick-up/drop-off of books for tutors who work in DC or live in Waldorf as well as assessment and tutoring locations in Waldorf. For more information, you may contact the office by phone or email, charlescountyliteracy@comcast.net

We held our first meeting of the season on Tuesday, September 1 at our new office location in the meeting room. Several tutors also attended and provided great input. Plan to join us on the first Tuesday of every month at 7:00 p.m.-8:30 p.m. at 10250 La Plata Road, Waldorf, MD 20646 (meeting room). The next meeting will be held on Tuesday, October 6, 2009.