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Literacy volunteers expands services

Literacy Volunteers of Chautauqua County is happy to announce that it has received a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission to staff a part-time office in Jamestown. Filling a unique place in the array of social services, Literacy Volunteers offers free one-on-one tutoring in basic literacy and English as a Second Language to adults in the community, at locations and times that meet the needs of the learner. In recent years, this service has been available mainly in the North County. Now, the service will be extended to residents of the Jamestown area, where the Spanish-speaking population has been growing and where good jobs are opening up for people with a sufficient command of English.

Coordinating the effort in the Jamestown area is Amanda Brainard, an experienced and caring professional. Through the generosity of Chautauqua Striders, Literacy Volunteers will be using office space at Striders during the morning hours. Julie LaGrow, Executive Director of Literacy Volunteers, has said,” We’re grateful to ARC for making it possible for us to extend our work to the South County, because we already have a line of people waiting to be tutored, and we feel fortunate to have secured the help of Amanda Brainard, whose experience will be a great asset to our program.”

The program is now actively looking for volunteer tutors in Jamestown and its surroundings. Tutors need have only a high school degree: no teaching experience is necessary. A ten-hour training sequence is available on line, so that volunteers can prepare to tutor in their own time. The only other requirement is that they be willing to tutor two hours a week. Interested people can call 716-294-1109 or can e-mail Julie LaGrow at lvacc@netsync.net.

A long-time tutor in the North County says of the work, “It’s always a fascinating challenge to find what will help people learn. Each person is different and has different needs. It’s so gratifying when a student gets a good job or qualifies for a professional training program. We change lives.”

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