Important issues
"AWC and Literacy: A Natural Alliance" by Sara Fiske
As professional communicators, we rely on our highly developed literacy to communicate our messages. We depend upon the literacy of our audiences to understand them. We succeed when they do.
But how many people don't understand our messages? More than 40 million adults across the nation, says Literacy Volunteers of America.
One in five adults cannot read well enough to fill out a job application, follow a bus schedule, understand a medicine label or read to their children! In D.C., alone, more than 140,000 adults are functionally illiterate; they read somewhere below the sixth-grade level.
As Vice President for Outreach for AWC-DC, I want to boost our chapter's involvement in the national drive to combat illiteracy. So far, we've forged budding relationships with two local literacy organizations: The Literacy Volunteers of America and The Reading Connection, an outreach program for children living in homeless shelters that tries to encourage kids to read books.
Reading Connection volunteers read aloud to children and give them new books, to keep, that are appropriate to their age-level. Often, these are the first books many of these children have ever owned. RC helps kids in three shelters in Arlington, three in Fairfax County and three in Alexandria, and serves more than 1,000 children a year - half of whom are under the age of five. AWC members can volunteer to be on-site readers to these children or can help assemble materials, such as welcome bags with books and school supplies that every child gets when he or she enters the shelter. Or, they can volunteer to do administrative work for the organizations. As a chapter, we can collect books from our members at our events throughout the year.
Literary Volunteers of America (LVA) focuses on adults who are illiterate. It trains volunteers to be tutors. Since 1987, the program has trained more than 2,000 tutors and students. It offers tutors for individualized and family training and computer-assisted instruction. AWC members may get involved directly by becoming tutors, a longer-term commitment which includes 14 hours of training and 9 to 12 months of tutoring 2 to 3 hours a week. LVA will sponsor The Incredible Reading Rally in February and a Read-a-Thon to raise money for the organization. AWC members may sponsor readers for this event, collect sponsors for a reader, assemble reading teams at their workplaces or even help plan the event! This is a national fundraiser but each of LVA's localities are planning their own activities, and LVA's National Capital Area group is seeking volunteers.
Finally, we at AWC-DC are assembling a small chapter Outreach Committee, a group of members to brainstorm ideas for our outreach efforts and help carry them out. We'll also need help putting together a chapter event later this year focusing on outreach efforts.
Related links
The Reading Connection • TRC volunteer opportunities • Community outreach
