Two Literacy Programs Received Grants from ProLiteracy Worldwide’s National Book Scholarship Fund

Syracuse, New York

The Greene County Literacy Coalition in Bloomfield, Indiana and the Vermont Reading Partners in Manchester, Vermont have both received grants from ProLiteracy Worldwide’s National Book Scholarship Fund. The Green County Literacy Coalition has been awarded $602 and Vermont Reading Partners has been awarded $2,384 in books and materials. Educational materials from the NBSF are designed to meet the unique learning needs of adult literacy students, tutors, teachers, and trainers.

The Greene County Literacy Coalition recruits new readers and volunteer tutors who work individually with these readers. The Coalition is currently working at the Greene County Rehabilitation Center, as well as the Greene County Jail, facilitating GED preparation classes. The program is receiving materials from the NBSF for both of these programs, as well as GED materials for learners who receive one-on-one tutoring through the Coalition. The program is also receiving GED software for laptop computers that will be used with these students. “Learners feel more empowered to learn if they have new and updated materials,” states Beth Burcham, coordinator for the Greene County Literacy Coalition. “This past year we had six learners pass the GED, and this is very exciting.” This is the second NBSF grant award that has been provided to the Greene County Literacy Coalition, which has now received $2,299 in books and materials from ProLiteracy Worldwide in support of its literacy instructional activities.

Vermont Reading Partners provides free volunteer tutoring services. Tutoring sessions are small group or one-on-one and include an adult basic education program that offers reading, writing, and math skills, and English-as-a-second-language (ESL) instruction. Changes in programming and an increase in the demand for services has more than doubled the amount of materials the program needs each year. With support from the NBSF, the program will have enough books to support two annual tutor-training workshops in 2006. In addition, the NBSF is providing resources to support the influx of ESL students expected this year. “The NBSF grant will ensure that our program has enough supplies for the next nine months so that we may concentrate our efforts on recruiting and sustaining volunteers for tutors and bringing in new students,” states June Gutbier, program coordinator for Vermont Reading Partners. “Additionally, with the grant we will not have to limit the number of volunteers trained or the number of students we will serve.”

This year marks the 11th anniversary of the National Book Scholarship Fund. Over 1,000 NBSF grants have been awarded and more than $2 million of New Readers Press books and educational materials have been distributed to qualified literacy providers around the country. Last year, $166,952 in NBSF grants was awarded to 84 programs. NBSF grants are made possible through donations from foundations, institutions, and individuals nationwide.